theory and practical work

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theory and practical work

shahd mohd

September 27, 2009 2:39 PM

hi Dr. Choo

I am a dental student and that is my last year.... but my real problem is that i cannot connect between theory and practical work.... when i study , I feel that i know all the informations written, but once I come to clinic I get confused and I dont know how to deal with the situation.... so can u please advise me what to do because I am really embarresd about this thing....

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Dr. Sue-Ann Choo

September 27, 2009 9:34 PM

It is normal to feel overwhelmed when you start to treat patients with real problems, real tongues/cheeks/teeth, real emotions, and real anxieties. It does get easier as you see more patients and recognize that most dental problems are either tooth or gum related, and sometimes but not often, both.
Taking a good medical and dental history before hand usually diagnoses the problem. Take your time to see the patient then the surrounding structures then finally the tooth. It's easy to only look at teeth because we are dentists but we can learn a lot about the case by looking at everything. Once you've made the diagnosis, trust it and follow through. If you're not sure about the diagnosis, tell the patient that the symptoms are not conclusive and don't be afraid to be conservative. There are many times when I tell my patients to wait and see, and I've saved them a possible root canal treatment.
Finally, the actual dental skills also come with practice. For example, the more fillings you do, the better you become at doing fillings. Try to get as much experience as possible in your final year because that's when you will notice your skills getting better expotentially. It's only the beginning of your final year and it feels daunting but trust yourself, get lots of practice, make mistakes while you can afford to, don't be embrassed because most of your classmates are thinking the same things just they're embarrassed to say it, and you will be fine.
Dr Choo