News

Light curing of white resin fillings have been a heavily researched topic for Dalhousie’s Dr. Richard Price. However, the negative impact of under curing resin fillings is not generally well known.

Dr. Price has organized a two-day symposium to take place at Dalhousie University May 29th and 30th, 2014 aimed at discussing light curing and to develop strategies to educate other practitioners about the proper use of curing lights.

The following key opinion leaders from the USA, Canada, Brazil, United Kingdom, Germany, Liechtenstein, and Norway will attend this meeting. Topics will include how manufacturers can improve the design of curing lights, the potential negative impacts of using the cheaper, unbranded curing lights that are widely available online, and strategies to better inform dentists on the proper use of curing lights.

Meeting Participants

1. Ahmed Abuelyaman is Lead Research Specialist at 3M ESPE Dental Products, USA. His main interests include organic chemistry, dental composites, adhesives, photoinitiators and nanotechnology for dental applications, with more focus being on developing low shrinkage and low shrinkage stress dental composites.

2. Suham Alexander is the Clinical Editor, Oasis Discussions at the Canadian Dental Association. 

3. Sibel Antonson is the Director of Education and Professional Services at Ivoclar Vivadent in Amherst.  She is Clinical Associate Professor at SUNY at University of Buffalo, and the Director of Dental Biomaterials.

4. Steve Armstrong is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Operative Dentistry at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. His research interests include adhesive dentistry (main focus dentin adhesion), minimally invasive dentistry and resin-based composites.

5. Oliver Benz is a development engineer at Ivoclar Vivadent in Schaan, Liechtenstein. His focus is on development of curing lights.

6. Uwe Blunck is an Assistant Professor at the Charité-University, Berlin, in the Department of Operative and Preventive Dentistry.  He provides many continuing education courses to dentists on how to handle resin composites. His main research interests are adhesive techniques, composite resin restorations, and treatment of cervical lesions.

7. Ellen Bruzell is a senior scientist at the Nordic Institute of Dental Materials (NIOM) in Oslo, Norway. Her main research interests are related to photobiology: antimicrobial photodynamic therapy, phototoxic effects of combined exposure to dental materials, and optical radiation and occupational hazards from optical radiation sources in dentistry.

8. John Burgess is a Professor and Assistant Dean at the University of Alabama, Department of Clinical and Community Sciences. His main research interests are low shrinking composites, adhesives, ceramics, longevity of endodontically restored teeth and the high caries risk patient. 

9. Peter Burtscher is director of R&D / Organic chemistry at Ivoclar Vivadent in Schaan, Liechtenstein. He is an inventor and developer of many dental products. His main research interests are in resin composite filling and luting materials, adhesives, and light curing units.

10. Liang Chen is Chief Scientist at Bisco. He is an inventor in the area of polymeric dental materials.

11. Ivo Correa is a Professor of Dental Materials at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. His main research interests focus on photochemistry in dentistry, especially the role of photoinitiators and curing lights on the chemical and physical properties of resin based materials.

12.Colin Deacon is CEO of BlueLight Analytics, a Halifax-based company that manufactures and markets the MARC® range of light testing products and services.

13. Omar El-Mowafy is a Professor and Head of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto.  His main research interests are resin composite restorations, curing lights, and porcelain crowns.

14. Jack Ferracane is a Professor and Chair of Restorative Dentistry and Division Director of Biomaterials and Biomechanics at Oregon Health & Science University.  His main research interests include developing new and novel dental composites, understanding the interaction between dental composites/adhesives and biofilm formation and secondary caries formation around dental restorations, developing antimicrobial and remineralizing materials containing bioactive glass, and conducting clinical research studies in dental practices.

15. Reinhard Hickel is a Professor and the Chairman of Department for Conservative Dentistry, Periodontology and Paediatric Dentistry of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany, where he was the Dean for 10 years.  He is the Chair of the German Academy for Education in University medicine and teaching (founded by all medical and dental faculties in Germany).  He is an advisor to the Federal Ministry of Health and Vice-Principal of all medical and dental departments/clinics at the University of Munich.  His research interests wide-ranged, including clinical studies and translational research (from lab to clinics), new restorative materials (especially composite, GIC, ceramics, CAD-CAM), minimally invasive dentistry, detection & diagnostic systems, toxicology, and side effects of restorative materials.

16. Thomas Hill is manager of Scientific Services at Ivoclar Vivadent in Amherst, New York. He is a materials engineer, with a specialty in ceramics. He supervises clinical trials for Ivoclar in North America, with research interests in resin composite filling, adhesives, light curing units and ceramics.

17. Neil Jessop is the Director of Research & Development at Ultradent Products, Inc.  He has more than 20 years in research and development, including biomaterial research at Loma Linda University.  Mr. Jessop has placed a strong emphasis on adhesives, composites, and dental curing light research.  Creating reliable test methods and standards has been an important focus throughout his tenure at Ultradent.

18. Hilde Kopperud is head of the laboratory at the Nordic Institute of Dental Materials (NIOM) in Oslo, Norway. Her main research interests focus on polymer-based dental materials with attention to resin based composites, resin polymerization, material properties, and elution of chemicals.

19. Daniel Labrie is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science at Dalhousie University. His main research interests are in the areas of crystal growth, dental curing lights, light measurement techniques, and the physical properties of resin based composites.

20. Hui Lu is a Senior Research Scientist at DENTSPLY International – Caulk Division, Delaware, USA. His main research interests include photopolymerization, dental curing lights, elucidation of curing kinetics, shrinkage & shrinkage stress of dental resin and composite, how to reduce shrinkage stress reduction, and the long-term durability of resin composites.

21. Sridhar Janyavula is a clinical research dentist at DENTSPLY-Caulk, Milford, DE.  He is responsible for organizing, conducting and monitoring in vitro and clinical trials. He is also involved in development and evaluation of new products and develops strategies to ensure clinical success.  

22. Lori Moilanen is a toxicologist in the 3M Medical Department. She is active in ISO TC 106 (Dentistry) and ISO TC 194 (Biological Evaluation of Medical Devices), and currently chair Joint Working Group 1 (Biological Evaluation) of the American Dental Association Standards Committee on Dental Products.

23. Bernhard Möginger is a Professor for Testing of Polymer based Parts and Materials, Faculty of Applied Natural Sciences at the Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg. His main research interests in the field of dentistry are the curing behaviour and curing kinetics of VLC resin based composites. Using Dielectric Analysis (DEA), microhardness and degree of conversion, he is examining the effects of light curing on short- and long-term mechanical properties of resins.

24. John O’Keefe holds the position of Director, Knowledge Networks with the Canadian Dental Association. He is responsible for the development of JCDA Oasis (www.jcdaoasis.ca), for the publication of the Journal of the Canadian Dental Association and of CDA Essentials magazine. He has been chair of the communications committee of the FDI World Dental Federation, and president of the American Association of Dental Editors.

25. Joe Oxman is a Corporate Scientist at 3M ESPE. He is an inventor and developer of many dental and non-dental materials.  His primary interests are photocurable systems, nanotechnology, hard tissue adhesives, resin modified glass ionomer materials, and strategies to reduce polymerization shrinkage/shrinkage stress.

26. Frank Pfefferkorn is Manager Scientific Service at R&D of DENTSPLY DeTrey in Konstanz, Germany. External in vitro research in the field of restorative dentistry is his main responsibility. Being a dentist, his main interest is to translate research results into improvements of daily dentistry.

27. Jeffrey Platt is an Associate Professor of Dental Materials and Director, Division of Dental Biomaterials at Indiana University School of Dentistry.  His primary research interests are in adhesive dentistry, polymer-based restorative materials, and early caries intervention.  He is the Editor of Operative Dentistry.

28. Richard Price is a Professor of Prosthodontics at Dalhousie University where he is cross-appointed with Biomedical Engineering. His main research interests include dental curing lights, light measurement, the physical and chemical properties of resin based composites, and knowledge translation.

29. Jean-François Roulet is a former Dean of the School of Dentistry, Free University of Berlin, former Chairman of Operative and Preventive Dentistry, Charite, Humboldt University Berlin, and former Chairman of the Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, University of Florida. His research interests are related to minimally invasive dentistry, composites and ceramics, adhesive dentistry, aesthetic dentistry. He is Editor of the Journal of Adhesive Dentistry, Oral Health & Preventive Dentistry.

30. Fred Rueggeberg is a Professor and Section Director of Dental Materials at Georgia Regents University. His research interests are wide spread, but he has a keen interest in all aspects related to the art and science of photocuring.

31. Janine Schweppe is Global Scientific Affairs Manager for Direct Restorations at Heraeus Kulzer in Hanau, Germany. She is responsible for in vitro and in vivo studies on adhesives, composites and light curing units globally and is internal dental advisor for R&D, marketing, and sales. She is also on faculty in the Department for Conservative Dentistry, at the University of Mainz, Germany.

32. Adrian Shortall is a reader in Restorative Dentistry at the University of Birmingham, UK.  His main research interests focus on dental curing lights, adhesive restorative materials, and clinical light delivery techniques.

33. Gopi Soundararajan is the Director of Global Product Development, R&D for KaVo Kerr group. He is responsible for developing Kerr’s restorative, prevention and hygiene portfolio. A biomedical engineer by background, he has spent more than 10 years in the medical device space at various capacities before transitioning into his current role at Kerr.

34. Howard Strassler is a Professor and Director of Operative Dentistry in the Department of Endodontics, Prosthodontics and Operative Dentistry at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry.  His research interests include light curing of resin composites, pulpal regeneration, and fiber reinforced composites. His current focus is information translation, using traditional print media and digital technologies, to enhance education for dental students and clinicians.

35. Jeffrey Stansbury is a Professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Craniofacial Biology at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine, where he is also the Senior Associate Dean for Research. He is jointly appointed in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. His research interests include polymer-based dental materials, bioengineering, and photopolymerization.

36. Byoung Suh is the founder and president of Bisco.  His research is focused on adhesives and resin composites, specifically the EOP (energy for optimum polymerization) requirements for adequate degree of conversion, and the relation between the light output and differing resin formulations.

37. Andreas Utterodt is R&D Manager for Dental Filling Materials at Heraeus Kulzer in Wehrhein, Germany. His main responsibility is the development of new composite and technological basic research projects. He is a representative member in the International Standard Organization (ISO, DIN / TC106-SC1).

38. Marcos Vargas is a Professor in the Department of Family Dentistry at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. He provides many continuing education courses to clinicians that focus on how to handle resins to maximize the final esthetic result. His research interests include adhesive dentistry, color, and resin-based composites.

39. David Watts is a Professor of Biomaterials Science at the University of Manchester and editor of Dental Materials. He engages in physical, chemical, and materials aspects of research into photo-cured composites, while trying to avoid re-inventing the wheel.

40. Stacy Wyatt is the Senior Global Product Manager of curing lights and the Demi brand at Kerr.  Originally an aerospace engineer, he has more than 15 years of experience in research and development for a global medical device manufacturer.  In 2010, Mr. Wyatt transitioned into the dental industry in a marketing role for Kerr, with a focus on upstream product development and the launch of the ultracapacitor-powered curing light: the Demi Ultra.