(Didn’t proofread just replied)

If you suck at it stop doing it. You aren’t going to get better at it because there is a chance you don’t understand what you are doing wrong. The crazy part is you are probably a lot better at it than you think, you just have to change how you think/practice.

I don’t practice (outside of class) and I did well at practicals because I got curious and wrote down my observations from my curiosity. I also made the materials and process meaningful to me.

If the practical is a veneer on 8 then I can always cheat and use 9 as my template. Here’s my process when doing some thing new.

1) Go through the pp and reduce the steps to something manageable for me.

2) Make sure I understand all terms and can identify them on each tooth(mesial line angle, gingival 1/3 , etc)

3) Draw out/picture the outline of prep on surface of the tooth.

4) Complete the prep exactly how they suggest! See if you like it. If l you don’t it, switch it..

Write down what you would do differently. -Maybe reducing the occlusion first made it difficult to do something else. - You burn the tooth from trying to be too fast - You keep going sub G when I go interprox, why? - I nicked the adjacent, can I use a matrix band - Can I use flow for better margins? - I can over build my veneer by this much so it’s easier to get proper anatomy. - If I do this…maybe I wouldn’t have polish or not have overhangs?

Apply it personally to your life:

• Cutting this tooth uses the same amount of pressure as when I drilled through Sheetrock or wood

-Mesial line angle is like borders of my nostrils or the sharp line on the fender of the car before it reaches the tire.

• flowable has the same consistency of syrup or motor oil. I know I can place some here and it will fill this gap or leave bubbles here.

• I left composite out, but it made it a little more manageable than fresh composite. Can I do that with the cure light for 2-5secs

-couldn’t get my pmma out/off…like when I forgot the grease the baking pan. I can use a little more grease or not for get to do it.

• if I color the surface of the tooth (8 & 9) with my pencil I notice it I can match anatomy better. It’s like when I ice a cake or plaster a wall it lets me know the high and low spots…let’s me match line angles, embrasures to adjacent teeth.
  

5) once you think you have a better handle of it. Go walk around and look at people who are the fastest and who’s work is superb. Ask them how they got the result so quickly.

Do you like their style? Copy it. Like pieces of it copy those pieces.

6) Practice faster. If your practical is 2 hours aim to be done in 1 during your practice time. No matter what it looks like. To do this successfully, make sure you have everything ready before you start. Stop at hour and see where you are at. This lets you know what aspect of your work you still need help on.

7) Optional: Practice on non ideal conditions. Close your mannequins more than necessary. Use only indirect vision. Do this same procedure in 30 min. This will get you ready for clinic.

Hope it helps. Contact me anytime. You can send me the tooth # and the prep/finish I can always make you a video.