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I'm currently a first year in dental school and will need to buy loupes within the next year. We had a loupes fair back in September but it was quite overwhelming and I ended up deciding that I wanted to do more research before buying. I had some questions but couldn't find the answers elsewhere, so I was wondering if anyone here could shed some insight.
1. Are flip-ups significantly worse than through the lens? They are generally cheaper, but most, if not all, of the loupes companies at the fair had their TTL models on display. I've heard both pros/cons about flip ups (Can change working angles for different procedures, etc. but they're also heavier and have less field of view), so I'm not sure if TTL models are worth shelling out more money for if their benefits are not significantly better.
2. Are expanded field/Prismatic lenses worth it? They would cost significantly more than the Galilean ones, but they also offer an increased field of view. How important would the increased field of view be?
3. How do you decide which dental headlights are good? I heard Lumadent offers good ones, but is that because of their light intensity/weight/battery life? If so, would it be possible to find cheaper alternatives with similar specs then?
4. From reading other forums/pages, it seems like 3.5x is the sweet spot for magnification. Would you agree with this? 2.5x I heard is too low to make a huge difference.
5. Should I expect to purchase a new pair of loupes after I graduate? I heard that students often end up buying another pair of loupes because by then, after working in clinic, they realize what qualities or magnification they prefer in their loupes.
6. I wear glasses and loupes usually come with the option of an RX insert. However, would it be wiser to wear contacts instead and have a pair of loupes without an RX insert? Interested in hearing what people who wear glasses/contacts have to say.
Thanks for the help!
1. Are flip-ups significantly worse than through the lens? They are generally cheaper, but most, if not all, of the loupes companies at the fair had their TTL models on display. I've heard both pros/cons about flip ups (Can change working angles for different procedures, etc. but they're also heavier and have less field of view), so I'm not sure if TTL models are worth shelling out more money for if their benefits are not significantly better.
2. Are expanded field/Prismatic lenses worth it? They would cost significantly more than the Galilean ones, but they also offer an increased field of view. How important would the increased field of view be?
3. How do you decide which dental headlights are good? I heard Lumadent offers good ones, but is that because of their light intensity/weight/battery life? If so, would it be possible to find cheaper alternatives with similar specs then?
4. From reading other forums/pages, it seems like 3.5x is the sweet spot for magnification. Would you agree with this? 2.5x I heard is too low to make a huge difference.
5. Should I expect to purchase a new pair of loupes after I graduate? I heard that students often end up buying another pair of loupes because by then, after working in clinic, they realize what qualities or magnification they prefer in their loupes.
6. I wear glasses and loupes usually come with the option of an RX insert. However, would it be wiser to wear contacts instead and have a pair of loupes without an RX insert? Interested in hearing what people who wear glasses/contacts have to say.
Thanks for the help!
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