Oral tissues are exposed to optical radiation during e.g. dental treatments. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate if optically induced tissue changes occur.

Exposure to intense radiation sources in a dental clinic necessitates the use of eye protective filters to avoid blue-light photochemical retinal hazard.

The assessment of side effects of substances encountered in odontology by patients and the dental team must include the direct and indirect effects of irradiation emitted from polymerisation devices. The eyes of the lamp operators are at risk from acute and cumulative effects, mainly due to back-reflection of the blue light.

Resin based materials cured by blue light are used for the majority of dental restorations in the Nordic countries. There is little knowledge of the potential biological effects of the photosensitisation induced by resin based dental materials at the cellular level.