Manufacturers of dental eyewear provide product information to assist the clinician’s selection.
Designs for Vision
Features: The company said of the BDR Loupes, “Superior depth, resolution, and field size. Unmatched light transmission eliminating chromatic and spherical aberrations.” The company said of the Dental Telescopes, “Superior depth, resolution, and field size. Custom working distances, and custom angle of declination.”
Lighting accessories: Fiber optic illumination.
Frame colors: The Dental Telescopes frames are available in chocolate, rose, blue, gold, black, and tortoise shell. The BDR Loupes are available in chocolate brown, rose, blue, and gold.
Contact info: www.designsforvision.com, (800) 345-4009
Orascoptic
Asepsis: Soap and water, waterproof alcohol, Lysol, Cavicide wipe down. Details available upon request.
Styles: The three brands offer a variety of flip-up and through-the-lens styles.
Eyewear prescriptions: All loupes come with corrective lenses installed.
Magnification strengths: Classes II, III L, IV L, III H, IV H.
Weight: Brands range in size from 1.7 ounces to 2.2 ounces.
Features: The company said of its products, “Resolution - clarity of optics. Wide fields - view of entire oral cavity. Great depth of field - entire depth of oral cavity.”
Upgrades: Zeon Illuminator or Zeon Lumen Arc, miniature high intensity fiber optics.
Frame colors: Slate, black, wine, blue, gold, silver.
Contact info: www.orascoptic.com, (800) 369-3698
Palmero
Manufacturer: Palmero Health Care.
Location: Stratford, Connecticut.
Brand names: Kool-Daddy, Standard, Tech-Specs, Cool-Wrap.
Price range: $15 to $20.
On-site visit: No limitations.
Asepsis: Discide Ultra.
Styles: The brands are bifocal safety eyewear.
Magnification strengths: The brands range from 1.0x to 3.0x.
Weight: Approximately 1.5 ounces
Features: The company said, “width of field” and “safety” are the primary feature of its brands.
Frame colors: The Kool-Daddy and Standard eyewear are available in black. The Cool-Wrap is clear, and the Tech-Specs are gray.
Contact info: (800) 344-6424
Quality Aspirators
Manufacturer: Quality Aspirators.
Location: Duncanville, Texas.
Brand names: Q Optics.
Payment plans: Interest free with a credit card.
Trial period: 30 days.
Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty.
Price range: Two through-the-lens versions range from $695 to $895. A flip-up version ranges from $495 to $695.
On-site visit: In certain areas, reps are available for fittings.
Asepsis: Soap and water, antibacterial spray, alcohol, etc.
Styles: Flip-ups and through-the-lens.
Eyewear prescriptions: Single vision and lined bifocals prescritions can be placed.
Magnification strengths: 2.5x.
Weight: The Q Optics Mini TTL is 1.3 ounces (37 grams). The Q-Optics through-the-lens is 2.4 ounces (68 grams). The Q Optics flip-up is 2.6 ounces (75 grams).
Features: The company said of the Q Optics Mini TTL, “Superior clarity of the optics. The weight is substantially less than comparable products, and custom angles for ergonomics.” The company said of its Q Optics through-the-lens, “Superior clarity of the optics. Super wide field of view, and custom angles for optimum ergonomic positioning.” The company said of its Q Optic flip-up, “Our flip-ups have a superior ergonomic advantage because of the vertical adjustment.”
Lighting accessories: Halogen or super bright, compact arc headlights are available.
Frame colors: Several colors or styles are available for the Q Optics titanium frames.
Contact info: www.qualityaspirators.com, (800) 858-2121
Sheer Vision
Manufacturer: SheerVision.
Location: Rolling Hills Estates, California.
Brand names: Ultra Light.
Payment plans: Two payments over two months.
Trial period: 30 days, 45 days if client places own prescription.
Warranty: Unlimited lifetime warranty on all working parts of the hinge mechanism. Three-year warranty on titanum frames, and a one-year warranty on German steel frames. Refurbishing plan also available.
Price range: $645 to $795.
On-site visit: Yes, if necessary.
Asepsis: Use disposable lens paper. Wipe down with alcohol or Lysol. Polish lenses with lens cleaner.
Styles: Flip-ups and through-the-lens.
Eyewear prescriptions: Prescriptions easily placed in lens of frames. SheerVision or client’s own optician can place.
Magnification strengths: 2.5x, 3.0x, and 3.5x.
Weight: 1.5 ounces.
Features: The company said of its products, “Ultra lightweight, extended depth of field, and adjustable angle of declination.”
Lighting accessories: Portable and fiber optic light.
Frame colors: Black and purple.
Contact info: www.sheervision.com, (877) 678-4274
SurgiTel
Manufacturer: General Scientific Corporation.
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Brand names: SurgiTel ErgoVision Loupes.
Payment plans: Payment plans are available, depending on the type of sale.
Trial period:45 days.
Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty on all plastic parts associated with SurgiTel Loupes, a three-year limited warranty on spectacle frame and nose pads. Refurbishing plan also available.
Price range: $745 for 2.0x magnification to $1,195 for 3.0x magnification.
On-site visit: By appointment.
Asepsis: Use any disinfecting solution that does not contain glutaraldehydes or idophors.
Styles: Front-lens mounted, through-the-lens, and headband-mounted. The front-lens-mounted loupes can be locked at a specific declination angle.
Eyewear prescriptions: Prescriptions can be added to eyeglasses for front-lens-mounted or loupe optics for through-the-lens loupes.
Magnification strengths: 2.0x to 3.0x for hygiene applications, but up to 5.5x is available.
Weight: 44 grams for 2.0x through-the-lens, 50 grams for 2.0x front-lens mounted; 45 grams for 2.5x through-the-lens and 51 grams for the front-lens-mounted; 51 grams for the 3.0x through-the-lens and 56 grams for the front-lens mounted. Weights also depend on the frame size, eyeglass lens thickness, eyeglass lens materials, and other factors (such as accessories like side shields and retainer strips).
Company’s advice: “The declination angle is the most important selection factor. The patented loupe-mounting fixture for ErgoVision FLM loupes allows users to achieve the most optimum declination angle so that the user can avoid chronic neck pain. The declination angle of ErgoVision FLM loupes can be adjusted up to 60 degrees. Also, the patented frame features of Ergo Frames allow ErgoVision TTL loupes to have much larger (15 to 20 degrees) than traditional TTL loupes. The declination angle of ErgoVision TTL loupes can be set at up to 45 degrees. Depth of field and field of view of ErgoVision 2x are about 10 inches and 4 to 6 inches (according to the working distance). As the magnification power increases, both depth of field and field of view decrease. Note that depth of fields and field of views of most low power hygiene loupes available are adequate for hygiene applications. So we should focus on the declination angle.”
Lighting accessories: Portable halogen light can be powered with rechargeable battery and fiber optic light with orange filter option to block dental curing light.
Frame colors: Silver and black for Ergo Frames. Rose and bronze for standard frames. Oakley frame option also offered.
Contact info: www.surgitel.com, (800) 959-0153
Zeiss
Manufacturer: Carl Zeiss, Inc.
Location: Thornwood, New York (U.S. corporate headquarters).
Brand names: System KF, Vision GF, System KS.
Payment plans: 0% interest, six monthly installments.
Trial period: 30 days.
Warranty: One year.
Price range: For dental hygienists, $595 to $645 for the Vision GF, $1,199 for the System KS and System KF. The price ranges for hygienists are lower than list prices.
On-site visit: Yes, without limitations.
Asepsis: Surface cleaning only; do not submerge.
Styles: Flip-ups.
Eyewear prescriptions: For Vision GF and System KF, standard frames can be glazed by any optician. System KS is a headband system that allows user to wear own glasses.
Magnification strengths:Features: For System KS and System KF, the company said, “Edge-to-edge clarity and flatness. World-class optics.” For Vision GF, the company noted, “Quality optics with excellent resolution and light transmission.”
Upgrades: Titanium frames for Vision GF; fiber optic illumination for System KS and System KF.
Frame colors: Purple and black for Vision GF; titanium silver for System KF. System KS is a headband.
Contact info: www.zeiss.com/loupes, (888) 773-2790
