RESUMO
To evaluate the light intensity output of the composite curing units used in the dental institutions of Karachi. It was a cross sectional study in which a total of 29 halogen composite curing units were examined. The light intensity output was measured using Cure-Rite meter. A cut off of 300mW/cm was taken as adequate light output. ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis test were applied. Level of significance was kept at 0.05. The mean light output intensity was 345.2 mW/cm [SD 251.1 mW/cm]. Out of 18 units at undergraduate institutions, 11 had poor light output while 3 out of 11 at postgraduate institutions had poor light output. The condition of light cure unit's casing had a significant association with the light output [p-value of 0.011]. About half of the curing units at the dental institutions have poor light intensity output which may result in an inadequate quality of dental service. This is an alarming situation for the clinicians. As mishandling of the equipment is a leading cause of its poor performance, the external casing of the light cure unit can be taken as a proxy for its light output