Ensure Proper Fit

By Emily Ludwig, RDH, MSDH and Susan Lynn Tolle, BSDH, MS

Clinical practice often creates physical stress on oral health professionals whose work involves fine repetitive movements and prolonged static postures, increasing their risk for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).^1–3 Ergonomics has become an important topic, as MSDs threaten work productivity, income, career longevity, and overall health.¹ The use of dental loupes demonstrates great promise in enhancing quality of care and ergonomic wellness. An important goal of magnification is to decrease neck flexion and promote neutral body posture demonstrated by a clinician’s straight back and spine.^4–7 In dental hygiene practice, it is natural to tilt the head to get a closer view of extra- and intraoral structures, forcing the clinician into non-neutral head and neck postures. As such, better visual acuity through magnification may reduce eye strain and enhance assessment of hard and soft tissues. The use of loupes may make subtle tissue changes more discernable and improve visual evaluation of supragingival calculus, the gingival margin, caries, radiographs, periodontal probe readings, and clinical attachment levels, resulting in better diagnosis and care.^6,7

* References can be found in the original article via the link below.
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