Editor's note: This blog was written by Ultradent President & CEO Dirk Jeffs as part of the From the Desk of Dirk Jeffs series. I still remember my first real watch. By today’s standards, it wasn’t super luxurious, but I knew my parents sacrificed to give it to me for my high school graduation, and it meant a lot. A couple of years later, it was stolen while I was travelling, and honestly, it felt like a piece of me went with it. Not only did I admire its craftsmanship and sentimental value, but I also treasured what it symbolized: the value of time.

As curing light technology improves, dentists are consistently sold on irradiance (mw per cm2) as being the defining factor in beam effectiveness. While there is no doubt irradiance adds value, it does not tell the full story of how well a light will cure various materials. Irradiance tests typically only show the irradiance of a very small portion of the light. Measuring the power distributed over the entire beam tells a more comprehensive story of its curing capabilities.