- Joined
- Mar 11, 2019
- Messages
- 160
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I'm in operative right now and I am having a lot of trouble making class III preps. I've watched Dr. Stevenson's technique but when I try to do it the plastic tooth does not shave away as smoothly as it does in his video and we were not given whetstones so I can't sharpen my hatchet. Do I need to raise the RPM of my handpiece?
Instructors have told us to make a rectangle with rounded corners running incisal to gingival. Most of the time my axial wall is curved and not flat. Another issue is that my incisal or gingival wall will not be parallel with the other. I don't know how to fix either of these issues without spending too much time making the prep or making it worse than it already is. When extending the prep I find myself in a tug of war battle with the tooth as I try to gently move the bur, resulting in the tooth suddenly giving way and me making a bigger cut than I wanted.
I am not great at indirect vision yet which definitely doesn't help. I admit that I neglected extra lab sessions until recently but I've been going in to practice when I can. It's just frustrating to go through several teeth without having a single example where almost everything was done well. An instructor expressed concern today and it was very frustrating to hear because I know what to do but dont have the skills to pull it off.
We are using 245 and 330 burs. I mostly use the 245 to make the general shape of the outline and for my initial hole in the middle of the prepform. The 330 is used to thin out the proximal wall like Dr. Stevenson advises so I can break it off without damaging the adjacent tooth. I am currently running my handpiece at 40,000 RPM-60,000 RPM (8 to 12 on the screen) but I sometimes go above so I can actually make headway in the prep. I change my bur every prep I do.
I really enjoy operative but my lack of progress is starting to frustrate me especially when everyone else around me seems to get it. I've accepted that I will probably fail the upcoming practical but I would at like to know what you guys do to make good class III preps so I can practice for the future. I do great in class but I am always subpar in lab. I desperately don't want to be the guy who has booksmarts but no actual physical skill.
Please help me. Thank you.
edit: passed my assessment with flying colors. 150,000RPM, used a 245 for the initial punch cut for optimal depth and then finished the rest of the prep using a 330 pear. Thanks to everyone for their help
Instructors have told us to make a rectangle with rounded corners running incisal to gingival. Most of the time my axial wall is curved and not flat. Another issue is that my incisal or gingival wall will not be parallel with the other. I don't know how to fix either of these issues without spending too much time making the prep or making it worse than it already is. When extending the prep I find myself in a tug of war battle with the tooth as I try to gently move the bur, resulting in the tooth suddenly giving way and me making a bigger cut than I wanted.
I am not great at indirect vision yet which definitely doesn't help. I admit that I neglected extra lab sessions until recently but I've been going in to practice when I can. It's just frustrating to go through several teeth without having a single example where almost everything was done well. An instructor expressed concern today and it was very frustrating to hear because I know what to do but dont have the skills to pull it off.
We are using 245 and 330 burs. I mostly use the 245 to make the general shape of the outline and for my initial hole in the middle of the prepform. The 330 is used to thin out the proximal wall like Dr. Stevenson advises so I can break it off without damaging the adjacent tooth. I am currently running my handpiece at 40,000 RPM-60,000 RPM (8 to 12 on the screen) but I sometimes go above so I can actually make headway in the prep. I change my bur every prep I do.
I really enjoy operative but my lack of progress is starting to frustrate me especially when everyone else around me seems to get it. I've accepted that I will probably fail the upcoming practical but I would at like to know what you guys do to make good class III preps so I can practice for the future. I do great in class but I am always subpar in lab. I desperately don't want to be the guy who has booksmarts but no actual physical skill.
Please help me. Thank you.
edit: passed my assessment with flying colors. 150,000RPM, used a 245 for the initial punch cut for optimal depth and then finished the rest of the prep using a 330 pear. Thanks to everyone for their help
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