1. Never offer the patient a hand to squeeze - their pain during extractions will show as chinese burns on your arm
2. People learn quick under pressure
3. Instruments names that u learn in uni doesnt matter when your dentists says: "short needle (Local anesthetic)", "ball (ball burnisher)", "spoon (excavator)"
4. When talking to a child, refer to all dental materials as "my weapons to destroy all the bad bugs in your mouth"
5. Smile: its contagious
Ah, as most people know - i have been working as a dental assistant for a while now. And today was a pretty awesome work day. Since starting the job, i've really only handed the scale/clean cases (which were somewhat repetitive); ortho and impressions. But today i got to see 2 patients that had their teeth extracted - yes, im very excited! Also, i got to see a composite filling and a chipped tooth being fixed.
However, today i also felt the pressure of dentistry - you need the ability to think quick and learn fast. With the guy having his chipped tooth replaced with a composite resin, i was worried cuz i've never learned about the procedure before and it was a fast procedure, as exposure of the material to light sets/hardens the material. So i got slighty heighten when the dentist was telling me to get all these materials (like clear strip, g-bond, A3). I had no idea what she was talking about, and also, the mask meant that i could barely heard her. I was running around frantically getting stuff, and asking where stuff was, so i think she got a little annoyed. I felt useless - sigh! But it really tested how well i responded to situations and ability to think quick. Im blessed to have the opportunity and the dentist taught me so much already!
There was this one patient - a 6 year old girl, who has a few permanent teeth and about 5 rotting baby teeth. So the dentist called for an extraction. She little girl was so scared, even themum had to sit in the dental chair and hug her during the entire procedure. An extraction means that LA (local anesthetic) had to be applied - via a NEEDLE! The dentist tried to hide the needle but when the girl saw it, she started crying and screaming. She cried so loud when the needle hit the gums, i felt so bad and my eyes actually went watery. Then it got even worse cuz the dentist didnt put enough LA, so when she started to extract, it hurt really bad, and then another injection. During the extraction, the teeth chipped and root fragments were stuck in the girl's gums, so the dentist had to excavate under the gums. All along the girl was uneasy, but i heard the mum whispering a story to her daughter in malay - which really calmed her down.
There was also this one guy, middle aged man who was scared to get his teeth scaled and clean so he came in the surgery and when the dentist told him it would hurt a little bit, he fled and said he wanted to come back under LA to scale and clean - i thought that a funny.
Ah, a totally random day - gosh i learnt so much today.
What: The Offspring's "Kristy, are you doing ok?" completed on guitar and piano
How: Guitar tabs from Ultimate Guitar; piano - by ear =]
When: yesterday (6th jan) - in 45 mins flat =P
Why: if not at work, do sth useful!! *cough* less drama *cough*
Ahhh - anberlin is coming to melb and me cant get in!! 3 days from my b'day (1 Mar) - and on Feb 26th, anberlin decides to hold an 18+ concert in melb.I missed the opp in yr 11 cuz i didnt check their site then now they decided that it shud be an 18+ concert. Sigh - one of the downfalls of not being 18 yet.
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