Magnification loupes in dentistry: A qualitative study of dental students' perspectives

The nature of the oral operating field makes it a challenge for dentists to work while maintaining musculoskeletal health. Strategies have been studied in recent years to improve visualisation of the operating field, and the use of magnification systems has been recommended for providing additional benefits. Despite the growing body of evidence suggesting that the use of magnification improves visual acuity, the dentist's posture and the quality of dental procedures, few studies have analysed users' perspectives on these devices in terms of their adaptation process. These types of studies are important because they provide insight into the reality of the adaptation process required by magnification systems so that adjustments and improvements can be made to adapt these systems to the users' reality. Thus, we sought to explore the perspectives held by second-year students in an undergraduate dental program on the use of dental loupes during pre-clinical laboratory activities.

A total of 24 second-year dental students participated in semi-structured interviews exploring their perspectives of wearing dental loupes during their pre-clinical activities. Data collection and analysis were consistent with the qualitative content analysis methodology. All interview data were analysed using version 10 of the NVivo^® analytical software.

Participants described that magnification can lead to the improvement of their work postures, hand skills and quality of dental procedures. Nevertheless, they reported a need for an adaptation period and for adjustments to the technical features of the magnification system.

The students had positive perspectives on the use of magnification in their dentistry training program, including improvements in posture, hand skills and procedure quality.