PART TWO: Finding the right loupes – third time lucky

Worth the wait

In my third (and final) attempt to find the right supplier and manufacturer I eventually struck gold! I got in touch with Evident and explained to them my extremely sorry situation – and I’m so glad that I did. They were very sympathetic and I immediately arranged a meeting with their loupe and light specialist Lisa Caley to see how they could help to sort my problems out.

Lisa came to visit me at the practice and in my working environment to assess my situation, and took all the time necessary to ensure the correct measurements were taken for a new pair of loupes. I knew my loupes experience with Evident was going to be completely different to previous, as they reassuringly kept me updated at every stage of the purchase. And for clinicians like me, who are fussy about their vision and need prescription lenses, it is very reassuring to have an expert loupes consultant who you can really rely on.

This time around I’d decided to increase the magnification and settled on a pair of ExamVision 4.6x Kepler loupes, which was quite a step up in magnification for me. It did take a little while to get used to the longer working distance and higher magnification, but Lisa was a great help in making any necessary adjustments and reassuring me that everything would function perfectly. This professionalism only comes with experience and it was obvious that the team at Evident really knew what they were doing. It was especially useful to learn that unlike other loupe companies, they have a full-time optician in the team to advise on all optical issues, as well as an in-house service centre.

No longer a pain in the back

Working with my previous loupes I found I was having some issues with my back. We quickly discovered that my working distance (the distance from my eyes to the patient’s mouth) had been measured incorrectly and this was affecting my overall working posture. Now I have loupes that have been correctly measured by a trained and experienced consultant, my working posture has greatly improved and consequently, I’ve experienced no back problems – I don’t think you can put a price on that. Dentistry is my livelihood and I want to carry on working for many more years so the correct working posture is paramount.

Light at the end of the tunnel

In dentistry you can never have enough light – my handpieces have LED lights and I have a good overhead light so why would I need any more light? The truth is, the more light you have, the better you can see and the better you can perform your dentistry. Along with my loupes I have chosen to use a Focus 6000K Xtend LED loupe-mounted light. This offers me three different modes of light intensity depending on the area of the mouth I am working in. It is vital to have a good loupes-mounted light and what I appreciate is the long battery life so I can work all day without worrying about having to recharge it.

Style is also very important to me and the frames of my ExamVision loupes not only look good, they are lightweight and comfortable. They even come with a stylish silver carrying case complete with my name engraved on the front which means I can safely carry my loupes to wherever I need them.

Dentistry can be a very demanding profession, especially when you are running two busy dental practices with your wife whilst at the same time finding the time to raise three young children. I use loupes for almost all my dental treatments now and I believe you have to use them to be able to do dentistry to the best of your ability.

Once you start using loupes you’ll never go back and you will want to use them all the time. I would certainly recommend Evident to any of my colleagues who are considering either changing their loupes or using loupes for the first time. Having been through some very negative experiences in trying to find the right loupes, this is third time lucky for me, I’m so grateful to everyone at Evident and to Lisa in particular. It has all been well worth the wait!

To read part one of my loupes journey, click here.

To find out how you can improve your wellbeing with loupes, click here and we’ll be in touch with our recommended solutions.

Visit www.examvision.co.uk or contact Evident on Freephone 0808 1000 888.

Dr Rajan Sharma BDS MFDS RCS Eng is Principal Dentist at Evergreen Dental Centre and Castle Hill Clinic in Reading, Berkshire.