Dental irradiation apparatus
AssigneeESPE Stiftung & Co. Produktions- und Vertriebs KG
InventorsWolf-Dietrich Herold, Karlfried Lucks
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Abstract
An irradiation apparatus for curing photopolymerizable dental fillings in situ comprises a lamp 10 for producing a convergent light beam with a convergence angle .alpha.E smaller than about 30.degree. with respect to the optical axis, and an optical wave guide 15 having an entrance surface 14 disposed in the light beam and an exit surface 16. The wave guide 15 is conical with a diameter decreasing from the entrance surface 14 to the exit surface 16 and has a refractive index of approximately .sqroot.2. At the exit surface 16, radiation of constant density and high intensity is produced within a substantially semi-spherical lobe, so that even such dental parts which are difficult to access can be irradiated and penetrated with high intensity radiation.
Claims11
A dental irradiation apparatus comprising
- a lamp for producing a convergent beam of radiation having an angle of convergence approximately 30.degree. or less with respect to the optical axis defined by said lamp, and
- an optical waveguide having an entrance surface disposed in said beam and an exit surface adapted to be oriented with respect to a location to be irradiated, the waveguide being conically shaped over a substantial part of its length with a diameter decreasing from said entrance surface to said exit surface.
The apparatus of clim 1, wherein the ratio of the diameter of the exit surface to that of the entrance surface of said waveguide is between about 0.5 and about 0.2.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.