North Texas Dentistry Special Issue 2020 NTD SP ISSUE 2020 DE | Page 28

technology
DENTISTRY WITH A BETTER
VIEW
Advanced optical technology offers
benefits for patient care and your health
by Tina Cauller
To treat anything inside the mouth you must be able to see it, so
loupes are widely used to magnify and light the treatment area.
Loupes improve clarity, focus, and visibility so the clinician can identify
conditions and detect disease earlier and have better procedural
outcomes. While loupes certainly enhance performance in favor of
patient care, they also improve the clinician’s comfort and health by
decreasing eye strain and overall stress on the body.
The unnatural posture that results when a clinician leans toward the
patient or twists to get into a better viewing position can eventually
lead to back, neck and shoulder damage. Clinicians who wear loupes
tend to have less eye strain as well as a more upright posture, which
creates less musculoskeletal stress.
Advances in technology and design have enabled manufacturers to
create custom fabricated loupes that support patient care and provide
a better experience for the clinician.
Ergonomic design
Loupe manufacturers are combining advanced materials and ergonomic
design to make loupes that are lighter and more comfortable
than ever before. Prism (Q-Optics ) loupes feature a unibody housing
made of machined titanium
which allows lenses and prisms
to be aligned and affixed in a
unique optical cage. Carbon
fiber shrouds dramatically reduce
the weight of these loupes
and provide nose relief for the steepest ergonomic angles. The product
of thoughtful engineering and design, loupes like these are far
more comfortable and durable than their predecessors.
Custom fit
Loupes should fit securely and comfortably, and a poor fit can cause
loupes to slide down your nose or rest on your cheeks, which can result
in misalignment of the optics. Clinicians with a lower nose bridge
and prominent cheekbones might appreciate comfortable, secure fit
afforded by Orascoptic’s Tempo™ Refined Fit, a loupes frame specially
engineered with the ideal frame height to provide optimal comfort
and the optimal angle of pantoscopic tilt to alleviate the
discomfort caused by frames resting directly on the cheekbones.
Color accuracy
Accurate color rendering is another important
feature, particularly when identifying
tissue colors and matching natural shades.
Advances like Orascoptic’s TruColor technology
enable headlight systems to render
colors as close as possible to natural sunlight,
providing a higher level of color accuracy.
Multiple magnification levels
While it is ideal to have a range of magnifications available to suit
different tasks, loupes are a significant investment and having multiple
loupes can be cost-prohibitive.
Orascoptic’s EyeZoom (top photo) is an adjustable magnification
loupe that offers three magnification levels (3x, 4x, and 5x) for optimal
clarity and resolution. The magnification level can be easily and
quickly adjusted during a procedure according to the clinician’s individual
needs and preferences.
One dentist, who used EyeZoom for a crown prep on number 19,
reviewed his experience: “I kept the magnification at 3x for the bulk
part of the reduction. As soon as the prep was roughed out, I adjusted
up to 4x for packing the cord. After the cord was packed, I popped
up to 5x to refine the margin. No change in posture was needed at
the increased magnification. After refining the margins, I went back
to the 3x magnification level to evaluate the total prep.”
With the wide array of sophisticated options and features available,
it is wise to do some research before your purchase. Choosing the
right loupes for your practice can make an enormous difference in
your comfort and performance, and should be viewed as an investment
in your health and in the quality of care you provide.
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