Dental Loupes

[winterbrinter4]

Hello! I am an incoming dental student this year and I have met with a couple of the representatives here in California for loupes. I do not know much about the magnification that is best for beginners though. The three brands that impressed me were Surgitel, Orsacoptics, and Q-optics. However, I do not know which one to go with because I feel like they were all great. Additionally, I demoed the 2.5x (Galilean), 3x (Galilean), 3.5x (prismatic expanded field), and they're all essentially great, I feel like I can see the full arch with each. However, I do not know which is best. I heard most people say they recommend the 2.5x to start then move up, while others say, go straight for the 3.5x. I also know most schools recommend the 2.5x to start. I would really appreciate your opinions.

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[FloppyToast]

All three companies are good. I personally went with q-optics as their frames are the lightest and thinnest. They've been great to deal with.

As for magnification, I initially went 3.5x prisms as thats what people recommend. It's similar to a 2.5x galilean in my opinion. I ended up moving up to a 4.0x a few months later. Sure you can see the whole arch with 3.5/2.5, but you don't really ever need to see the whole arch at once. 4.0 is the sweet spot in my opinion. Can still see over half the arch, but you also can make out more details when working on a single tooth.

I wouldn't buy any yet until you start operative. Most companies only give you a few months to exchange or return so it's better to get them right before you're going to be using them every lab session so you can really test them out.

 

[LeagueofLigTies]

My school started me off with 2.5x and I feel like it’s not powerful enough. I’m looking into upgrading to 3.5

 

[quasarzone]

Try and see if you can get a pair of loupes from Pentax. Lumadent sells similar loupes but Pentax and Hoya are pretty much top in the market when it comes to medical related optics. I tried loupes from Zeiss but it was way too heavy (tried both head band type and regular one) so I sold them on eBay. There is no representative in the US right now but try and see if you can get one from Asia.

 

[0Mik3cho]

Try and see if you can get a pair of loupes from Pentax. Lumadent sells similar loupes but Pentax and Hoya are pretty much top in the market when it comes to medical related optics. I tried loupes from Zeiss but it was way too heavy (tried both head band type and regular one) so I sold them on eBay. There is no representative in the US right now but try and see if you can get one from Asia.

Do you have Pentax loupes?

I’ve been doing some research into these ergonomic loupes. In no particular order...

• Lumadent: Good but optics are maybe not quite as good as traditional loupes according to some on Dental Nachos.
• Admetec: Andau Medical is their Canadian dealer who I’m chatting with. They said they can work remotely with US customers. I’m hoping to get more info on their warranty policy for US customers. One person on Dental Nachos had a favorable opinion which is why I’m looking into them.
• Mooptics: No North American dealers.
• Hero loupes: 30-day trial period is only for flip-up style loupes. But remounting of TTL is available as part of their warranty. Quality seemed a bit iffy from what I’m reading but they are also more affordable.
• Pentax: They are working to get their loupes approved for sale in the Americas but they anticipate it will take quite awhile to get that. Currently on their email list for that.

Hoping more companies like Surgitel get on board.

 

[PerioDont]

Do you have Pentax loupes?

I’ve been doing some research into these ergonomic loupes. In no particular order...

• Lumadent: Good but optics are maybe not quite as good as traditional loupes according to some on Dental Nachos.
• Admetec: Andau Medical is their Canadian dealer who I’m chatting with. They said they can work remotely with US customers. I’m hoping to get more info on their warranty policy for US customers. One person on Dental Nachos had a favorable opinion which is why I’m looking into them.
• Mooptics: No North American dealers.
• Hero loupes: 30-day trial period is only for flip-up style loupes. But remounting of TTL is available as part of their warranty. Quality seemed a bit iffy from what I’m reading but they are also more affordable.
• Pentax: They are working to get their loupes approved for sale in the Americas but they anticipate it will take quite awhile to get that. Currently on their email list for that.

Hoping more companies like Surgitel get on board.

ask to try out the Lumadent ergoprism. It really will give you a much better posture.

I wish I could get a pair of those, just a little pricey for me rn. I would probably just go straight to a 4.0x

 

[axiumgod]

Orascoptic eyezooms FTW.

Don’t get 2.5s, just get a higher mag from the get go. It’s really not difficult to learn to use loupes like people always say. Everyone I’ve talked to at my school who started out with 2.5-3x mag wishes they went higher.

 

[0Mik3cho]

ask to try out the Lumadent ergoprism. It really will give you a much better posture.

I wish I could get a pair of those, just a little pricey for me rn. I would probably just go straight to a 4.0x

One Ergoprism owner said that 5.0 on Lumadent was more like 3.5 on traditional loupes. So I’m guessing 4.0 is closer to 2.5. But man is the 5.0 pricey.

 

[Tus Ojitis]

One Ergoprism owner said that 5.0 on Lumadent was more like 3.5 on traditional loupes. So I’m guessing 4.0 is closer to 2.5. But man is the 5.0 pricey.

Is that conversion factor something other people have expirenced?

 

[Padthai]

Is that conversion factor something other people have experienced?

It's expected because your working distance is higher when using ergo loupe compare to traditional loupe since your face is further away from the patient mouth when you sit upright compare to bending down. I'm using Admetec 5.0x ergo prismatic and feel like it's comparable to 4.5x prismatic of other brands. Have been using it for a few months and loving it so far.

 

[Rambunctious]

Hello! I am an incoming dental student this year and I have met with a couple of the representatives here in California for loupes. I do not know much about the magnification that is best for beginners though. The three brands that impressed me were Surgitel, Orsacoptics, and Q-optics. However, I do not know which one to go with because I feel like they were all great. Additionally, I demoed the 2.5x (Galilean), 3x (Galilean), 3.5x (prismatic expanded field), and they're all essentially great, I feel like I can see the full arch with each. However, I do not know which is best. I heard most people say they recommend the 2.5x to start then move up, while others say, go straight for the 3.5x. I also know most schools recommend the 2.5x to start. I would really appreciate your opinions.

go straight to 5.5x! you won't regret it especially when you become a dentist

 

[RollingDDS]

I bought Q-Optics 4.5x prismatics a few months into D1 and I still love them. Q-optics let me do an extremely aggressive dec angle that forces good posture.

If I was in your shoes I would look at the Lumadent ergoprisms. A few of my D3 classmates just picked some up and they are rad. Love the way they feel and love the ergonomics they provide. The adjustable working distance is pretty sick, too.

 

[Mauricio45]

I currently have 5.5x Surgitel TTL loupes. I love em. I just ordered the 10x Surgitel FML loupes which just arrived yesterday. Surgitel just came out with the 10x this year. I look forward to trying them out.

Left is 10x and right is 5.5x.

 

[PerioDont]

I currently have 5.5x Surgitel TTL loupes. I love em. I just ordered the 10x Surgitel FML loupes which just arrived yesterday. Surgitel just came out with the 10x this year. I look forward to trying them out.

Left is 10x and right is 5.5x.

View attachment 343854

how heavy are the 10x on your nose?

 

[Mauricio45]

how heavy are the 10x on your nose?

It surprisingly doesn't feel too heavy at all when wearing them. Especially given that they're FML and not TTL. They gave me custom nose pads which probably makes a big difference. They do feel heavy though when holding them by hand.

This is my first time trying out FML configuration. I want a steep declination angle for better neck posture.

But I only tried it at home today for like 10 minutes. I will give it at try this week at work and then update this post. I believe the Surgitel 10x are the highest mag loupes on the market today.