A Graphic Insight Into My Dental Course

Before launching into 56k killing mode, here’re some tidbits from my life:

1. Found out from my brother’s blog that my parents are thinking of buying a Nintendo DS for my grandmother.

2. Spankthemalenurse.blogspot.com – a gay nurse in Singapore. After reading for abit, I realised that we both share the same way of writing – incoherent, rambling and have the tendency to provide lengthy background information on things that we are blogging about. And don’t worry, it’s quite a clean site, unlike the scary one in my password protected post.;)

Two weeks worth of practical classes and I’ll be killing your internet connection. Please entertain me for awhile lah, let the blog load first!
I’m having practical classes four days a week. It’s very taxing, very tiring but yet very fun.(except dentures. I’m sick of dentures already.) Thank goodness it’s coming along well.

I know I’ve said this countless of times, but I’m really happy doing what I’m doing. I don’t dread it, though I do admit I feel tired but it’s nice to be working with your hands rather than your brains all the time.

Even our relationship with the lecturers are quite good. I daresay that we’re all quite like a big happy family. Like when the visiting lecturer asked if we know anything about nail polish, and the dental technician turned around to look at me and gave me a knowing smile. He seems to be rather taken with nail art and would compliment our painted toenails. Or like the time when we finally entered the simulation labs and my dean came to chide me, “So this is what you’ve been waiting for yea? I’ll never let you hear the end of it even till the day you graduate!”…as I’ve been constantly asking persistent questions about when we will be starting on the REAL things(rather than sitting in a classroom and stoning at powerpoint slides after powerpoint slides.).

I’ve just discovered how to use the blogging feature on my phone! Turns out that every z610i comes equipped with a blogspot blog and I can snap a photo anytime and then send it directly to the blog that comes with it.

WOOT! Mobile blogging wei! Here’s the link! Keep visiting the blog throughout the day because it’s all in real time!

This is the occlusal surface of the tooth. We had to cut along the fissures, to simulate how a real bur(most of you would refer to it as a drill) works.

We still had to practice making tunnel preparations in plaster molars. A great sense of satisfaction washes over when you’ve managed to break through the thin sliver of plaster.

And you’ll have to break the ‘enamel’ that overhangs between the lesion and the cavity.

During one of the classes, we had to make cavities on anterior teeth. Cute blocks of plaster, must make use of that fact.

The never ending story – Complete Dentures. This was before flasking(I’ll elaborate on this later), we had to break the plaster of paris that was holding the model.

What a mess! You had to becareful – a few of my friends knocked off some of the teeth as well.

That’s where we did the flasking.

A layer of plaster of paris was added to the flask(a metal container). The model plus the wax dentures are placed on top of it and then fill it up to the brim before covering it up. It is then sent to a giant nat and screw kind of contraption that compresses onto the flask. We leave it there to harden before putting it into the boilet(once again, more on that later).

I wanted to camwhore with my dentures but was joined by Sett. After seeing the photo, he said, “Oh man, I look like a girl,” and I had more to worry about when I scrutinized the photo. I said, “And I look like a guy.:(”

And this, ladies and gentleman, is how your occlusion should be.

In the midst of completing our complete dentures, we had to make blocks of plaster to stick five carious teeth into. We were to learn how to drill away the carious tissuel!! So exciting!!

The black black stuff are caries. And there are bits of amalgam in it, but it will have to be removed during our simulation practical a few days later.

While I was bored, I decided to go kepo at Brenda’s group. Our class is divided into two groups – Group A and B. My group would be doing dentures while they enjoyed themselves at the simulation lab. We all know all the fun is at the simulation lab!

A peek into the simulation lab.

Everybody hard at work. And yet Nien can turn around to flash me the peace sign.

I went around taking mugshots of the class. Figured that it would make good material for a slide show at the upcoming Dental Dinner. This is Steven by the way.

Cze-Yin looking so diligent.

l-r: Maxis and Thong.

Ee Chean.

Angela

Andy.

Brenda’s low-speed handpiece. Poor girl is a left hander.

Praveena.

Venga.

I actually have a ruder picture of Chee Wen, but let’s not tarnish reputations. Heh. 🙂 This is Chee Wen.

Lol, I particularly like this picture.

Zhu Zen.

Pei Zhi.

Nien.

Bala’s amalgam filling came out.

And this is Bala hard at work.

After kepoing at the simulation lab, I went back to my group’s boring tasks. Here are the nat and screw kind of contraption, sorry I forgot what they are called.

Here, the flasks are inserted in hot water so that the wax will melt out leaving the teeth stuck on the plaster.

washing out the residual wax with hot hot hot water.

And here it is! This is not mine, by the way. I can’t remember whose is it.

Since the compressor was down for awhile, we were taught how to insert rubber dams during our turn at the simulation labs. The functions of rubber dams are for moisture control(so that the tooth that is being worked on remains uncontaminated by saliva etc.) and also to prevent instruments from falling into the throats of patients.

Jamie fooling around with Jeya. It’s not to extract teeth, by the way.

And this is where it goes.

You stretch the piece of rubber damn over the frame and hook it onto the sharp bits.

And this is a rubber damn punch for making holes onto the rubber.

This is how it works.

A photo which my dad probably wants to keep. He made me burn some photos of myself into a cd for him when I first touched the simulator(as seen in one of my recent blog entries).

The rubber dam clamp forceps for picking out a perfect rubber damn clamp.

I think this photo makes me look like a good girl. Heehee. *blushes innocently*

The tooth that are being worked upon goes into the holes on the rubber damn.

And to get the rubber damn to go in between the teeth(the contact point of the teeth), a superfloss is used to get the rubber damn to go straight down.

My fingers were damn painful after awhile because the strings were cutting into my fingers.

And a rubber damn clamp helps to push the rubber damn away from the teeth.

And whenever we learn something new in practical class, we HAVE to have a photo of us doing it. This is for Lie Yuen.

And this is for me to look back fondly on when I am old and grey.

We have cute little cabinets at the bottom to store our things. Thong, who sits at my place during Group A’s class, was so kind and gentlemanly as he let me have the upper cabinet.

A couple of days ago, a company specializing in dental adhesives and restoratives came to give a talk. They even held practical classes for us to get a feel of the materials that we will be using in our line of work.

These are composite resins.. which are for fillings. Don’t ask me so many questions, I have yet to start studying properly for this module. And in my further defense, I’ve yet to study for my finals so I don’t remember what I studied under dental materials for the past two modules.

It’s pink in colour before light curing.

Light curing will activate the catalysts in the composite. This is to strengthen the bonds bla bla bla.

And tada! It becomes tooth coloured after light curing!

It’s kinda cool, makes me look I have super powers.

The impression material really lived up to its name. Impression materials are for taking an impression of a patient’s dentition to make dentures etc.

It’s so “impressive'(pardon the pun) that it even managed to copy the Agong’s face!

Every single detail okay! We were joking how it’ll be ideal for making our own money. Hehe.

And this is glass ionomer cement. It is used for restorations as well.

There’s a liquid and powder formula that must be mixed together to form a homogeneous paste. No doubt mine looks like crap again. This is not mine by the way.

Dentists who have more money to spare would use the capsules instead of the bottles. This puncher is to push the liquid into the powder to form a mixture.

The liquid was in the silver foil and is then pushed into the rest of the capsule.

It is then inserted into a spinning contraption(can’t remember!!) and a paste will then be formed.

And it is then pushed out by this metal thing.

See my lousy skills at mixing the powder and liquid together.

“It’s a disaster,”.

Practice makes perfect.:) I shall console myself with that for now.

It even comes with a comic book type of illustrated instructions. Very good!

After the dental materials practical, we continued with our complete dentures practical sessions.

The flasks were inserted into this timed boiler thingamajig to remove the residual wax.

Curious Jimmy having a look see.

Our little nursery of dentures-in-the-process!

And these are my babies!! Koo chi koo chi koo!~