Evaluation of General Dentists’ Knowledge about the Function, Safety, and Infection Control of the Dental Light-Curing Units in Kerman in 2017

Light-curing dental restorative materials are currently used extensively. The effective use of these materials increases their properties and prevents damage to the tooth nerve. This study investigated general dentists’ knowledge about the function, safety, and infection control of light-curing units (LCUs) in Kerman in 2017.
This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 170 general dentists. The data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire that assessed the dentists' demographic information and measured their knowledge of LCUs (7 items) and safety and infection control (2 items). The collected data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-test (P = 0.05) with SPSS 20 software.
The respondents’ mean age and dental service history were 35.77±9.25 and 9.97±8.08 years, respectively. The lifetime of the LCUs in 105 cases (61.8%) was more than 5 years. Moreover, 123 dentists (72.4%) did not have radiometers. It was also shown that 61.8% of the dentists were not aware of the light intensity of their light-curing units, but 68.8% of them were well aware of it. Most of the respondents used protective eyewear during dental services. The most common way to control unit infection was to use cellophane. The respondents’ mean knowledge score was 6.00±1.42 out of 7. The knowledge score had a statistically significant relation with having a radiometer, the number of daily composite restorations, and the lifetime of the unit.
Given the technological advancements in dentistry, increasing dentists’ knowledge of using LCUs is essential to increase the life and quality of restorations.