Can I be a dentist without stereo vision?

[aggie-master]

My doctor told me that I only look out one eye at a time when looking in a distance and that I have monocular vision and not binocular vision.

I've found several websites that with stuff similar to this:

If You've Got Stereo Vision, Count Your Blessings!
According to the web site of the American Academy of Opthalmology, September, 1996: "many occupations are not open to people who have good vision in one eye only [that means people without stereo vision]"

Here are a few examples of occupations that depend heavily on stereo vision:

Baseball player
Waitress
Driver
Architect
Surgeon
Dentist

I've got 20/20 vision with corrective lenses in both eyes and I use both of them, but my doctor said I don't use them together to form 3D images.

He did say that my eyes work together at closer distances so I'm not sure what exactly he meant by that.

I'm planning on going to a specialist to get a better evaluation of my vision and to possibly start Vision Therapy to correct it, but if Vision Therapy fails, should I look into another profession?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[aggie-master]

If you don't know anything about stereo vision, do you think you'd be able to work on patients if you had to have one eye closed at all times?

 

[DDSSlave]

You're asking a question that probably nobody has experience with. I wouldn't say it's impossible, but it sounds difficult. How bad is it? Can you drive? place baseball? Can you thread a needle down at your waist? You might consider doing a summer dental program where you can practice waxing and drilling on teeth. UT-H has one. That might give you a better idea.

 

[aggie-master]

You're asking a question that probably nobody has experience with. I wouldn't say it's impossible, but it sounds difficult. How bad is it? Can you drive? place baseball? Can you thread a needle down at your waist? You might consider doing a summer dental program where you can practice waxing and drilling on teeth. UT-H has one. That might give you a better idea.

I'll try to thread a needle down at my waist tonight.

I drive great... at least I think so.

I stink at baseball. I can tear it up at the batting cages now, but I was definitely a sub par player in little league.

I'm going to ask the eye specialist about me going into dentistry, but my appointment won't be for more than two weeks and I want to see what my chances are like now.

Even though the doctor told me that I don't use both eyes together for stereovision, I do see out of both of them at the same time because my field of vision is reduced if I close either eye.

Basically, I never knew there was something wrong with my vision until the doctor told me that there was. Now I'm wondering if I've found some way to compensate for it or if it's enough to keep me out of dentistry.

 

[aggie-master]

Can you thread a needle down at your waist?

Yes, but it took almost a minute. I didn't get the thread in on my first try.

 

[DDSSlave]

Yes, but it took almost a minute. I didn't get the thread in on my first try.

Probably not any longer than normal. The point is you seem to be able to bring two small instruments together without being a centimeter away.

 

[drat]

If you don't know anything about stereo vision, do you think you'd be able to work on patients if you had to have one eye closed at all times?

This is actually a very interesting question. I'm a chemist and just found out my lab-mate is blind in one eye. He has been blind since birth (a membrane didn't form properly, he said, but his eye looks normal until you look at it up close and it lacks a pupil (he has dark brown eyes to begin with)). Anyway, he told me he was blind in one eye only after I kidded him for missing his flask when he was pouring something (Yeah, I felt bad afterwards ). He has his PhD so he's been in the lab for years and years, but clearly he hasn't overcome this challenge. He said his depth perception is terrible and he "misses" his flasks on a daily basis; we're talking like 10 cm holes...not millimeters. That is just his experience...but like I said, he is totally blind in one eye -- he couldn't use it if he wanted to.

Sorry for the pessimistic story, but don't write off your dental dream until you've talked to a specialist. Good luck.