What are those weird glasses my dentist wears?

Posted Aug 21, 2015

When you come to see us, you’ll notice that we are usually wearing glasses that have tubes sticking out of them.  The look like miniature microscopes.  In fact, that’s exactly what they are. They are called loupes and they are commonly worn by surgeons to enhance vision.  With these glasses, we have the ability to see in great detail. Teeth are really small. Trying to do exquisite work in the mouth on these tiny teeth is very difficult with normal vision. The following shows what teeth look like under various levels of magnification:

 

If your dentist is committed to doing great dentistry, then he most likely wears loupes of some sort when doing your crowns and fillings. Well done dentistry lasts longer and it can only be done if the doctor can see in great detail.

Also, wearing these loupes improves our posture so we don’t develop back and neck issues later in life. Not a direct benefit to you per se, but it is for us! (Photo source: Designs For Vision, Inc)