Operatory light is critical to Schultz dentistry. Because dental procedures involve working in a secluded and dark field, the oral cavity, you must use a good illumination device in order for you to have better access to your working area. Achieving the right quantity, quality, and stability of light is quite challenging most especially if the environment in your treatment room is full of things that restrict proper distribution of lights. The good thing is that there are a few tools and instruments that you can use to improve the quality of light inside your treatment room. Here are a few types of lighting bulbs that are used in illumination devices.

Dental Loupe

Traditional light bulbs

The traditional light bulb or incandescent lighting is the most commonly used source of artificial light today. Although it is commonly used to illuminate a room, only a few dental professionals use them in their overhead dental lamps because of some reasons.

The light it produces is considered as the warmest, the kindest, and the most romantic type of light for the skin. Although it allows people to look their best as it makes the skin appear to be smooth and fare, it is not always recommended for dental use.

The incandescent bulb has color temperatures that range from 2,800°K to 3,200°K. This normal bulb generates more heat than the other light sources. The longer you use it, the hotter it gets. Aside from that, it consumes a lot of power or electric energy. Making it an impractical option for those looking for energy efficient dental light source.

Flip up loupe

Halogen bulbs

Like the traditional incandescent lighting, the halogen bulb or lighting also used a tungsten filament. It likewise generates a great amount of heat, especially when used continually for hours. Halogen bulbs are often used in overhead operatory lights. There are also some dental headlights that use this type of bulb. Most of the time, dental headlights, and overhead operatory lights are designed with a dichroic reflector to allow light reflection instead of heat.

Light Emitting Diode

The Light Emitting Diode, also popularly referred to as LED light or bulb, is a unique type of artificial lighting source. Unlike the other types of light sources, the LED bulb does not have any filament, thus, they produce little amount of heat even when used for extended periods of time. Lighting sources, like the portable dental headlight, that use LED bulb are often powered only by a battery.

Headlight with Battery

LED bulbs are also very energy efficient as they only need less power to function well and because only a small amount of energy is being lost as heat. Apart from that, LED bulbs have a longer lifespan as compared to other light sources. You can be able to use them for more than 50,000 hours. They also produce natural daylight and brighter light per watt of energy applied.

Needless to say, LED bulbs provide more advantages than the other types of bulbs. This is the reason why it is often used in dental operatory lighting devices such as in portable dental headlights.