Eye on the Prize: Reducing Eye Strain as an Endodontist
By Dr. Andrea Tsatalis
If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you changed someone’s life today. Alleviating excruciating pain, diagnosing cryptic symptoms, being an attentive listener…sounds like the average day of an endodontist, right?
After a scholastic decade perfecting our craft, it’s easy to forget both the gravity of our work and the most rudimentary part of us without which we couldn’t do any of this—our eyes.
Numerous articles and studies have covered the prevalence of work-related injuries in dentists: shoulder pain, hand and wrist disorders, backaches…but the importance of eye health is often disregarded. What can we as endodontists do to maintain healthy eyes and visual acuity? Recommendations for inside and outside the office are detailed below:
Outside of the office:
- Schedule regular comprehensive eye exams. Inquire with your ophthalmologist if you have dry eyes (they may recommend preservative-free artificial tears or a supplement) or a family history of hereditary eye diseases (macular degeneration, glaucoma).
- Don’t sleep or swim in contacts. Contact lenses can sometimes increase eye dryness, consider wearing eyeglasses 1-2 days a week to give your eyes a break.
- Wear sunglasses with 100% UVA/UVB protection.
- Stay well-hydrated, this will help to maintain a balanced level of fluid in/around the eye.
Inside the office:
- 20/20/20 Rule – the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s recommendation for decreasing eye strain. Every 20 minutes, stare at something 20 feet away, for 20 seconds or more. This will give your eyes a break from intensely focusing on canals and reduce fatigue.
- The AAO also recommends sitting approximately 25 inches from a computer monitor, with a slightly downward gaze as the screen. A matte screen filter can reduce screen glare and further reduce eye strain.
- Take time to confirm your eyes are in focus when using the microscope.
- Remember to blink! It will rehydrate your eyes, reduce eye strain, and only takes a second
Remember: we can’t take care of others, if we don’t take care of ourselves!
Hope this was eye-opening (last eye pun, I promise).