When it comes to the dental industry, loupes are considered to be the most useful innovation. Earlier, clinicians and dentists faced a lot of issues related to neck pain, body aches, fatigue, eye problems, and others. This ultimately impacted the career of every dentist and reduced their career span. This is when the dental loupes came in and saved every dentist and clinician.
A majority of them adopted the use of dental loupes to enhance their level of treatments and also increase their career longevity. Every dental hygienist would agree with the fact that it is not possible to perform treatments and maintain an optimal posture at the same time. There are plenty of factors affecting a dental hygienist’s posture.
Some of the most common factors that impact the posture are habits, patient’s chair and hygienist’s chair alignment, supporting instrumentation, operator stool, and any other equipment required for performing the treatment. One device that can completely impact the posture of a dental hygienist is a dental loupe or any such device for magnification.
Why Are Dental Loupes Necessary?
Dental hygienists need to work with a pretty small area of the oral cavity. They need to have a look at minute details in the teeth. For this purpose, they need proper magnification and also appropriate lighting. It is not possible to perform a dental treatment without appropriate magnification because the field of view is pretty small. For treating a patient, the hygienist needs to find out about the problem and that requires proper analysis.
Dental Loupes come in handy during such scenarios. Magnification systems are very big and difficult to handle. On the other hand, dental loupes are pretty simple and just lying in front of your eyes. They make the treatment process very easy because you get a magnified result of the field of view and accurately find the problem.
If you have to look at something pretty small for a long time, then your eyes will face some problems at a certain point in time. There are high chances of eye problems because you have to adjust your eyes a lot of times for viewing minute details. Dental loupes make it easy to view small details in the patient’s mouth without putting any stress on your eyes.
Things To Consider For Purchasing Dental Loupes
There are different types of loupes available in the market. If you are looking for the best dental loupes, then you should do some research, and then select the one for you.
The first one is the Through-the-lens (TTL) loupes that have an embedded scope in the lenses for offering a higher width of the field. These loupes need a pretty accurate measurement of the scope’s declination angle, pupillary distance, focal distance, and also a proper neck position to work effectively. If you are thorough with all the details, then you should consider purchasing these loupes.
Another one is the flip-up loupes that have been mounted on the frames. The user can easily move them out of the way while talking with the patient or whenever they are not in use. You can even adjust these loupes for the angle of declination and pupillary distance. Earlier, flip-up loupes were very heavy and bulky and this was the reason why hygienists did not prefer this type. Now, these loupes have been made very comfortable and lightweight for easy usage of the hygienists.
Other than the types of loupes, there are several other things to keep in mind for purchasing a perfect loupe. Some of the crucial factors to consider before purchasing a dental loupe are the frame, safety features like eye protection, and also the accessories like headlights.
A headlight embedded in a dental loupe turns out to be pretty beneficial for the hygienist. The hygienist does not have to keep on adjusting the overhead light while treatment and also achieve enhanced visibility for treating the patient. Several loupe manufacturers have battery-operated headlights that have been fastened to the frame of the loupes. A headlight is the most basic accessory that should be present on every dental loupe for getting better results.
Another innovative accessory is a mini camera mounted on the loupes. A mini camera mounted on the loupe is useful for recording the treatment because everything that the hygienist sees is captured in the camera. It can be used for further studying and understanding the procedure or even showing it to the patient.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to loupes, there are plenty of innovations available in the market. It is necessary to go with a customized dental loupe as per your requirements. This will increase the efficiency of your treatments and also enhance your career longevity. Now, you won’t have to worry too much about common issues like fatigue, eye problems, body aches, and such issues. With the explanation seen above, we can conclude that loupes are the key to good posture in dentistry.