A large majority of dental professionals and surgeons todayexperiencepainintheirnecks,shoulders,andupperbacks.Manypractitionersbelievechronicpain isanecessaryevil inseparablefrom thepracticeofdentistryor surgery.But,work-relatedpaincan be avoidable or reversible if we work with ergonomicallydesigned loupes and headlights. Loupes, often called surgicaltelescopes,establishone’sposture(goodorbad).1Headlightsmayeithersupportorbreakthepostureestablishedbyloupes.

Are Tools Available for Practicing Dentistry or Surgery Pain-Free?Theanswer isdefinitelyyes.During the last twenty(20)yearsSurgiTel has been dedicated to designing and building toolswhichenhanceaclinician’sworkandassuretheirsafety.Asmanyclinicianshavetestified, theuseofSurgiTelergonomicloupes2

and headlights3 has helped dental professionals and surgeonsavoid,alleviateoreliminatechronicpain.

Inordertoachieveatrulycomfortableandsafeposture,onethatwillrewardyouwithalongandpain-freecareer,therearetwocriticaltoolsandonesupportingtool:

1. Loupes:Canmakeorbreakyourposture.Ergonomicloupeswillallowyoutosituprightwithacomfortablelevelofheadtilt.2. Headlights: Maintains the posture established byergonomicloupes.3. Seating: Supports the posture created by loupes andheadlights.

Mostmanufacturershavelabeledtheirtraditionallydesignedloupesas“ergonomicloupes.”Traditionaldesignscanhelpuserssitwithastraightlowerback,butcannotsupportaneutralneckpostureformostprocedures.Traditionalloupesprovidepartialergonomics.

Statistics of Loupes Today the majority of dental professionals and surgeons useloupes.Basedonvarioussurveydataweestimatethatmorethan85%ofcurrentloupeusersmaybeusingtraditionallydesignedloupes with inadequate declination angles (smaller than 25degrees). Less than 15% of current loupe usersmay be usingergonomicallydesignedloupeswithadequatedeclinationangles(largerthan35degrees).4,5Afterusingtraditionalloupesfor5to15years,manyusershavedevelopedchronicpainorinjuriesintheir necks, shoulders andupper backs.But theydonot knowthatthemaincauseofchronicpainmaybethecontinueduseoftraditionallydesigned,posturebreakingloupes.

Why are Most Dental Professionals and Surgeons Using Traditional Loupes?Painduetotheuseofnon-ergonomicloupeswilltakemanyyearsbeforeitbecomesoverwhelmingandcontributestoinjury.Mostusersdonotknowthattheirloupesarethemaincauseofchronicpain because traditional loupes have been sold as ergonomicloupes.Eventraditionallydesignedloupeshelpusersachieveastraighterlowerback,buttheywillstillforceuserstoexcessivelytilttheirheads.5Believingtheyhaveergonomicloupesbasedonmanufacturers’ advertisements, they often attempt to managetheirpainbyvisitingchiropractorsorphysicaltherapistsratherthan searching for ergonomically correct loupes. But withouteliminatingtherootcause,treatingsymptomsisnotalongtermsolutionandcannotreversetheirpain.

Educating customers on the ergonomic benefits of SurgiTel’sadvancedloupesandheadlights,SurgiTelhasbecomeoneoftopthreeloupemanufacturers in theworldwithinarelativelyshortperiodoftime.SurgiTelcontinuestoincreasemarketshareamongnew,youngloupebuyers.Intheearly1990sSurgiTelintroduced

Can Work-Related Pain Be Avoidable or Reversible?

In the School of ErgoPractice®, Part 1

presents:presents:

B. J. Chang, PhD

References1. Rucker,LM,SurgicalTelescopes:PostureMakerorPosture

Breaker,Murphy,D,Ed,Economics and theDentalCare,AmPublicHealthAssoc.WashingtonDC,1998,pp191-216

2. Chang,BJ,Advances inMagnificationandMountingwithSurgiTel’sPatentedPrismLoupeTechnology,ErgoPracticeNews,FebruaryIssue,2014,www.surgitel.com/news

3. Chang, BJ, Advances in SurgiTel Headlights: DesignConsiderations of LED Headlights for Color Accuracyand Eye Safety, ErgoPractice News, March Issue, 2014,www.surgitel.com/news

4. Valachi B, Practice Dentistry Pain-Free, PosturedonticsPress,Portland,OR2008

5. Chang,BJ,KeyFactorsforOrderingCustomLoupes:Part1,DeclinationAngleastheKeyErgonomicFactor,ErgoPracticeNews,AprilIssue,2014,www.surgitel.com/news

the 1st ergonomic loupes and later the 1st portable clinicalheadlights.Buttheothertwoloupemanufacturers(OrascopticandDesignsforVision)havefocusedonpromotingtheirtraditionalthrough-the-lens (TTL) loupes as ergonomic loupes, even ifthedeclinationangleoftheirloupesdonotmeettheergonomicrequirementsforacomfortableandsafeneckposture.

Sincethemajorityruleisappliedhere,manydentalprofessionalsandsurgeonsbelievethattraditionalTTLloupesareergonomicallydesignedandcontinuetousetraditionalloupes,eventuallyresultinginchronicpain.Itshouldbenotedthateventhedeclinationangleof traditional front-lens-mounted (FLM) loupes is similar to thedeclinationangleoftraditionalTTLloupes.

Creating the Right Tools and Sharing ExperiencesForapain-freepracticewehavetohavetherighttools.Duringthelasttwenty(20)yearsSurgiTelhascreatedallthenecessarytools for the pain-free practice. SurgiTel products have helpedmany clinicians practice dentistry or surgery pain-free. As apart of ergonomic education, SurgiTel has been publishingErgoPractice® News starting June 2013: www.surgitel.com/news. We have reviewed the advances made in loupes andheadlights, principles of clinical illumination, requirements ofcustom loupes,blue lighthazardsofcoolLED lights,andkeyfactorsforselectingtherightloupes.InourErgoPracticeNews,several clinicians have shared their stories about their chronicneckpaincausedbytraditionalloupesandhowtheywereabletoeliminateoralleviatetheirpainwithSurgiTelergonomicloupes.

AsatributetoSteveJobs,BrianSolissaid,“Lifeisaboutcreatingand living experiences that are worth sharing.” First of all, IwouldliketothankallthosewhosharedstoriesoftheirSurgiTelexperiencethroughourErgoPracticeNews.Iwouldalsoliketoaskthosewhohaveachievedthepain-freepracticetoshareyourstorieswithyourpeersprivately,orevenusingourErgoPracticeNews. If youwould likeus to sendourErgoPracticeNews toyourpeers,whomaynowbesufferingfromposturerelatedpain,sharewithustheire-mails.Istronglybelieve,together,wecanmakeourworkplacesbothsaferandmoreproductive. Jin Chang PhD

AnnArborMIjchang@surgitel.com1-800-959-0153

B. Jin Chang, PhD, is President and Chief Scientist of General Scientific Corporation, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

From the late 1970s to late 1980s Dr. Chang lead the development of advanced head-up

display systems for fighter jets such as F15E, A10 and F4. Over the last twenty years he has been extending the ergonomic principles used for military display systems designs to clinical vision systems. This had lead to SurgiTel’s family of ergonomic loupes and illumination systems which prevent chronic neck and back pains.

Numerous patents (awarded and pending) have been applied to designs of SurgiTel’s loupes and illumination systems.

SurgiTel is a Division of General Scientific Corp.