Manual Dexterity/Shakiness

[whodat4life]

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Hi Everyone,

I'm mainly asking this question to those who are already dentists OR those who've been in dental school and had to work with their hands a lot.

My hands are a little shaky and I'm wondering what I can do to minimize this as much as possible. Any ideas on how to improve manual dexterity?

 

[Saddleshoes]

1. Cut down on caffeine! -i.e.- Drinking Mountain Dew for breakfast is a bad idea.
2. Keep you blood glucose level up. -i.e.- Skipping breakfast is a bad idea.
3. RELAX! -- Worrying about what you had or did not have for breakfast is a bad idea.
4. When you need to have fine motor control for a hand movement take a deep breath just prior to the action. -- It works!
5. "Rest Seats and/or Fulcrums" Any time you need to do a fine motor control action with your hand have part of your hand resting on a fixed object. That way your hand is anchored as you move.
6. Take up knitting, build model airplanes, carve wood, paint, tie flies, sew, build ships in a bottle, do target practice with a pistol, do origami, try calligraphy, fix computers, become a tattoo artist, --- DO SOMETHING TO DEVELOP YOUR FINE MOTOR CONTROL.

 

[whodat4life]

1. Cut down on caffeine! -i.e.- Drinking Mountain Dew for breakfast is a bad idea.
2. Keep you blood glucose level up. -i.e.- Skipping breakfast is a bad idea.
3. RELAX! -- Worrying about what you had or did not have for breakfast is a bad idea.
4. When you need to have fine motor control for a hand movement take a deep breath just prior to the action. -- It works!
5. "Rest Seats and/or Fulcrums" Any time you need to do a fine motor control action with your hand have part of your hand resting on a fixed object. That way your hand is anchored as you move.
6. Take up knitting, build model airplanes, carve wood, paint, tie flies, sew, build ships in a bottle, do target practice with a pistol, do origami, try calligraphy, fix computers, become a tattoo artist, --- DO SOMETHING TO DEVELOP YOUR FINE MOTOR CONTROL.

👍 Thanks so much for the advice! I actually love building balsa wood airplane models...been a hobby of mine since a kid.

 

[dentaldawg32]

You don't need to do anything now. You will spend the next 4 years working tirelessly on preps that require precision to the mm. The dexterity will come.

 

[whodat4life]

You don't need to do anything now. You will spend the next 4 years working tirelessly on preps that require precision to the mm. The dexterity will come.

👍👍👍

 

[newyorkblork]

Hi Everyone,

I'm mainly asking this question to those who are already dentists OR those who've been in dental school and had to work with their hands a lot.

My hands are a little shaky and I'm wondering what I can do to minimize this as much as possible. Any ideas on how to improve manual dexterity?

My hands are a little shaky too. I assume you mean shaky like "I can't hold a pencil rock steady when I'm pointing with it", and not "I can't draw anything close to a straight line because my hand has violent tremors". And assuming you mean that first one, you're (we're) going to be fine.

When you get into the lab, block off extra time to practice - just keep doing it. Like anything, you won't see improvement at first, but steady effort and guidance will help you improve. Not much is going to help 'train you' for setting the drill to the plastic.

If you really want to get ready for lab, I would actually recommend that you take art classes - something that has you working on your visual skills. The hand skills are really going to be 'drill skills' - that is, visualizing translates quite well from art to drilling, but things like "Playing the Violin" don't really translate into "good manual skills" into "amazing dentistry". It's a pretty unique skill set, but if you have sharp eyes (GET LOUPES) and you practice enough, you're going to be just fine with "shaky hands" or not. The guys with the sniper hands will start ahead of you, but you will be able to create good lab work.

 

[BombayBDS]

with practice, it'll all work out fine.

you can also try carving wax blocks in pre-determined shapes - cubes, dumbells, spheres and slowly moving to incisors, canines and molars.

 

[whodat4life]

My hands are a little shaky too. I assume you mean shaky like "I can't hold a pencil rock steady when I'm pointing with it", and not "I can't draw anything close to a straight line because my hand has violent tremors". And assuming you mean that first one, you're (we're) going to be fine.

When you get into the lab, block off extra time to practice - just keep doing it. Like anything, you won't see improvement at first, but steady effort and guidance will help you improve. Not much is going to help 'train you' for setting the drill to the plastic.

If you really want to get ready for lab, I would actually recommend that you take art classes - something that has you working on your visual skills. The hand skills are really going to be 'drill skills' - that is, visualizing translates quite well from art to drilling, but things like "Playing the Violin" don't really translate into "good manual skills" into "amazing dentistry". It's a pretty unique skill set, but if you have sharp eyes (GET LOUPES) and you practice enough, you're going to be just fine with "shaky hands" or not. The guys with the sniper hands will start ahead of you, but you will be able to create good lab work.

Thanks so much for the detailed response. I really appreciate your advice and will use it for sure!

 

[whodat4life]

with practice, it'll all work out fine.

you can also try carving wax blocks in pre-determined shapes - cubes, dumbells, spheres and slowly moving to incisors, canines and molars.

Very true, I will try that! I have some off time this summer so I will get on this. Thanks for the info!

 

[SeattleRDH]

1. Cut down on caffeine! -i.e.- Drinking Mountain Dew for breakfast is a bad idea.
2. Keep you blood glucose level up. -i.e.- Skipping breakfast is a bad idea.
3. RELAX! -- Worrying about what you had or did not have for breakfast is a bad idea.
4. When you need to have fine motor control for a hand movement take a deep breath just prior to the action. -- It works!
5. "Rest Seats and/or Fulcrums" Any time you need to do a fine motor control action with your hand have part of your hand resting on a fixed object. That way your hand is anchored as you move.
6. Take up knitting, build model airplanes, carve wood, paint, tie flies, sew, build ships in a bottle, do target practice with a pistol, do origami, try calligraphy, fix computers, become a tattoo artist, --- DO SOMETHING TO DEVELOP YOUR FINE MOTOR CONTROL.

+1

My biggie is caffiene. On the occasional morning that I have a coffee I have to be really careful and use extra fulcrums (especially for injections! patients don't like to see that needle swinging back and forth)

 

[dentaldawg32]

+1

My biggie is caffiene. On the occasional morning that I have a coffee I have to be really careful and use extra fulcrums (especially for injections! patients don't like to see that needle swinging back and forth)

hah I drink a red eye before operative almost everyday. If anything I find it improves my dexterity and focus.