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DH & T

Fri. 20 April 2018

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‘I’d fall in if I got any closer’ – dental therapist Melanie Joyce on why she likes to get up close and personal

As a dental nurse, I always wanted to be as close to the patient as possible so I could get a good field of vision to ensure I was aspirating successfully for the patient, but also as I was very interested in the treatment being carried out (hence my desire to become a dental therapist). The dental therapist I worked with would joke that I’d fall in if I got any closer. Now, as a dental therapist, despite training on posture, etc, I feel just the same. I want to make sure I can really see everything in detail and would frequently feel myself naturally getting closer to the patient. I always felt I wanted more light, too – you can never have too much light to illuminate that mouth so I can see it in all its glory. Occasionally, since becoming a dental therapist, I have experienced problems with my back and so decided it was time to find something to aid my posture and vision.

Eyes right
At the British Dental Association conference, I browsed a variety of dental loupes with my employer; there were many companies offering loupes at a range of prices. I found a pair I liked, the Univet TTL Loupes Galilean – Techne with 2x magnification and arranged to have my eyes measured. I decided to just go for the loupes as my employer already had a spare light that was compatible with the loupes, which he kindly offered to loan me. Once I had had my eyes measured, I had a short wait in excitement until they arrived in a nice little box revealing my metal case, personalised with my name. I was so excited to try them. The first time I used them I had a headache, this may have been as I was not used to the magnification or maybe I was going to have a headache that day anyway, who knows, but from then on I didn’t have any further headaches when wearing them.

Benefits and uses
I have 20:20 vision already but find my vision is enhanced with the loupes and know that wearing the loupes will help protect them from fatigue. It is amazing the detail I can see with them, the fine calculus deposits, the ragged margins of inflamed gingivae and the margins of cavities. I fell in love with them instantly. I feel since using the loupes my posture has improved. Loupes are designed to only be in focus when you are in the correct working posture so I don’t feel myself getting closer and closer to my mirror when using indirect vision as I can see a magnified view without getting close, in fact get too close or try using them for direct vision of the uppers when you are too close and everything goes out of focus which is probably much less invasive to the patient and helps maintain that good working posture.

A right Charlie
They aren’t very good though for oral hygiene instruction as they can hinder communication and look slightly strange to patients especially children. I often joke I look like Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Jokes aside though, loupes are an amazing tool to aid your clinical practice. They enhance vision of your working field, could help improve your accuracy during restorations, help improve posture to maintain health, keeps a less invasive working distance between operator and patient, also owning and using loupes shows your patients that you want to carry out the best possible high standard of care for them and informing your patients that you have invested in such equipment could help them to see this. I recently realised that I cannot live without my loupes when I left them at one of my places of work and had to work at my other place of work for two days without them. I felt lost, I realised how reliant I had become on them, everything seemed so far away and I wondered how I ever managed without them. They really are worth investing in and, once you try them, you will never go back.