I am curious as to the affect decreased lab time in the curriculum of some schools has had/will have on mastering manual dexterity as a dentist. Are dentists at a disadvantage, as the infamous practice for manual dexterity---waxing I believe its called?---and lab time in general appears to have simmered down a bit? Thanks!!
Bye Bye wax lab
- Thread starter rsweeney
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Hey Richard,
There will be other activities to hone your manual dexterity skills-- Such as doing preps and restorations (fillings) on a typodont (jaw model with plastic teeth) or learning how to fabricate provisionals (temporary crowns or bridges made of acrylic).
Waxing was a popular way to teach dental students the particulars of dental anatomy above the gumline (crown forms, characteristics such as ridge and cusp shapes, heights of contour, embrasures, pits and groove anatomy, emergence profiles, yadda yadda) because the material is cheap and easy to work with.
Some very traditional schools IMHO overemphasizes waxing though. I feel it's probably a better idea to learn dental anatomy through making more provisionals rather than just waxing, though waxing is a good way to get started because it's cheap and easy to work with. Making provisionals is more relevant, because it is something a dentist will definitely have to master if he wants to treat fixed prosthodontics cases (crowns and bridges), which is big part of a general dentist's bread and butter!
There will be other activities to hone your manual dexterity skills-- Such as doing preps and restorations (fillings) on a typodont (jaw model with plastic teeth) or learning how to fabricate provisionals (temporary crowns or bridges made of acrylic).
Waxing was a popular way to teach dental students the particulars of dental anatomy above the gumline (crown forms, characteristics such as ridge and cusp shapes, heights of contour, embrasures, pits and groove anatomy, emergence profiles, yadda yadda) because the material is cheap and easy to work with.
Some very traditional schools IMHO overemphasizes waxing though. I feel it's probably a better idea to learn dental anatomy through making more provisionals rather than just waxing, though waxing is a good way to get started because it's cheap and easy to work with. Making provisionals is more relevant, because it is something a dentist will definitely have to master if he wants to treat fixed prosthodontics cases (crowns and bridges), which is big part of a general dentist's bread and butter!
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ditto to that excellent answer.
