Dental tools for photo-curing of dental fillings

A method of manually using a dental tool by a dental practitioner for photo-curing a dental tooth cavity having a dental tooth filling using a photo-curing composite as a dental tooth cavity filling material, said dental tool use comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a dental tool that includes a manual gripping member having a longitudinal axis, said gripping member including a first end portion and an opposing second end portion with said longitudinal axis spanning therebetween, said first end portion having a receiving void disposed therein, in addition a rigid smooth surface omnidirectionally transparent light transmitting tool tip extension in the form of a rigid cantilever beam extension, having a lengthwise axis, a portion of said cantilever beam extension is disposed completely within and rigidly permanently affixed to said receiving void forming a permanently affixed interface, leaving an exposed portion of said cantilever beam extension that is permanently affixedly integral with said gripping member, said rigid exposed portion of said cantilever beam extension to function as said transparent light transmitting tool tip, wherein said tool tip has a tensile strength of between two hundred seventy five MPa and four hundred MPa, wherein positionally said longitudinal axis and said lengthwise axis form an obtuse angle that is adjacent to said exposed portion of said cantilever beam extension, operationally allowing for omnidirectional forces creating loading on said exposed cantilever beam extension portion, said interface, and said gripping member in relation to said lengthwise axis from said exposed cantilever beam extension reacting to the forces of manually placing, forming, condensing, and shaping the composite filler material within a prepared tooth cavity;
• (b) providing a dental tooth cavity preparation tool;
• (c) providing a dental tooth cavity composite filling photo curing light apparatus;
• (d) preparing the dental tooth by the dental practitioner for cavity filling by removing any decay and selectively shaping the cavity within the dental tooth to receive the composite filler material via said cavity preparation tool;
• (e) applying the composite filler material that is in contact with said dental tool tip extension exposed portion via the dental practitioner manually grasping said manual gripping member, wherein the composite filler material is in a pliable non-hardened and non-cured state and the composite filler material is applied in a thin layer of about one millimeter in thickness by the dental practitioner manually depositing the pliable composite filler material into the prepared cavity in a selected configuration;
• (f) condensing the pliable composite filler material within the tooth cavity via the dental practitioner applying a selected force at said manual gripping member resulting in a force at said dental tool tip extension exposed portion that is in pressure contact with the pliable composite filler material to selectively shape, form, and tightly compact the pliable composite filler material as against the tooth cavity and to substantially remove voids within the pliable composite filler material with said selected force, wherein said force not being so excessive such as to cause uncontrolled flowing of the composite filler material in a free area that is not in contact with the prepared tooth cavity or said dental tool tip extension exposed portion for helping in prevention of voids in the composite filler material in the tooth cavity;
• and
• (g) continuing to apply said selected force by the dental practitioner at said manual gripping member that affixedly communicates to said dental tool tip extension exposed portion that is in pressure contact with the pliable composite filler material while simultaneously utilizing the photo curing light apparatus to direct a beam of light toward the pliable composite filler material wherein a portion of the beam of light is transmitted therethrough the dental tool tip extension exposed portion to enable the beam of light to contact the pliable composite filler material to change the composite filler material from the non-hardened state to the hardened state for a selected amount of time for light beam exposure, thus in effect curing and hardening the composite filler material, while simultaneously keeping said dental tool tip extension exposed portion in contact with and applying pressure upon the composite filler material in place throughout the curing process to minimize voids forming from shrinkage within the hardened composite filler material via compensating for curing composite filler material shrinkage by said applying pressure, to minimize said uncontrolled flowing from hardening, and to minimize sticking of the composite filler material to the dental tool tip extension exposed portion to reduce pull back of the composite filler material away from the tooth cavity thus reducing hardened composite filler material voids, and to maintain a desired configuration of the hardened composite filler material layer when said dental tool is removed by the dental practitioner from a patient's mouth, thereby resulting in the hardened and cured composite having minimal voids and the composite filler material in a desired fixed, hardened, and cured composite layer configuration within the tooth.