For All You 1st-years Next Fall

[Yah-E]

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Dear Class of 2007 (Class of 2006 @ UOP):

If there is one advice I can pass on to you guys until August rolls around is this:

Practice your hand & eye coordination with INDIRECT VISION!

This is what you do. Take a sheet of blank paper, a pencil or pen, and bring to front of a mirror (if you have a wall mirror in your bathroom, then this would be your best place to practice because you can lay the paper on your bathroom counter).

An INDIRECT VISION hand eye coordination exercise is when you look into a mirror and try to draw shapes and figures without looking at the paper or your hand.

What I did was I drew shapes (triangles, squares, and circles). Draw a big one and then draw little ones within the big one and then draw another smaller one yet in the previous. Remember, you can't look at your paper or your hand as you are drawing. You can only look into the mirror.

Why I ask to you to do this, you may ask? INDIRECT VISION will be used to prep/drill the upper teeth (maxillary arch) in your precilinical restorative course sometime during your first year. If you can learn or practice to control your hands by using a mirror now, then you will be that much better off and ready when you are prepping a maxillary 1st molar using a dental mirror.

Give it a shot, it is a lot harder than what it sounds like. A lot of us current D1s find this very difficult. Ladies may find this a little bit easier because they have the practice of doing make-up everyday. So guys, start practicing using the mirror to control your hand by drawing shapes.

Have fun with it!

😀

 

[xc1999]

Hey yah-E,

Thanks a lot for the advice! I'm a girl, but I don't wear makeup (nor do I own any), so I guess I'll be practicing a whole lot...hehe 🙂

 

[Jandy]

Hey yah-e

This is great news cuz i'm a guy and I wear tons of make up. Already ahead of the curve. oh yeah!!!!

 

[ItsGavinC]

Thanks for the info, Andy.

 

[tinker bell]

Thanks for telling us, Andy. This is the advice I have never heard of. It's great to have you go one year ahead.

I do wear make up, but looking at mirror and draw is not my cup of tea, and I sure need lots of practice.

 

[dentisttobe]

Thanks for the tip! This exercise has already been introduced to me by a dentist I worked with, but your post cleared it up for me nicely!

dentisttobe

 

[LetMeIn]

Im glad i found this board.


Awesome tip! thanks for sharing!!

 

[eight143]

Hey, thanks for sharing to us! I have to admit, it's not as easy as it sounds. I tried it last night and wasn't doing too bad with the squares and triangles, but when I attempted to draw a smiley face, I had a dude with a sad face in his forehead!!!

 

[millmm]

Yah-E,

As a person who is super-critical of themselves under graded situations, this was kind of fun to do in a non academic setting. I really laughed at some of my attempts. Hopefully this will save me from frustration when it counts. How hard is it to write your name in cursive?

 

[groundhog]

You are so right Yah-E. Practice is the key. For the guys, shaving while looking in the mirror soon becomes a snap, but trying to use a mirror and scissors to cut that occasional strand of hair that is too long on the back side of our head can be a real challange

 

[Yah-E]

Remember you guys, NO LOOKING at your hand! It's hard not to, but always try to only look into the mirror.

What I do is I just leave a sheet of paper and a pen on my bathroon counter top. Everyday before I hop into the shower, I would attempt to draw an object, just practice once a day. You'll be amaze how fast your hand, eye, and brain learns.

Keep practicing, indirect vision will be that much easier for you guys next year when you start!

 

[pantera]

Hello
I tried this excercise, and I really did not have a big problem, except for the fact that I can never draw an actually straight line - well, I cannot really do that even if I look at the paper . I guess wearing makeup maybe helps..



I did the shapes, then I tried writing my name, and letters. For those of you who know, what is the ultimate goal of this? If you actually look at the paper, the alphabet is the mirror image, so its meaningless. Then I think it's fun to try the letters so that you can actually read when you look at the paper afterwards.
It looks just like the handwriting of a 4 year old!!
Thanks a lot for the info 🙂

P.

 

[hockeydentist]

great tip

one question though, your suppose to look at the mirror and and draw the shapes right. If you in the mirror you can see your hands and paper, but not looking aT THE PAPER ITSELF RIGHT OR HANDS. KEY IS TO GET THE MOTION DOWN RIGHT.

I AM CONFUSED, IT MUST BE BECUASE I TOOK TOO MANY PUCKS TO THE HEAD

thanks again
confused and on ice

hockeydentist

 

[xc1999]

Hey Yah-E,

Just to get this straight....you can look at your hand IN THE MIRROR, yes????? I find it very hard not to look at my hand in the mirror as well.

thanks again!

 

[cusp of carabelli]

actually...i think the best would be to not look at your hand b/c when you're working in the mouth, all you see is the burr anyways....

another tip i would give is to buy one of those big fat pencils and practice with that. Try to draw the thinnest line possible and keep the pencil perpendicular to the paper. once you start driling, there's a tendency to tilt the bur...and that could lead to an uneven prep....which is bad.

and if you want to go even more advanced....let the mirror you're looking into fog up a bit...to simulate the water that splatters on the mirror in the mouth... have fun guys!!! hahahah😎

 

[xc1999]

cusp,

Well, I said it was difficult not to look at my hand in the mirror because my hand is just right there......it's just part of the reflection whenI look in the mirror. So...how is it possible to not see your hand IN the mirror?? Should I be covering up my hand with like a piece of paper or some sort of non-translucent cloth? Unless of course I'm doing this exercise incorrectly? (what I have been doing is drawing shapes, letters, etc on a piece of paper, which is placed right on top of my bathroom countertop.

Thanks!
xc1999

 

[cusp of carabelli]

try holding the pencil a little bit closer towwards the eraser. you can also go to somewhere like restoration hardware and buy one of those tiny mirrors that look like dentist mirrors and practice holding that with one hand and using the other hand to draw the pictures.