These 2 curing lights provide quality results with a high ROI

As equipment goes, curing lights tend to lean more toward the “workhorse” than “inspirational” variety. But in these two cases, the dentists have found not just quality results, but true ROI in the lights they’ve selected.

Dr. Edward Lowe on Ivoclar Vivadent’s Bluephase Style

The cost of the Bluephase Style is about $1,100 dollars. If I use Ivoclar Vivadent’s Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill and a 10 second cure on posterior restorations, I can save up to 4 minutes a restoration. If I do a quadrant of restorations and I saved 12 minutes of time, it equates to about $120 of time savings, assuming I am working at a production rate of $600 per hour.

[ REVIEW: A full-circle look at Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill from the doctor to the market ]

But how much of this time savings is from the light itself? If I cured one restoration for 20 seconds (10 for bonding agent and 10 for composite) versus a layered technique where I may cure about 6 or more increments for 10 seconds, that would be about 1 minute saved due to the light and the composite technique. If I compared it to an old halogen light where I had to cure each increment for 20 seconds instead of 10, then I save another minute using the Bluephase and a bulk fill technique.

Two minutes per restoration equates to about $20 in time savings. I think it would take 550 minutes or just more than 9 hours of time savings to break even on my light. That could come after doing 550 restorations. After that it’s all in the black!

Although we calculated ROI purely on saving time, there are other intangibles that we must consider. One is that the light cures everything because of having 2 blue and 1 violet LED for a greater wavelength coverage. That means I trust the light to set all composite materials out there without worrying about unset composite in a proximal box. The depth of cure of the light also gives me security that a 4mm increment of Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill will be cured at the gingival floor of the proximal box, meaning less chance of uncured material causing sensitivity and repeat visits to adjust or redo the restoration.

The low profile shape of the light probe allows me easy access to the posterior teeth without wasting time manipulating the probe or asking the patient to open wider. Easy handling and sleek lightweight design means that my dental assistant’s carpal tunnel syndrome will not flare up and I do not have to run around looking for a temp to replace her!

Most of all, I like the two-button operation and simplicity of this light. The inductive charging system reminds me of my electric toothbrush charging in its cup. The coolness factor makes the investment worthwhile!

Dr. John Flucke on Ultradent’s VALO

The VALO curing light is a valuable asset to our practice and is a workhorse curing device for the general dentist. It is incredibly bright, featuring settings that provide output of 1,000 mw/cm2, 1,400 mw/cm2, and 3,200 mw/cm2.

It is also one of the few curing devices on the market that is “broadband,” meaning that it sets all light activated materials. Many curing lights have a range of 450-470 nanometers, which is fine for camphorquinone, but not for other proprietary photo initiators. The VALO provides light in the spectrum of 395-480 nanometers, which allows it to cure all materials.

VALO is also highly durable. The VALO is CAD/CAM milled out of a solid piece of aerospace grade aluminum. It is designed to withstand the rigors of day to day use, including being dropped. Despite our best efforts, we’ve never managed to break one!

We use the VALO daily, and think it needs to be on the “short list” of must have curing lights.