Which product works best?” may be a great question when choosing most dental products, but is perhaps not very helpful when it comes to selecting a curing light among the market’s leading brands. “All curing lights today have enough power, and in reality, they all get the work done,” explains Mario F. Romero, DDS, Clinical Director of Romero Dental Seminars.
That does not mean all curing lights are created equal. Acknowledging that top curing light competitors run neck-in-neck for curing dental composites and bonding agents, Dr. Romero delved into numerous product specifications such as weight, design, ease of use, and cost to determine which product would be the best value for his thriving Sarasota practice, Dentistry180.
Based on his more than two decades of experience, Dr. Romero found that the new Coltolux Comfort LED curing light from Coltene was the best option. Here’s why:
Significantly Lighter = Less Fatigue
“In terms of weight, it’s very, very light,” said Dr. Romero, adding that this helps practitioners maintain control and accuracy. The Coltolux Comfort weighs only 2.7 ounces, which is 30% lighter than its predecessor, the Coltolux LED. “The bigger a light is and the heavier it is, the greater the risk that the person holding it can get tired.” That means less room for error and more room for better results.
An Ergonomic Design
The Coltolux Comfort is also cordless and boasts a sleek, ergonomic design that is only 0.78 inches in diameter and 8.4 inches long. “You can literally hold this like a pen, and it still has the power needed to polymerize a composite in a good way,” said Dr. Romero. The Coltolux Comfort is designed to easily reach the patient’s second molar, he added.
The light features a newly designed intraoral light shield that is angled at 90 degrees and is 11 mm in diameter, enabling placement of the lens to be flush with the curing plane and provide uniform curing over the entire tooth surface.
“Another nice thing about the design is that it has two little feet, so if you put the light on a table, it will keep it stable,” he said. Other products with a similar pen-like shape but no feet can roll off a table and become damaged.
Ease of Use
The Coltolux Comfort features a single button rather than multiple buttons, which simplifies the process for dentists and staff. Separate buttons on other models are used to increase time or activate the light, leaving room for mistakes. “The beauty of the Coltolux Comfort is you only have one button and one mode. All you have to do is hit that button one time and the light will turn on. It’s very easy,” Dr. Romero said.
The single button activates the Coltolux Comfort for 20 seconds, which Dr. Romero points out is the most common time period for curing materials used by dentists. After the 10-second mark, the device sends an audio indication to alert the user of the halfway mark. If additional time is needed, the user simply presses the button again to increase curing time.
A Great Value to the Practice
The best perk of the Coltolux Comfort, according to Dr. Romero, is the value. While shopping around, Dr. Romero found the cost of the Coltolux Comfort to be half that of the leading cordless competitor. “When you compare apples to apples,” Dr. Romero said, “they are both light and ergonomic.” All factors considered, he said, Coltolux Comfort is the leader of the pack.
