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The present work is the second part of a study on the stability and reproducibility of the energy and spectral emission of some light curing units (LCUs). In this part, Part II, LED LCUs were investigated. Results revealed that these devices presented high stability and reproducibility in terms of their spectral emission, with values of VAF (variance accounting for) coefficient calculated from the Cauchy - Schwarz inequality all close to 100%. With respect to energy stability, the LED LCUs presented energy stability except for the third-generation LED LCUs which have several LEDs. For these devices, the law of reciprocity was not fulfilled as irradiance was not constant over exposure time. This result should be taken into account both in works examining the polymerization kinetics of dental materials as well as when these LED LCUs are used in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study, divided into two parts, analyses the stability and reproducibility of the spectral and energy emission of the present light-curing units (LCUs), quartz tungsten halogen (QTH) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In part I. QTH LCUs were studied. The results showed that the QTH LCUs studied presented high stability and reproducibility in terms of their spectral emission with VAF (variance accounting for) values from the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, all close to 100%. With respect to the energy stability, the QTH LCUs studied can be considered stable under practical clinical conditions, although for some devices the initial irradiance value is critical. This result should be taken into account in those works which is researched in polymerization kinetics of dental materials as well as in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]