Trendy?

So I'm browsing the internet the other day catching up on the newest discoveries and trends in dentistry when I came across an article that made me laugh out loud, literally!

DENTAL TATTOOS???!!!!

My first reaction was: You have got to be kidding me!! According to orthodontist and implantologist Herman Verma, "the youth nowadays is quite adventurous and they take on new trends much easier than generations before them."  Well, I don't need a doctor to point that out but a tattoo on your tooth? and check this, it costs between $250 and $500. Yeahh, miss me with that one. I'll gladly place them on though ;)

Read full article here.

Since I'm Up Studying...

First lecture exam of the summer in a couple hours and can I tell you, I have no motivation to study. It's summer daggone-it! Can I get a break around here?
The exam will be on Class I,II,III,IV and V amalgam preparations, Class III, IV and V composite preparations and liners & bases. It's pretty much a test to see if we understand the theory behind all the work we've been doing in the Sim lab: retention form, resistance form, convenience form, convergence, divergence, pulpal floor depth, cavosurface line angles, axio-pulpal line angles, etc.

Here are examples of what I'm talking about:

Class I (OL)

Involves Pits and fissures of posterior teeth, like the one pictured.
Also involves lingual pits of maxillary anterior teeth and Occlusal 2/3rd ( Buccal/Lingual) of Posterior teeth.

Class II (MO)

Involves Proximal surfaces of Posterior teeth

Class III

Involves proximal surfaces of incisors and cuspids, does not involve the incisal edge

Class IV
Like Class III but it involves the Incisal edge. Look closely, u can
 see where the restoration differs from the actual tooth

Class V

Involves the gingival third (Facial /Lingual) of all teeth.

...and that's all I have time for. Wish me luck!

On to Class II's

Exam in the morning! I have to do an MO (mesio-occlusal) amalgam cavity prep. on tooth #18. A tad bit nervous about it because I really only did it once in class. I'll try my best to do well though and I'll be sure to post the photo after it has been graded.
Speaking of photo, I need a new camera. I have this Sony Cybershot DSC-T90 which I looove, it's the cutest thing but close up pics never come out right. I'm thinking along the lines of a Nikon D3100 -that would totally make my year! but it's $700, which is not in my budget at all. It would be cool to have clearer pictures to share though, especially when I start filling the cavities and making prostheses.

After this exam tomorrow, our next project(s) will be preparing Class III, IV and Vs. Those should be fun. I was perusing blogs the other day and came across this photo on Dental Dad Diary's blog. How cute are those little Class V men?

No! No! Nooooo no more holes pleeeeeeaaase!

Happy Monday!!

Nifty

Remember as a kid when we were taught about Thomas Edison, Philo Farnsworth, Percy LeBaron and the likes? We swore we would one day be like them and invent something really cool! Our little brains would whir into action, imagination running wild as we collected any trash, build some contraption and give it function/life. That enthusiasm soon died though as we grew older and realized, sigh! all my great ideas are already taken. 

Then I happened on this little photo. As simple as it is, it sparked that enthusiasm again. Maybe inventing a dental instrument is in my future. I feel the gears in my brain turning.

I got a real kick out of this, haha! 6th year tooth brush?

Occluso-Lingual Class I

I love it when I set a goal for myself and it is reached. I get all kinds of happy and it motivates me to keep moving forward.

As you may re-call, my graded exercise for an Occluso-Lingual amalgam cavity prep on tooth #3 (maxillary right first molar) was on Wednesday. I did really well on it and so I'm one happy camper! 

This video helped with forming the lingual groove

...and final product

OL, tooth #3

Ignore the pink color around the lingual groove. That was used to mark the exam tooth. More to come!

Occlusal Class I

Remember that Class I Occlusal amalgam cavity prep./graded exercise on tooth #30 that i told you about in the last post? (pictured below).

This is how you prepare the tooth for the amalgam restoration

• 330 bur used to make initial punch cuts in the occlusal fossae
• Proper outline established
• Mesial and distal dovetails made and divergent. Slight buccal and Lingual extensions established
• Depth of 2mm established
• Pulpal floor made smooth
• Done! in under 30 mins using just the 330 bur

I did pretty well on it and now I can move on to the next project on hand, a Class I Occluso-Lingual amalgam cavity prep. on tooth #3. yes, indirect, like this (below)

Indirect (using mirror to see maxillary teeth). Just a tad bit more challenging.

The graded exercise for that will be on Wednesday and I'll be practicing for the next couple days in hopes of getting that perfect score. Picture to come after it is graded.

Tooth decay was a perennial national problem that meant a mouthful of silver for patients, and for dentists a pocketful of gold. ~Claudia Wallis