Visual acuity of dentists in their respective clinical conditions

This study examined the impact of age and magnification on the near visual acuity of dentists in their private practice under simulated clinical conditions.

Miniaturized visual tests were fixed in posterior teeth of a dental phantom head and brought to 31 dentists in their respective private practice. The visual acuity of these dentists (n = 19, ≥40 years; n = 12, <40 years) was measured in a clinical setting under the following conditions: (a) natural visual acuity, distance of 300 mm; (b) natural visual acuity, free choice of the distance; and (c) loupe and additional light source, if available.

The visual acuity under the different clinical conditions varied widely between individuals. The older group of dentists had a lower median visual acuity value under all clinical conditions. This difference was highly significant for natural visual acuity at a free choice of distance (p < 0.0001). For younger dentists (<40 years), visual acuity could be significantly improved by reducing the eye-object distance (p = 0.001) or by using loupes (p = 0.008). For older dentists (≥40 years), visual acuity could be significantly improved by using loupes (p = 0.0005).

Visual performance decreased with increasing age under the specific clinical conditions of each dentist's private practice. Magnification aids can compensate for visual deficiencies.

The question of whether findings obtained under standardized conditions are valuable for the habitual setting of each dentist's private practice seems clinically relevant.