Working in the Mouth
We did dental indices on our peers today — so, this was the first time I have ever in my life probed around someone’s gums using actual dental instruments.
I’ve never sweat so much in my life.
By the time I was done with my rotation as examiner, my nitrile gloves were transparent from sweat. Posture, working in your mirror, keeping your hands braced on the person’s face, not blinding them with light, not poking them in their soft palate… so many things to keep in mind. And all we were doing is counting teeth and testing the health of the mouth! Drilling and filling a cavity seems a lifetime away right now. I think the hardest part is knowing what someone is comfortable with; I mean, it’s one thing to say you can (and should) brace your working hands on your patient’s face, but it’s quite another thing to physically maneuver your hands into the correct positions. I’m nervous and excited to get better at this.
Comments
Amber Gehring
I hope you didn’t sweat in their mouths.
And I volunteer Justin to be your guinea pig.
Alexander Micek
Thankfully, I didn’t… whew. :) All are welcome to schedule an appointment at the U for dental work, though I won’t be up in those clinics until 2010!
Caley
Whoohoo! Exciting stuff! I’ll be over at the SOD myself next week for a tour of the ortho dept. Since I’m doing a feasibility study for them they figured I should probably check out their digs…haha…I’ll keep my eye out for ya!