Differentiating flip-up loupes and through the lens loupes
Dental loupes are available in various designs, types, and styles but the two most common types are the flip-up loupes and the through the lens loupes. Though they share the same purpose and use flip-up loupes and through the lens or TTL loupes differ from each other in many ways. Among their major differences are in terms of optical barrels positioning, price, customization, and weight.
One of the innovative products of high technology is the dental loupe. It is a magnification optical aid that magnifies the dental professional's view by magnification the images seen through its optical barrels or lenses. Dental loupes are available in various designs, types, and styles but the two most common types are the flip-up loupes and the through the lens loupes.
Differentiating flip-up loupes and through the lens loupes
Though they share the same purpose and use flip-up loupes and through the lens or TTL loupes differ from each other in many ways. Among their major differences are as follows:
Optical Barrels Positioning
The optical barrels of the flip up optical magnification loupes are attached to the hinge mechanism which is connected to the carrier frame, allowing the operator to quickly flip them down when in use and flip them away when not in use. If you need to talk with a patient, and magnification is no longer needed, you can easily flip up the barrels without removing the entire loupe from your face. You can also adjust it anytime according to your preferred angle of declination. However, this feature may not be always available to all brands and designs of flip-up loupes.
On the other end, the optical barrels of the through the lens loupes are directly drilled into the carrier lens of the dental loupes. Unlike the flip-up loupes, there is no way you can adjust the angle of declination of the TTL loupes. You can't also flip away the barrels when not in use just the way flip-up loupes do. If you no longer need to use magnification for a certain task, you need to completely take out the entire loupe from your head.
Customization
In terms of customization, through the lens loupes require more customization as compared to flip-up loupes. You can rarely find a premade TTL loupe that meets all your specific measurements. TTL loupes are custom-made to fit the operator's optical needs like the working distance, interpupillary distance, prescription, and desired angle of declination. Since the barrels are fixed into the carrier lens and there is no way the operator can manually adjust them, all these measurements should be precisely followed to ensure utmost comfort and better quality experience.
Flip-up loupes required less customization in terms of angle of declination and interpupillary distance. Though measurements still need to meet the operator's specific requirements, it can easily be adjusted. For instance, if you need to adjust the prescription, you will just have to add prescription on the carrier lenses without affecting the optical lenses. For TTL loupes, you need to have your prescription added to a new carrier lens and that means drilling again the optical barrels into the new lenses.
Price
Since TTL loupes require more customization, they are expected to be more expensive than the flip-up loupes. Resale is also quite challenging for TTL loupes unless you find a perfect match. Whilst, flip-up loupes can be sold more easily as they are not totally custom-made. Further customization for TTL loupes like adding new prescription is more costly since more work is needed.
Weight
The weight is the major advantage of TTL loupes over flip-up loupes. TTL loupes are lighter than the flip-up loupes. This is because the optical barrels are drilled directly into the lenses and because of the absence of the hinge mechanism which adds up to the total weight of the flip-up loupes. This is also one of the primary reasons why many dental professionals choose TTL loupes especially those who are looking for a light optical magnification aid which they can use for long hours without feeling tired or uncomfortable.
