About five years ago, at one of my orthodontic study club meetings, the topic was "Pearls." Each member was supposed to speak for 20 minutes on either a clinical pearl or a management pearl. One of the things I talked about was loupes. One of the members looked at me like I was crazy and said, "You wear those things in the office?" I explained to him that I wear them for everything I do except greeting new patients. I'm sure he thought I had gone around the bend. Interestingly, though, I was in his office two years later and he was wearing loupes.
Last Monday, our Waterville dentist lunch group met and the endodontist was asked about loupes versus an operating microscope. He said that he had microscopes in each operatory but usually his loupes were enough. One of the gp's mentioned that if his loupes were broken, he would just stay home until he had a new pair. Of course, he said, that was why he had two pair.
So the last time I was at Tufts, Doug asked if he could try my loupes on since the ones he had from school were had too narrow a field of vision. Mine are Oroscoptic 2.6 and he thought the field of vision was much better for orthodontic purposes than what he used in dental school.
As this was going on, a second year resident asked "Why do you wear those things?" Sound familiar? I explained that everything I do is easier with loupes. For instance, when I cement a band, I don't try hard to have it super tight. I want it finger tight and then I rely on the Unitek Multicure to keep it where I place it. I use How pliers and loupes to position it exactly. Believe me, looking at it through loupes is a whole different thing than looking at it with naked eyes.
A little while later, the same resident asked me for my help removing a rectangular AW. It seems that the resident could not pull the wire out on the right side. I looked and saw a very slight bend in the wire distal of the LR7 tube. The resident did not see this. As soon as I straightened the wire, it came right out.
If you have loupes, give them a try for orthodontics. You won't regret it. Remember anything that helps you work better and faster, means more profit.
