Expert: Jeff Dalin DDS - 6/25/2006

Question
Could you please enlighten me a little more on magnification (loupes)?  What are these predominantly used for and what exactly are magnification (loupes)?
Many thanks,
Chris
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Followup To

Question -
What is the most important/significant dental breakthrough in the last 10 years?

Answer -
Chris
This is an impossible question to answer. In dentistry we are constantly having new breakthroughs. Cosmetic dentistry is huge. This came with the advent of high quality plastic restorative materials and bonding agents. DIgital radiography is wonderful. Lasers are making headway into our field. We are now using CAD-CAM technology to make inlays and crowns. I could not practice without magnification (loupes). We make wonderfully esthetic crowns and porcelain veneers. There is just so much!!! I can go on and on. I hope these are a start of the great things in my field. If you want me to expound on any of these or anything else, let me know.

Jeff Dalin, DDS

Answer
Loupes are magnifcation lens's on glasses. When we look at our patients' mouths, everything is then magnified. You can get these in 2 to 4 powered. When we look at a tooth, we can see things much better and in greater detail. These are made in exact depth of field for us at a perfect working focal distance. This means that sitting straight, I will see 1-3 teeth in perfect focus. There is nothing better than being able to see everything magnified. The quality of our work improves. I hope this helps you out. You can type in dental loupes in google and you will be led to many companies who sell these.

Jeff Dalin, DDS