Working inside a dental treatment room that does not have enough illumination can limit or greatly affect your visual acuity. As a dentist, you typically need to perform thorough evaluation and inspection not only of the 32 teeth but also of the surrounding gums and supporting structures. Without proper illumination, it would be more difficult for you to see each and every corner of the oral cavity in crisp details which can lead to compromised treatment results, poor clinical performance, less than optimal dental care services, lower patient satisfaction, and even frustration and fatigue.

Using a lighting system that offers the right amount, consistency, and quality of illumination has been proven to help reduce clinical errors and misdiagnosis. The right lighting system also helps enhance productivity and work performance. It can likewise help you deliver a higher quality dental care and avoid eyestrain and other occupational or work-related illnesses.

There may be a lot of ways to enhance visual acuity but the best technique so far that you can do is to improve illumination. Here are some handy tips you can follow to enhance the lighting system inside your dental treatment room.

-> Use the right illumination system.

-> Clean and remove the smudges and dust on the lens of the overhead lamp using a nonabrasive cleaner and soft cloth.

-> Remove unnecessary equipment from the dental treatment room to make the room look more spacious.

-> Paint the room with light color, preferably white. 

-> Replace old, scratched, and worn out overhead light covers, mouth mirrors, and shields.

Which illumination system should you use?

Illumination can be supplied by different devices, tools, and equipment. You can either use an overhead lamp, LED dental headlights, or operating light. Each of these devices has its own pros and cons.

The operating light, also known as surgical light, is the one that you can typically see inside an operating room. A single light system is composed of a couple of bulbs.

The overhead lamp, on the other end, can be a single lamp attached to a pole or stand. Those that are attached to a stand-alone pole can easily be moved from one place to another. It is more compact than the surgical light and it likewise consumes lesser electricity.

Although these two types of light sources can provide the quality of light you need when performing various dental procedures, they are sometimes not enough. One major drawback of these two light sources is that both of them cast a shadow which can interefe your concentration and can be really inconvenient most of the time.

Another source of light that is becoming popular nowadays is the auxiliary dental headlight. This type of light system is usually attached to dental loupes. It can also be worn by wrapping its strap around your head. Dental headlights provide a high-quality hands-free and shadow-free illumination for your dental needs. Unlike the first two light systems, the dental headlight is a lot more lightweight, portable, energy efficient, and convenient to use.