Dental Loupes Shopping Part 3: Important Characteristics To Consider
First of all, we would like to commend you for spending your time and effort in reading this four-part blog series as well as for being patient and for your interest in knowing the different critical things that can help you pick the right pair of loupes. The factors that will be discussed in this part, along with those that were mentioned in the previous parts, can greatly help you make the right decision.
Quick Recapitulation:
In the first two parts, we have tackled about the working distance, the angle of declination, field of view, depth of field, and weight of the dental loupes and how each of these factors can affect your process of selection. In this third part, we will be discussing the quality of optics and frame, interpupillary distance or pupillary distance, and the type and design of the dental magnification loupe.
Interpupillary Distance
The interpupillary distance or IPD, also commonly referred to as pupillary distance, is the measurement between the centers of the pupil of the two eyes. The interpupillary distance is an important factor not only in preparing prescription eyeglasses but also in customizing dental loupes. Each person has its own interpupillary distance. To make sure that the optical aid fits you well, let the manufacturer customize your loupes with respect to your IPD most especially if you choose the TTL or through the lens loupes.
Quality of Optics And Frame
The quality of optics of the magnification loupes is associated with the resolution. Spherical aberration or flatness of the image, low resolution, and chromatic aberration or color distortion are the most obvious signs of poor quality optics.
To check if the loupe is high quality or just a mediocre one, look for a clean plain white spot like a white paper and draw thin, straight, black lines. Look into the loupe and see how the line appears. If the loupe seems to display a blue haze on both or one of the sides of the black lines or if the lines appear to be a bit spherical or curved, then this suggests that it has poor quality optics.
As for the frame, if possible choose the one with provision mount for the dental headlight so that it would be easier for you to add illumination whenever needed.
Type And Design
The type and design of loupes will greatly depend on your own preference. Currently, the two basic types of loupes are the flip-up loupes and the through the lens or TTL loupes. Each of these loupes has its own pros and cons.
The flip up loupe has optical barrels that are attached to the carrier lens and frame through an adjustable hinge while TTL loupe has optical barrels that are directly drilled into the carrier lens. The TTL loupes are famous among dentists who put more priority on weight, comfort, and field of view over convenience and price. TTL loupes offer lesser weight, and wider field of view but they are a bit more expensive than the flip up loupes.
This ends the third part of this blog series. In the final part, we will discuss the remaining important factors such as the resolution, prescription lenses and magnification level.