Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany.
Dent Mater. 2013 Jun;29(6):605-17. doi: 10.1016/j.dental.2013.02.003. Epub 2013 Mar 16.
The majority of modern resin-based oral restorative biomaterials are cured via photopolymerization processes. A variety of light sources are available for this light curing of dental materials, such as composites or fissure sealants. Quartz-tungsten-halogen (QTH) light curing units (LCUs) have dominated light curing of dental materials for decades and are now almost entirely replaced by modern light emitting diode light curing units (LED LCUs). Exactly 50 years ago, visible LEDs were invented. Nevertheless, it was not before the 1990s that LEDs were seriously considered by scientists or manufactures of commercial LCUs as light sources to photopolymerize dental composites and other dental materials. The objective of this review paper is to give an overview of the scientific development and state-of-the-art of LED photopolymerization of oral biomaterials.
The materials science of LED LCU devices and dental materials photopolymerized with LED LCU, as well as advantages and limits of LED photopolymerization of oral biomaterials, are discussed. This is mainly based on a review of the most frequently cited scientific papers in international peer reviewed journals. The developments of commercial LED LCUs as well as aspects of their clinical use are considered in this review.
The development of LED LCUs has progressed in steps and was made possible by (i) the invention of visible light emitting diodes 50 years ago; (ii) the introduction of high brightness blue light emitting GaN LEDs in 1994; and (iii) the creation of the first blue LED LCUs for the photopolymerization of oral biomaterials. The proof of concept of LED LCUs had to be demonstrated by the satisfactory performance of resin based restorative dental materials photopolymerized by these devices, before LED photopolymerization was generally accepted. Hallmarks of LED LCUs include a unique light emission spectrum, high curing efficiency, long life, low energy consumption and compact device form factor.
By understanding the physical principles of LEDs, the development of LED LCUs, their strengths and limitations and the specific benefits of LED photopolymerization will be better appreciated.
大多数现代基于树脂的口腔修复生物材料通过光聚合过程进行固化。有多种光源可用于牙科材料的光固化，例如复合材料或裂缝密封剂。石英钨卤素（QTH）光固化单元（LCU）在几十年来一直主导着牙科材料的光固化，现在几乎完全被现代发光二极管光固化单元（LED LCU）取代。整整 50 年前，人们发明了可见 LED。然而，直到 20 世纪 90 年代，科学家或商用 LCU 的制造商才开始认真考虑将 LED 作为光源，用于光聚合牙科复合材料和其他牙科材料。本文的目的是概述 LED 对口腔生物材料的光聚合的科学发展和最新技术。
讨论了 LED LCU 装置的材料科学以及用 LED LCU 光聚合的牙科材料、LED 对口腔生物材料光聚合的优势和局限性。这主要基于对国际同行评议期刊中最常被引用的科学论文的综述。在本综述中，考虑了商用 LED LCU 的发展以及其临床应用的各个方面。
LED LCU 的发展是分阶段进行的，这得益于（i）50 年前发明了可见光发光二极管；（ii）1994 年引入了高亮度氮化镓蓝光发光二极管；以及（iii）创建了第一个用于光聚合口腔生物材料的蓝色 LED LCU。只有当这些设备光聚合的树脂基修复牙科材料性能令人满意时，才证明 LED LCU 的概念是可行的，之后 LED 光聚合才被普遍接受。LED LCU 的特点包括独特的发光光谱、高固化效率、长寿命、低能耗和紧凑的设备外形尺寸。
通过了解 LED 的物理原理，可以更好地理解 LED LCU 的发展、它们的优势和局限性以及 LED 光聚合的具体优势。
