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The Process of Buying Dental Loupes

4/8/2019

 
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How do I buy dental loupes?


​There are several ways in which dental loupes can be purchased:

  • Online from a company that provides loupes directly via their website (eg Student Loupes Company)
  • Face-to-face, at a dental trade show, or loupes fair
  • Face-to-face, from a sales rep during a practice visit, a method used by traditional loupes companies


loupes trade fair stall
No matter which way the loupes are purchased, the process is always the same:

  1. A magnification is selected after discussing with the rep / online with the company
  2. A frame style and colour are selected based on your preferences
  3. Measurements are taken, including working and interpupillary distances
  4. Any details of an optical prescription are recorded
  5. A headlight can be added depending on the user's preferences

Depending on the type of loupes ordered and the manufacturer, they can take up to several months to be made according to the specifications provided.

How do I measure for dental loupes?


​The two most essential measurements that are required to make a set of loupes are the working distance and interpupillary distance.

The working distance is the distance between the user's eyes and the area they are working on. A simple tape measure is used to measure this distance.

The interpupillary distance is the distance between the two pupils of the user's eyes. This can be recorded face-to-face using a device called a Pupilometer​ (pictured) at a loupes fitting appointment. Alternatively, it can be calculated using modern digital photographic methods (this is the method we prefer to use, you can click here to learn more).
loupes measurement pupliometer

Where can I buy dental loupes?


​As discussed above, there are two main ways that loupes can be purchased:​​

  1. Online from a company that provides loupes directly via their website (eg Student Loupes Company)
  2. Face-to-face, from a sales rep at a dental trade show, or during a practice visit (a method used by traditional loupes companies)​

Cleaning your Loupes

4/8/2019

 
cleaning dental loupes logo

How to clean dental loupes?

Your loupes are precise optical instruments, and most have special anti-reflective coatings on the optics to enhance the experience. Cleaning and disinfection must therefore be conducted with proper care to ensure longevity of your loupes.  The following tips are recommended for cleaning loupes, although we recommend you follow the user guide from your own loupes manufacturer:

  1. Use a can of compressed air to remove gross debris and dirt
  2. To clean the optics, use only a lens cleaner with a microfibre cloth
  3. Gently clean the frame and glasses using a disinfectant wipe, and dry with a microfibre cloth  
surgical magnification loupes

​Avoid the following when cleaning loupes

  • Do not immerse the loupes in liquid
  • Do not use an autoclave, chemiclave, glutaraldehyde, iodophor or any other sterilisation method
  • Do not place the lenses against any sharp objects, and always use the case provided to protect them
  • Do not use cotton wool on the optics - it can scratch them

The Cost of Loupes

4/8/2019

 
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How much do dental loupes cost?

Dental loupes start from around £300 but can cost in excess of £3000. The large variety in pricing is due to differences in the types of loupes (flip up vs TTL), optical quality, and method of delivery (online vs face-to-face).

The cheapest type of loupes are flip up loupes. This is because these loupes do not need to be individually-made for the user. TTL loupes are generally more expensive because they are manufactured on an individual basis.

Why are dental loupes so expensive?

Dental loupes do not cost the thousands of pounds to manufacture that some companies may lead you to believe. Like any optical product, such as digital cameras, the individual component costs account for a fraction of the overall price.  
A major factor in cost is the method of delivery. Traditional loupes companies employ a large team of sales reps to visit individual practices, demonstrating their products and taking measurements. This is an expensive method of delivery - a sales rep will typically make at least £250 for the day. Given not all practice visits will result in a sale, the price of each pair of loupes has to increased to cover unsuccessful visits. This is in addition to the costs of maintaining offices, and paying transport expenses for the sales reps. 

​Online loupes companies, such as The Student Loupes Company, do not employ a sales force - instead using digital methods to obtain the necessary measurements. The loupes are then delivered directly to the user at a reduced cost.
dental loupes price comparison chart

Are dental loupes tax deductible expenses?

According to HMRC (Section 336), an expense can only be deductible if it is used wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties of the employment.  

Dental loupes are therefore a 100% tax deductible expense as they meet the requirements set out by HMRC. They are used wholly and exclusively for dental work, and are necessary for providing excellent patient care.  

​Dentists based overseas that purchase and collect their loupes whilst in the UK are able to claim the VAT back at UK Customs on leaving the country. 

Why Loupes? The Benefits of Dental Loupes

9/15/2018

 
why should i use loupes logo

Why should I use dental loupes?

Using a pair of loupes regardless of the field of work provides the dentist or surgeon with immediate benefits. By providing a magnified view of their patient, loupes improve the quality of clinical work and ensure more accurate diagnoses. They also enable the maintenance of a correct posture, ensuring comfortable working and reducing the chance of chronic back and neck pain.

There are five major benefits of using loupes on daily basis:

  1. Enhanced visual acuity
  2. Reduced chronic back and shoulder pain
  3. Reduced eye strain
  4. Reduced stress levels
  5. Improved treatment outcomes  

1. Enhanced Visual Acuity

Seeing an operating field at increased magnification enables more precise clinical work, improving outcomes. For example, root canal orifices are more easily identified, reducing the time spent during endodontic treatment.  Teeth receiving crowns are effortlessly prepared, resulting in better-fitting lab work, less stress and happier patients. From a dento-legal perspective, small carious lesions or fracture lines in prepared teeth that may be missed by the naked eye can be readily seen under magnification, reducing the risk of litigation.
different loupes magnifications compared

2. Reduced chronic back and shoulder pain

​Poor vision and insufficient lighting when performing dental treatment often results in poor operator posture. Dentists experience a greater amount of neck and back pain than any other profession - with around 70% reporting musculoskeletal pain.  Around a third of dentists retire early due to chronic back pain.

Investing in a good set of loupes, with a light, provides a magnified and illuminated view of the mouth. This eliminates the desire for a dentist to bend towards their patient in order to see what they are doing. Because the loupes are set to a predefined working distance, if the dentist is too close to the patient the image will blur, forcing the dentist back upright into an ergonomic position.  Longterm, this protects  both the health of the user and their ability to continue their career.
The prevalence of neck pain in dentists is around 70%
effect of dental loupes on posture, neck and back pain

3. Reduced eye strain

High levels of concentration can be tiring for the eyes, contributing to sore eyes and headaches at the end of the day. As already mentioned, due to an increase in magnification, critical details such as early carious lesions and small root canal orifices can be identified far more easily, areas which may otherwise be easily missed with the naked eye.

4. Reduced stress levels

By being able to see the tooth more clearly, the dentist can operate with reduced stress levels.

5. Improved treatment outcomes

Because the image is enlarged, a dentist can be more precise in the treatment performed. For example, teeth can be prepared for crowns with improved accuracy, as the dentist can see the exact location of the tip of the drill bur on the tooth.
​


REFERENCES
  1. Spear FM. One clinician’s journey through the use of magnification in dentistry. Advanced Esthetics and Interdisciplinary Dentistry. 2006; 2:30-32.
  2. Pîrvu C, Pătraşcu I, Pîrvu D, Ionescu C. The dentist’s operating posture – ergonomic aspects. Journal of Medicine and Life 2014;7(2):177-182.
  3. Lehto TU, Helenius HY, Alaranta HT. Musculo skeletal symptoms of dentists assessed by a multidisciplinary approach. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1991;19:38-44.

When should I buy dental loupes?

Evidence suggests that it is beneficial to start using dental loupes in training as a student to develop good postural habits. Using loupes early on in your career also enables you to see that you are performing clinical procedures correctly, and reduces the stress that can be felt when working on teeth that are hard to access.


REFERENCES
  1. Maillet JP, Millar AM, JM Burke, Maillet MA, Maillet WA, Neish NR. Effect of Magnification Loupes on Dental Hygiene Student Posture. Journal of Dental Education. 2008;72(1): 33-44

Are dental loupes worth it?

Yes! Dental loupes provide a dentist with a magnified view of their patient's mouth, improving the quality of clinical work and ensuring accurate diagnoses. They also enable the dentist to maintain a proper posture whilst treating their patient, reducing chronic back and shoulder pain. 

Our Solution


​Loupes are traditionally exceedingly expensive. Once we realised that they didn't have to be that way we set out to change the way loupes are done. We do this by removing the costs that traditional loupes companies need to cover, such as sales reps, expensive offices, and large trade-show budgets, and pass these savings on to you. The result? Lightweight, comfortable, great quality loupes at truly affordable prices.

Find out more about what we offer by clicking one of the links above, or by visiting our homepage.

Dermatoscopy: loupes for skin

3/4/2017

 
purederm dermatoscope for dermatology
Image Courtesy of OriginalOptics

About Dermatoscopes

The last two decades have seen a rise in the incidence of malignant melanoma. Due to a lack of effective treatment (especially at advanced stages), early identification is key. The accuracy of clinical diagnosis with the unaided eye is only around 60%. Dermatoscopy is a simple, easy-to-use in vivo method that allows early detection of such lesions. Using a dermatoscope, the diagnostic accuracy can be improved to over 90%.

Read More

A guide to dental loupes lights - all brands compared

3/26/2016

 
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​Purchasing a new LED headlight can be tricky, so we've put together an informative blog post to help you make the right decision.

Content:
  1. Advantages and disadvantages of using dental loupes lights
  2. Things to look for when buying lights
  3. The top brands compared
​

Advantages and Disadvantages


Read More

Official Loupes Suppliers for Teeside University

1/5/2016

 
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The Student Loupes Company is proud to announce that we are now the official dental loupes suppliers for the dental hygiene therapy course at Teeside University.

Being the most affordable dental loupes available, Teeside University was keen to collaborate with the Student Loupes Company to equip all of their final year students with the necessary equipment. The students are enjoying using their ClearView loupes and light, and have found that it aids them not only through improved vision but also their posture.


If your university would be interested in purchasing a significant number of loupes and lights, please get in touch for more information as we can offer bulk buy discounts.

How do dental loupes work?

10/3/2015

 
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What are dental loupes?

Loupes consist of a pair of magnifying optics attached to some type of glasses frame. Some loupes are flip-up, with the optics suspended on a mechanism in front of each lens of the glasses. The second type of loupes are known as TTL (through the lens), pictured, with the optics inset within the glasses themselves.

Loupes aid dentists, surgeons, hygienists, and therapists to not only achieve accurate diagnoses but also to enhance surgical precision when completing treatment. They do this by providing a magnified view of the operating field.
​

How do dental loupes work?

Loupes all rely upon one major physical principle: the refraction of light through a series of lenses.

Light Refraction and the Lens
​

A lens is a transparent object (typically made of plastic or glass) which exhibits at least one curved surface. Both materials offer similar optical qualities, although glass lenses tend to be heavier. Lenses are found everywhere: from cameras, to our own eyes, and of course dental loupes.

A lens results in a magnified view of an object by causing the refraction of light. Light can be considered a wave. When light hits the surface of a lens, this causes the waves to change direction (refract), and all the light waves will be converged (or focused) to a spot behind the lens. This spot is known as the focal spot:

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Official Sponsors of the KCL Smile Society!

9/25/2015

 
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The Student Loupes Company is privileged to have been give the opportunity to sponsor the King's College London Smile Society. It is a non-profit organisation that is run by dental students to improve knowledge of good dental health in the local community by volunteering in oral health workshops. We attended their training lecture to showcase our products to the students, who were all very impressed with the price and the quality of the loupes. We successfully sold out of our 2.5x magnification loupes, and are currently awaiting delivery of a new order.

We were joined by Connor Bryant from Bryant Dental, another sponsor of the society. Connor retails the Xenosys loupes range and is the largest supplier of the Lumadent LED light in the UK. You can check out his great selection of products by clicking here.

If you represent a Dental Society or other dentally-related non-profit organisation please get in touch for sponsorship information, as we may be interested in assisting you.

The Definitive Guide to Dental Loupes

6/4/2015

 
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Dental loupes. A minefield of different brands, types, and specifications - coupled with a lack of information available to determine the right loupes for you. It's no wonder that choosing a pair can be a daunting prospect for both students and dentists alike.

In the US, the majority of dental students use loupes - and the UK is slowly catching up.

This article has been written by dental students to give you an unbiased overview of dental loupes.
It has been divided into the following sections:

  1. Why you should consider dental loupes
  2. What types of loupes are available
  3. What to look for when buying loupes

Read More
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