the light travels through the rigid light guide and exits the distal end at approximately the same angle as it entered more recently led light sources have been introduced where the emitter covered by a lens cap is placed in close proximity to the tooth an external reflector is used to focus the light to the target area in front of the light source most first generation led curing devices use flat proximal end tips made from fused glass see fig1 a metallic or metal coated plastic reflector is used to reflect light forward into the light guide see fig2 metal reflectors are typically 60 90 efficient compared to acrylic total internal reflection type reflectors which can be over 96 efficient one embodiment of the instant invention consists of five basic features the entrance area the reflector the lens the light pipe and the exit area in a one piece molded tip all five features are molded together see fig7 an alternate embodiment involves the use of a multi piece tip in this particular embodiment the pieces are the tir reflector the sleeve and the image conduit see fig8 the first piece the tir reflector comprises three features including the entrance area the reflector and the lens these features are molded into a single glass part in the preferred embodiment the geometry and function of these three features is the same as in the one piece version the second piece is a metal sleeve that is used to connect the tir reflector to the image conduit an adhesive may be used to secure in the connection the third piece the image conduit provides a means to transmit.