By Dr Gautam Herle, Myers Street Dental Clinic, Geelong, VIC
My practice started doing a lot of root canal work so I decided to upgrade my loupes to an operating microscope. However, having spent so much money, it seemed wrong to just use it for endodontics. I now use it for all procedures except extractions and impressions.
What’s good about it
The illumination offered by this microscope in combination with the different levels of magnification has had a positive impact on the standard of my work. I find that even simple basic restorative dentistry and routine exams are improved.
It wasn’t until I purchased my Zeiss microscope that I discovered how ineffective loupes are—particularly when checking preps. I now consistently perform the type of restorative dentistry that I can be proud of.
I have two 32-inch televisions in my room—one is on the ceiling for the patient to watch Foxtel and the other lets my nurse see exactly what I am seeing. If there is something I wish to show the patient, I simply change the source and the microscope feed appears on the ceiling television. This has made communication a lot easier.
The other thing I have noticed is how good it is for my back and neck. In combination with a Salli saddle chair, I don’t have to lean over and have not had any back or neck pain.
What’s not so good
My nurse and I keep bumping our heads on it. How it’s mounted to the wall is something we should have thought about more closely. With a little forethought I could have had it mounted in a slightly higher position. The light source unit is also quite large.
Where did you get it
Zeiss Australia
