WHY ARE YOUR EYES SO BIG, DOC?
By Michael W. Herndon DDS
Well, that is because of magnification! A jeweler wears loupes in order to see the detail of the artistic work he/she is doing. If you buy a ring you would want it to be as detailed and accurate as possible, right? The jeweler knows that and supports the client by attention to detail with magnification because the naked eye and reading glasses are simply not enough to ensure such accuracy. The jeweler cares enough about his work and artistry and about the client he sells his rings to that he always wears magnification during the production process.
If you think about it for a moment, you easily see then how important magnification is during dental procedures. For example, imagine the difference between seeing a tooth that is ¼ of an inch wide versus seeing the same tooth that is an inch wide. The quality of detail is so much greater with magnification that any debate is instantly over.
Just like the jeweler, the dentist wears magnification because he/she cares about the artistic quality and accuracy of their work, on behalf of the patient, and the patient gets a superior product in the process like the jeweler’s client gets. Dentists that wear magnification for all procedures including examinations demonstrate by default that they truly care about their work on your teeth. These pieces of equipment for magnification are not cheap but just like the dental chair they are fundamental to excellent quality care. It would pretty hard to do a good job with a flashlight and a kitchen chair!
When dentists wear magnification during examination and treatment it is because they really do care about you. Of course it does make their eyes look big.
