tips and tricks

What will magnification do for me? We can benefit from visual magnification for a number of reasons. These can be boiled down to two main reasons: Ergonomics and quality control. Wearing loupes or using an operating microscope allows us to see our work with good detail from a distance that non magnified vision would find difficult. Loupes also have a defined focal area and this forces us to sit upright to create enough distance between our eyes and the subject to bring things into focus. It causes less strain on our eyes to scan for finer details. Loupes allow us to see detail that is far beyond the capacity of our eyes to see unaided. There is no way that we can focus on the apex of a tooth through a root canal access without some heavy duty magnification and therefore finer procedures are opened up to us that were not available before magnification. Hand in hand with magnification is illumination. A headlight is a very useful tool as it brings a bright, even light into the oral c...

As dentists and health professionals our assets are our minds and body. If either one starts to decline then our work with suffer as a result. The foundations of health involve a good diet, ideal sleep, sufficient exercise and good stress management. If we take care of our bodies well then our minds will benefit as a result. Our eyes are probably our most important yet most fragile asset. Once we have a decline in eye performance our ability to perform fine motor tasks goes out the window. Here are some tips to take care of your eyes: -Have regular eye checks: Most people should have their eyes checked every 2 years so that degenerative conditions and decline in vision can be caught and addressed early. -Wearing the right prescription lenses: On the advice of your optometrist you should wear the correct prescription of lenses because although the change in vision may be imperceptible to you, over days of working your eyes will fatigue faster with the incorrect prescription and you w...

In a working environment that puts high importance on personal protection equipment, we often forget about the protection that our ears need. High speed suction and handpieces can produce sounds over 85dB and up to 100dB which is within the range to produce damage to the delicate auditory sensory organs. This damage is preventable but irreversible. Therefore it is prudent that we tackle this problem early on in one's career very similar to poor posture. I use earplugs from the brand Earasers but you can see an audiologist to make custom in ear plugs that will dampen but not completely remove the noise of the dental operatory. I find that with these ear plugs my ears don't ring at the end of the day as they would without them however without regular hearing tests I would not know if this is making a noticeable difference. Signs of damaged hearing include tinnitus, sound distortion, difficulty interpreting complex sounds especially higher tones and the enunciation of S, Z and...