(The above video accompanied an article in the Journal of the Canadian Dental Association. It is best viewed using Internet Explorer.)
Supporting Research
Dental manufacturers, researchers, educators and clinicians need to accurately quantifying the amount and nature of the energy received by dental restorations in a clinical setting.
Prior to the development of MARC™, laboratory-based evidence was the sole source of information used to guide the process of curing resin restorations in patients’ teeth. However, laboratory and clinical settings vary greatly, as do the results achieved in each.
The amount and nature of the energy delivered in a dental office can vary greatly both within and between clinics (see The Four Variables). This is important because:
- There is considerable and growing evidence suggesting that the amount of energy actually delivered in many dental offices can be far below the manufacturers’ laboratory-based recommendations. When resin is not sufficiently polymerized, the filling does deliver the manufacturers’ intended properties. If the resin receives an inadequate amount of energy, it will not continue to cure and reach an adequate level of cure in 24 hours.
- Dentists cannot easily solve this problem by arbitrarily increasing curing times beyond the manufacturers’ recommendations because of the heat generated by most curing lights.
The following evidence supports why and how MARC™ can help dental manufacturers, researchers, educators and clinicians. MARC™ provides a common measurement tool to gather and communicate clinically relevant laboratory-grade information that can be used to guide the clinical use of curing lights.
Why MARC™ is Needed
- Growing use of Resins
- Emerging Concerns
- Limitations of Current Methods to determine how long a curing light should be used to adequately cure a resin restoration.
Evidence Supporting MARC™ as a clinically-relevant laboratory-grade energy measurement tool
- MARC is Relevant
- MARC is Accurate
- MARC Provides Reproducible Results
- Importance of Patient Simulators to dental education and practice
- Overview of findings presented at the AADR
- References to articles in print and in press
PowerPoint Presentation of the scientific evidence underlying MARC™