Mistakes in Dental School

[Ebull]

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Has anyone ever made any major blunders on patients while in dental school, or have you ever known of any major mistakes made by your classmates? As a D1 I was just wondering how often this happens due to the overwhelming amount of skill you must learn before you actually become proficient at procedures.

 

[rocknightmare]

i have heard of extractions of wrong tooth...

 

[Regmata]

i have heard of extractions of wrong tooth...

From what I hear, that is kinda common

 

[Ebull]

i have heard of extractions of wrong tooth...

What happens in that situation? Is the patient able to sue the school for malpractice?

 

[rocknightmare]

the school offer free extraction of the actual tooth, free implant, and free restoration of the implant (if possible).. or some type of restorative to orginial shape.

 

[armorshell]

I know Pacific offers a free restoration of the defect or a credit towards a fancier restoration if that's what the patient wants.

 

[dmband420]

Way back when, this chick in my class performed RCT on tooth #24 when tooth #25 was the tooth that was in need. WTF huh? Never forget to count teeth! Oh, & to make the story even better, she perfed it.

 

[johntara04]

Way back when, this chick in my class performed RCT on tooth #24 when tooth #25 was the tooth that was in need. WTF huh? Never forget to count teeth! Oh, & to make the story even better, she perfed it.

People will do anything to get their requirements for graduation. Sheesh. 😀 I once started to prep the wrong tooth in preclinic for a crown.

 

[aphistis]

I'm still waiting to make a mistake. 😉 😀 😉 😀

 

[armorshell]

People will do anything to get their requirements for graduation. Sheesh. 😀 I once started to prep the wrong tooth in preclinic for a crown.

At least you didn't completely finish it like a few people in my class did. Or perhaps turn in the wrong typodont (without any waxup) during a waxing practical.

 

[Elipar]

The most common error seemed to be doing teeth on the contralateral side, e.g. #6 instead of #11. I know a guy who didn't do occlusal reduction on his board exam because he was "so focused on the axial reduction".

 

[johntara04]

At least you didn't completely finish it like a few people in my class did. Or perhaps turn in the wrong typodont (without any waxup) during a waxing practical.

LOL. No kidding. I did my facial reduction, started on the lingual and sat there staring at the lingual of tooth knowing that it didn't look right.....

 

[armorshell]

LOL. No kidding. I did my facial reduction, started on the lingual and sat there staring at the lingual of tooth knowing that it didn't look right.....

During the same waxing practical I called over a row instructor because I couldn't get my die to fit in the number 8 spot on my typodont. She looked over it, and concluded that she would need to talk to the course director. It was then that I realized I had flipped the thing over (so the maxillary arch was facing down) and had accidentally (pun intended) tried to fit in the number 9 hole.

The moral of the story? Don't try to jam your die in the wrong hole without having permission first.

 

[johntara04]

The moral of the story? Don't try to jam your die in the wrong hole without having permission first.

LOL. That may be the best piece of advice out there.

 

[tinker bell]

Always count the teeth. It's the most important thing that you ever have to do in your career. I always double check and luckily have not made any mistake yet so far

 

[Ebull]

I'm still waiting to make a mistake. 😉 😀 😉 😀

Careful, you don't want to jinx yourself.😉

 

[Dr. Dai Phan]

Has anyone ever made any major blunders on patients while in dental school, or have you ever known of any major mistakes made by your classmates? As a D1 I was just wondering how often this happens due to the overwhelming amount of skill you must learn before you actually become proficient at procedures.

In my final year, I had to complete a FPD (#29-31) to fullfill my pros. requirement for graduation. I mistakenly used the wrong patient's maxillary cast to articulate without knowing. I could not figure why the thing fits so well on the casts but the patient has 9mm anterior open bite when in the mouth! Even after I took another registration, I could not articulate the casts together! My instructor could not figure out even when referred to a prosthodontist. Well, after 3 hours of frustration, I finally discovered the error. You see, you can make the stupiest mistakes and still have the chance to become a pros GURU like me! 😉 DP

 

[DrJeff]

I could not figure why the thing fits so well on the casts but the patient has 9mm anterior open bite when in the mouth!

Some of my patients would love that since it would make opening beer bottles so much easier for them!😀

 

[docj1]

One of my classmates made a PVS impression for a crown on #19 and found #23 and #24 in the impression.

They were periodontally involved, so not really a mistake, but they weren't treatment planned for extraction😱

It took the student and instructor hours to calm this lady down. I could hear her yelling from across the clinic. Eventually free implants made her happy.

 

[Soflex]

First year, preclinic...first operative class, the first practical (Class I, #30). We are all brand new and slow as heck...so they give us two hours. One hour and 45 minutes later, a certain student in our class goes to pull the tooth from his typodont in order to hand it in for grading. He suddenly realizes that it doesn't have the purple ID mark from the instructor on the root. He has prepped the wrong tooth. Frantically, in the last ten minutes, he preps the correct tooth while everyone else is cleaning up their station. Two days later we get our grades back. Out of 79 people, only 2 people get an "A." The ten minute guy was one of them.😱

 

[OceanDMD]

We had a classmate prep the wrong tooth during his WREB exam. Talk about a oops! He has now continued his career in the Navy.

 

[aphistis]

One of my classmates made a PVS impression for a crown on #19 and found #23 and #24 in the impression.

They were periodontally involved, so not really a mistake, but they weren't treatment planned for extraction😱

It took the student and instructor hours to calm this lady down. I could hear her yelling from across the clinic. Eventually free implants made her happy.

Yikes. If the teeth were periodontally compromised enough to come out in an impression, what did they drop the implants into?

 

[DrJeff]

Yikes. If the teeth were periodontally compromised enough to come out in an impression, what did they drop the implants into?

Notice how Ocean never specified if they were tooth implants or breast implants 😆 😆

Sorry, just couldn't resist, it's been a LONG week for me, and my last patient just left the office👍

 

[aphistis]

it's been a LONG week for me, and my last patient just left the office👍

Ditto. Vive la weekend and all the football therein.

 

[mochafreak]

Ditto. Vive la weekend and all the football therein.

Yup.

The weeks are becoming months, and the months years...good thing I only have 3 decades of d-school left.












The horse is my first Class II prep...

 

[docj1]

Yikes. If the teeth were periodontally compromised enough to come out in an impression, what did they drop the implants into?

Basal bone I believe. I wasn't involved in the case luckily, but the patient was satisfied. You're right "Yikes". My classmate was traumatized, and he didn't even get credit for the extractions.

 

[1992Corolla]

Basal bone I believe. I wasn't involved in the case luckily, but the patient was satisfied. You're right "Yikes". My classmate was traumatized, and he didn't even get credit for the extractions.

Thats a good story!

 

[2iatrogenic]

Way back when, this chick in my class performed RCT on tooth #24 when tooth #25 was the tooth that was in need. WTF huh? Never forget to count teeth! Oh, & to make the story even better, she perfed it.

That is actually more common than you would think when you are doing RCT on a tooth that has others that look very similar. The problem happens during rubber dam isolation. They have about a half page on this subject in Pathways.

 

[2iatrogenic]

Basal bone I believe. I wasn't involved in the case luckily, but the patient was satisfied. You're right "Yikes". My classmate was traumatized, and he didn't even get credit for the extractions.

I was in a similar situation--a patient had a few anterior teeth that were swaying in the wind. We determined that even an alginate impression would probably extract them. We told her about the possibility and she declined treatment. She would have been charged for the extractions if they came out in the impression.

 

[rocknightmare]

I was in a similar situation--a patient had a few anterior teeth that were swaying in the wind. We determined that even an alginate impression would probably extract them. We told her about the possibility and she declined treatment. She would have been charged for the extractions if they came out in the impression.

umm what?

 

[tinker bell]

I heard a guy in my class doing RCT on a contralateral tooth, like instead of #22, he did #27 🙄
He is a good looking guy, real serious, always give the impression that he knows what he is doing.
Until someone else told me about his Oops story

 

[Ebull]

I heard a guy in my class doing RCT on a contralateral tooth, like instead of #22, he did #27 🙄
He is a good looking guy, real serious, always give the impression that he knows what he is doing.
Until someone else told me about his Oops story

Since when is good looks a sign of competence?

 

[tinker bell]

It's the serious look, not the good look part that gives the false impression.

 

[rocknightmare]

Since when is good looks a sign of competence?

lol

 

[xdianaax]

Oh wow, I don't know if I should be getting my teeth done with the dental students...now i'm really scared...

 

[Dentisting]

Something about reading this topic makes me smile.... Maybe its the fact that im reading about the experiences of other dental students that makes me appreciate my decision to get into dentistry.


I am only a pre-dent, but I know that once I get into school that I will try my best not to make any mistakes. I know that not everyone is perfect, and that mistakes will happen, but I will be happy, because I know I will be doing my best.

I wonder what kind of "dental bloopers" im going to experience in my lifetime... I hope they arent too serious.

 

[Cold Front]

I heard a story about an upperclassman mistakenly took his first impression on a patient with a yellow stone instead of an alginate. He/She didn't realize the problem until it was too late in the patient's mouth.

Then a faculty showed up... [skippin' the drama].. spent many hours drilling out the stone from the patient's mouth.

 

[DrJeff]

I guy in my class, during his 1st live patient clinical session (scheduled for perio charting/prophylaxis), "probed" a maxillary complete denture and recorded actual pocket depths on the chart! Big 'ol case of the nerves there😀

Trust me, many of these "silly" anecdotes and/or wrong tooth/alginate extractions situations don't simply stop once you've graduated d-school😱 But you're a little "smoother" at handling them😀

 

[johntara04]

I heard a story about an upperclassman mistakenly took his first impression on a patient with a yellow stone instead of an alginate. He/She didn't realize the problem until it was too late in the patient's mouth.

Then a faculty showed up... [skippin' the drama].. spent many hours drilling out the stone from the patient's mouth.

Holy cow. That sucks. LOL.

 

[Regmata]

I heard a story about an upperclassman mistakenly took his first impression on a patient with a yellow stone instead of an alginate. He/She didn't realize the problem until it was too late in the patient's mouth.

Then a faculty showed up... [skippin' the drama].. spent many hours drilling out the stone from the patient's mouth.

How did they get it out of the rimlock tray? What a nightmare lol

 

[Daurang]

I heard a story about an upperclassman mistakenly took his first impression on a patient with a yellow stone instead of an alginate. He/She didn't realize the problem until it was too late in the patient's mouth.

Then a faculty showed up... [skippin' the drama].. spent many hours drilling out the stone from the patient's mouth.

Did BU offered free dentures for this patient?

 

[Cold Front]

Did BU offered free dentures for this patient?

I am not sure what the protocol for that type of situation would be... but it's definitely one for the "face the music" books. 🙂

 

[endoking]

Way back when, this chick in my class performed RCT on tooth #24 when tooth #25 was the tooth that was in need. WTF huh? Never forget to count teeth! Oh, & to make the story even better, she perfed it.

This is pretty good, but I know of a student at Case that was doing endo on a mandibular first molar, perfed through the mesial, through the bone and into the distal of the 2nd premolar. That's a downer

 

[armorshell]

I heard the other day that several years back one of our kids, while giving anesthesia, perfed through the tympanic plate and injected the lido into the patient middle ear.

Not sure if it's really true though...

 

[aphistis]

I heard a story about an upperclassman mistakenly took his first impression on a patient with a yellow stone instead of an alginate. He/She didn't realize the problem until it was too late in the patient's mouth.

Then a faculty showed up... [skippin' the drama].. spent many hours drilling out the stone from the patient's mouth.

...I'm calling urban legend on that one. I doubt anyone in the history of dentistry has ever left an alginate in the patient's mouth for the 15-20 minutes buff stone would need to set up that strongly.

 

[sonylarkhi]

An attending in my husband's class at NYU was giving an infraorbital injection and actually went through the buccal mucosa and came out of the lady's cheek and he didn't know it...when he started pushing the lidocaine, it started flying everywhere....