I had a very disconcerting afternoon. As I sat down to do a quadrant of posterior composites on my last patient I realized that the plastic lens in the eyeglass portion of my loupes was missing. The tiny screw that holds the frame together had come loose and the lens had fallen out. We looked and looked for the lens and were unable to find it, even though it had to be in the office. Now I was left with a decision, since my magnification is flip down I could still work, but risk something splashing into my eye. Realizing this was not a good idea I went to plan B. I have worn some form of magnification for many years, and as such I have 3 or more pairs of loupes in the cabinet in my office. I went to see what we could make work. My current loupes are EyeMag Pro by Carl Zeiss with 4.5 power magnification and a portable light pack. My previous loupes were a 3.2 power magnification, and I had a light but it requires a light box on the counter. I also have two older pairs of loupes in the 2+ power range and those are great for trimming provisionals, but out of the question for clinical procedures.
I pulled the old loupes out of the box and headed back to the operatory. The lesson I learned is how dependent I am on magnification and light. Just the small drop in magnification was dramatic and annoyed me during the entire procedure. The absence of the light was almost unworkable. At one point I began to wonder how I will get through the next few days until the replacement lens shows up. I am not sure how many times I reached up to fuss with the operatory light, in the vain hope it would provide my missing illumination.
As crazy as it may seem I am seriously considering working with the one lens missing and gambling something splashing in my eye versus using my old loupes for the few days until the replacement lens shows up. One thing I know for sure, I am purchasing a back up pair of loupes and light. The expense is a small insurance policy so I know I have the most necessary piece of equipment in my office.
4.5 X ….Wow! Must be like watching big screen TV with every tooth you restore. I’m stuck at 2.6X and I’m thinking I need to go up a magnification or two…I’m afraid of all the Stevie Wonder jokes that might start flying around the office if I switch loupes though…And the light is a must….we dont even have any overhead traditional dental lights anymore.
Jim,
I was a little reticent when I first went up in magnification, but one of the things that helped was getting a nice field of view so I didn’t feel like I had tunnel vision.
Lee
Hi Lee,
I’m considering my 4.3 TTL Orascoptic loupes my most precious part of my practice.I’m blind without my loupes.
Maybe you could fold some Saran wrap around the frame to act as a shield and work somehow through the other lens.Just a suggestion
Spiros
Sprios,
I hadn’t consider saran wrap, but I promise I have considered other options for “customizing” my loupes so I can continue to wear them for now.
Hi Lee, I have been using the orascoptic 4.3 ttl loupes and much like spiros I cannot practice without them for the last 6 years.
I must admit I do feel the need for magnification beyond 4.3 especially during prepping abutments
do you think that a microscope is the way to go? or not. please share your experience
thank you so much!
I am a huge supporter of using a microscope. As with everything there is a learning curve but it is well worth it. I practiced with a scope both at The Pankey Institute and Spear Education. I preferred to do the gross preparation with my loupes, and refine and polish with the microscope.