for the DDS

[StarGirl]

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i'm just wondering...
does the pain after holding the high speed for hours go away w/ enough practice of drilling?
what about the neck and back pain??? (hahaha i know it must mean have horrible posture...but i wanna see what I'm doing!)

starting to think dentistry isn't perfect after all... w/ the increase carcinogenic material (radiographs, acrylics etc) and all the stuff we breath in.....

 

[UBTom]

Hmm... Doesn't your school grade you on posture? 😀

My school does... The instructors beat it into our heads-- Lie the patient almost flat with the chair headrest almost in your lap, wear those loupes to force yourself to sit up straight (if you are too close the loupes lose focus). It's paying dividends because I haven't had any backaches or neck pains yet!

My sister also does the contortionist act when treating patients because when she was at NYU positioning wasn't a big deal either.. And I nag her occasionally when she complains of back strain.

As far as using the high speed... I have never had any pain in my hand from using a high speed. Trick I think is to make sure you are using a nice, new sharp bur that cuts more easily so you don't have to exert as much finger pressure. New carbides are supposed to cut through enamel like butter, and crosscut fissure burs can do the same to amalgam when you are busting open an old filling.

I'm not worried about occupational exposure to X-rays... The x-ray machines at my school won't shoot unless the lead-lined x-ray room door is closed and you press the exposure switch from outside. As far as acrylic goes, you just need to be a bit more careful and not use superhuge gobs (tm) when making them provisionals heh heh..

HTH!

 

[Meggs]

Originally posted by UBTom

....As far as using the high speed... I have never had any pain in my hand from using a high speed. ....

Neither have I.
Check your glove's size.

 

[StarGirl]

we haven't been graded for posture...
i don't have loupes either and i don't i haev 600-1K under my mattress for it as well 🙁 so I will have to suffer until I figure something out...

I always get hand strains whenever I use my high and low speed for an extended period of time... (maybe I should just rest a bit in b/n)

okie here's the next question: what's the best way to pass all your basic science classes if you're in dental lab everyday til realllllly late... 😕

 

[UBTom]

to Stargirl:

Ahh... Okay, I think it's clearer now what might be the problem.

You are cutting ivorine teeth on a typodont, correct?

Don't worry. Cutting Ivorine teeth is NOTHING like working on real teeth. Real teeth cuts LOTS more easily and the handpiece does not have a tendency to "run away" unlike ivorine. You also have to use much higher finger pressures on ivorine.

It will get better when you work on a real patient. You'll see!

Meanwhile, use new, sharp carbides, and use diamonds whenever possible-- Those cut through ivorine a bit more easily than carbides and leaves less burn marks to boot. It should go a ways in relieving your hand strain.

Definitely work on your positioning. The philosophy is that the patient is only in your chair for a few hours but you will be working for a lifetime, so having them stand a bit of discomfort by changing position for a few hours to suit you is much better than you playing contortionist all the time and ending up with a Quasimodo hunchback by the time you are 40.

My tip for getting enough study time despite all the preclinic labwork: Reserve one day of the week for catching up/finishing ALL the labwork for the week, rather than spending time in the lab every day doing piecemeal work. That way you put in one solid block of lab time, and will have solid blocks of time to do other things like study. Your mileage may vary, of course.

to SDN9876:

With the exception of the linguals of maxillary anteriors, I've actually been able to use direct vision when doing maxillary preps on live patients while my back remains upright and straight. It's all a matter of positioning! 😀

The trick to preventing hand fatigue with the intraoral mirror is to change the grasp as the situation demands it. The normal pen grasp will strain your hand if you are retracting cheeks with that grip-- Try a fingerwrap grip instead.


Luck!

 

[Bickle]

One of the dentists that I shadowed with used a rubber excersise ball instead of a chair when he worked on patients. He said it forced him to keep his back straight while he worked.

 

[critterbug]

interesting 🙂

 

[StarGirl]

our lab's not 24hrs anymore 😡 so can't really just spend one day working there like we did last yr...

UB Tom thanks for the pointers, i hope it works! 🙂

 

[UBTom]

Especially for freshmen and sophomore who have to learn and practice/hone all their operative, fixed, removable and endo techniques in a preclinic lab, it is outrageous to limit a student's access to it! Your class really should have your student body leaders submit some sort of protest against that policy.

I'm glad my school's preclinic lab is open 24/7!

 

[StarGirl]

i wish it was open 24/7 but oh well at least this way it forces us to go home rather than stayin in the lab til 2 or 3AM (or even 5 and 6AM for some people)... sleep's important and crucial to good health! 🙂

 

[UBTom]

Well, I think flexibility is important, especially during freshman and sophomore years when you are under so much pressure. But that's just me.. 😀

Here's another tip for working with ivorine:

If you are cutting proximal boxes for class-IIs or class-IIIs, don't just use a 169 or 56 bur like most instructors will tell you. Those are side-cutting burs, not end-cutting, and are LOUSY for doing the initial drop-in for proximal boxes.

Use an end-cutting bur like a #1 round bur, cut the box, then finish the box form with the 169 or 56.

This will also decrease the hand strain, because trying to sink a blunt-tip bur like a 169 or 56 into the marginal ridge will take a lot of finger pressure.

Luck!