How Hygienists Can Benefit From Using Dental Loupes
You might have heard a lot about dental loupes and how it can help dentists. But, do you know that optical loupes are not only intended for dentists and surgeons? Even hygienist like you can also benefit from using a pair of dental loupes. In fact, because of the benefits they provide, more than 80% of hygienists all throughout the United States are now using optical loupes. Below are some of the key benefits that you can get out of using hygienist loupes.
Career Longevity
Health problem is one of the common issues hygienists face nowadays. Because you need to lean closer to your patient in order to have better access to your work area and to hold such position for extended periods of time, it is normal for you to feel pain in your back, neck, and shoulder. You work as a hygienist also entails focusing on a small object. This can mean a lot of work for your eyes which can lead to eye problems like eye strain. If left untreated, such health issues can lead chronic pain.
Working with a pair of properly fitted dental loupes for hygienist will help you avoid occupational health problems such as chronic headache, neck fatigue, backache, shoulder stress, neck pain, and eye strain. The loupes will magnify your field of view allowing you to see your patient's mouth from a distance or within a specific working distance while maintaining a healthy posture.
Improved Productivity
Being able to clearly see the area you are working on helps you process information faster and more accurately than just relying on your naked eyes wherein you still have to spend more time in checking and re-checking in order to make sure that your diagnosis is correct. Using dental loupes literally means less work and higher productivity.
Better Patient Care
There are things that are too small for your naked eyes to see. This is also true with small mouth problems. Not to mention, the teeth alone are small. While larger calculus, fractures, cavities and other tooth problems are visible to the eye, the tiny ones are often missed when viewed only with the naked eye.
With proper magnification, you can be able to see even the slightest problems in the teeth. Dental magnification loupes can help you provide better patient care by enlarging the image of your work field which aids in reducing risks of misdiagnosis. If you are able to come up with an accurate diagnosis, you can be able to develop and carry out the most appropriate treatment plan.
The accuracy of your diagnosis, however, will depend on the type and quality of optical loupes you use. The higher the magnification power, the larger the image of your work area will be and the more easily it would be for you to identify almost hidden dental issues.
While you can use hygienist loupes for every procedure you will perform, each loupe has its own specific purpose. If you need an optical aid for daily practice and for typical dental works, a loupe with 2.5x to 3.0x is enough. However, if the procedure you will carry out requires more precision and accuracy, opt for the one with higher magnification power.