I Need a Dental Assistant

Thursday, July 28, 2005

I love Thursdays. A full day of operative means a full day of using our handpieces to cut teeth. Today we started working on the maxillary arch. Our task was to cut a nice prep on tooth #3. Using the mirror to look at the tooth as you cut takes some getting used to. It is difficult to get your bur oriented so that it aligned with the long axis of the tooth. I tend to lean it to the side, which results in a sloppier cut. And, the mirror gets wet quickly. I found that if I held the mirror in the location of the left mandibular canine, it didn't get wet as quickly. But, without loupes, once the mirror gets wet, it becomes impossible to see the developmental and supplemental grooves on the teeth. So, I had to stop, blow off the water, and go again. Thank goodness for dental assistants three years from now. I cut five preps on #3, and I think I'm getting better slowly. They aren't terrible, but there are some mistakes I'm making (going to deep, cutting to wide) that I need to fix before it comes due in 2 weeks.

During the afternoon of operative, we had some folks come in and teach about correct chair posture. You can really screw up your back, neck, and wrists if are not careful. They took about 20 minutes.

Friday, is another day of lecture, except that we will meet our cadavers in the afternoon. I'm kinda looking forward to it.