Operative Positioning Tips - Please Help!

[leforte88]

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Hey everyone! I was wondering if people had advice on the best way to position your chair, yourself, and your mirror to visualize the most difficult surfaces of teeth. Do you have any general tips for positioning and visualizing surfaces?

What angle do you view teeth as you're doing a prep? I find that the handpiece often obstructs my view of what I am doing.. (Please excuse my noobness, we just started doing preps in class.)

I've definitely been having trouble visualizing lingual surfaces of posterior teeth. Thank you so much!

 

[LifeIsGood7885]

I wish I had advice for you, but I'm in the same boat as a rising D2. How on earth are people able to see the depth of the proximal box when the handpiece is in the way. I'm totally flying blind!

 

[toothdriller2k17]

for maxillary teeth, hold the mirror on the outside of the mouth

 

[LaughingGas]

No easy way. Just gotta play with the mirror.

 

[THS]

You kind of have to do it by feel. If you're using a 329 or 330 for the occlusal prep, you can tell how deep 2mm is by where the shank starts on the bur, no need to see the floor of the prep. For proximal boxes, it's a little tougher. Maxillary DOs are probably the toughest for me in terms of visibility. When I'm doing one of those where I can't see the proximal box, I use a piece of matrix band or one of those V3 wedges with the metal on it to protect the adjacent tooth, then I can just "feel" the shape of the box as I drill it (usually with a 330, then clean it up with a 169L).
Just have to take your time and move around to get the best view.

 

[tooth knockn]

Are dental students required to work sitting?

It could a dental student choose to do dental procedures while standing?

 

[THS]

Are dental students required to work sitting?

It could a dental student choose to do dental procedures while standing?

I have assisted a few seniors that did not use loupes and stood up to get a better view every once in a while. They did not look comfortable though.

Many dentists stand up to extract teeth, simply because that's how they did it in school.

 

[toothdriller2k17]

oral surgery extractions from what i've seen are usually done while standing up.

some things that i've done standing are initial periodontal exams, administering anesthesia, taking impressions...and maybe things like putting in a temporary crown, only if the angle was right by standing. not sure if it's right, but i've seen upperclassmen do it. do what's comfortable for your back and posture

 

[toothdriller2k17]

back to the original question though, where you hold the mirror varies slightly depending on the patient. the patient might have a small mouth, so you would need to adjust. the patient also might have thick cheeks so it would be difficult to see maxillary molars in some instances.