perhaps i'm wrong, and someone please correct me if you feel that i am, i wouldn't want any dentist or medical practitioner examining me w/a bright LED light source.
now, inside my mouth is one thing, and that sounds like an excellent idea - light everything inside my buccal cavity.
however, illuminating me w/such bright light fr/the outside i would NOT appreciate much.
am i to keep my eyes closed the entire time? do i get to wear one of those blind folds that some people who work 3rd shift and sleep during the day often wear while sleeping? that would satisfy me, perhaps?
i've read that the energy fr/even a single white 5mm LED light at close range is sufficient to cause permanent retinal scarring if exposed for a sufficient period of time. what that period of time is, i don't have the slightest idea. does anyone else know if this is true? i'd like to see more authoritative sources for (or against) what i've read.
having been influenced by my reading, i've mentioned this "fact" [pseudo-factoid perhaps???] to my Vet and gave her a couple of much dimmer 3V incandescent lights for examing my dogs (and others' animals) eyes. why she doesn't use a standard medical light source, like my wife uses, i don't know.
now, admittedly, an eye exam, however brief, is a quite different than examining the inside of one's mouth.
however, anyone who have had their eyes flashed, however, briefly, at close range by a newer 5mm white LED knows firsthand the affect it temporarily has on one's vision.
it is thought that general exposure to UV wavelength light fr/the sun is one cause of cataracts later on in life. so, regarding any UV wavelength that is produced by the LED, will it also have any effect on cataract development later on in life?
personally, in our litigious society, unless there is ample scientific evidence from a carefully controlled study or two, with no dissenting studies, i naively wouldn't recommend that a dentist use an LED light except one that is placed inside the mouth. best check w/one's attorney on this point.
my two shekels.