I’m getting better every day.

It’s such a great feeling. We got our dental simulations teeth back- the ones we drilled with our DentSim handpieces without knowing what the heck we were doing. That was our first semester of dental school so I barely knew 1) what to do and 2) why we were making certain shapes or outlines.

I had a blast looking at every single tooth. I had marked the ones I thought were good. Looking at even those “better” ones now, I know they would never have passed in our preclinic laboratory class.

I don’t know what happened in this Class II amalgam preparation box. It looks like an angry person dug into it, like craters or something awful. Dear future patients, I swear my hand skills are much better now since this mess eight months ago.

First days in GRD lab, I remember looking at the sample prepped teeth and wondering how they got the outlines to be so smooth and so flowing. I prepped these teeth for my “enrichment” class this summer. This took me two hours to do. The outline is off (not a clear dovetail on PM, extensions have sharp edges) but I am so happy with how crisp and smooth my outlines are!

Simple reminders that I am getting better every day, and that I’ll continue to get better. Even through all the tears and sweat this year, I know this is a fact. I only hope I can look back on these preps and laugh- “I thought these were good? Yesle-circa-2013 should look at my magic hands now…”

In this way I love that dental school (and being a dentist) is concrete work. You get a final product (preparation or a restoration) after your long day at work day to day. Getting to be that consistently good takes hard work but it’s learning that skill.

What have you worked hard at to achieve?
What are you better at today than you were one year ago? (I’m also a better runner! And a much better stress manager.)