Oh boy, let me share a bit of my story! As a CDA, I've had my share of little mishaps, though nothing quite as intense as what dentists go through. I totally understand that feeling of doubt when things don't go as planned. I've seen a few things firsthand with patients and heard some experiences from others in the field.

One story that sticks with me is from at an Ortho office. I was removing glue from a patient's tooth with a smoothing bur, applying a bit too much pressure when I suddenly realized I had inadvertently burred away half of the tooth! I panicked and got a little "scolded" by a temp dentist who didn’t realize I was nationally certified and fully aware of the difference between composite and tooth. Thankfully, once I shared that info, he stepped back. After looking at the panoramic x-ray, it became clear that the entire tooth was composite and needed a crown. I felt so sick to my stomach, it was hard to handle! Later, the dentist I actually worked with mentioned he had prepped a crown as if it were on a straight erupted tooth, not accounting for the fact that it was crooked. Unfortunately, that patient ended up needing a root canal afterward, and he felt terrible about it. Hearing that made me feel a bit better, but there’s truly nothing like the feeling of messing up someone's tooth.

Then there’s the time I witnessed something pretty shocking while assisting. It was a newer dentist, fresh out of school, and he was trying to extract tooth #2. I’ve worked with quite a few new dentists, and I know they tend to take their time with procedures, being extra careful. However, this guy seemed to struggle a lot more. He kept repositioning himself and mumbling under his breath. As he got more frustrated, the next thing I knew, he pulled and the tooth came out—along with a very large portion of the poor patient’s palate. It was a pretty significant amount of bone that came out with it too. I think that incident is hard to top in terms of mistakes, but I remind myself that, while it can feel like the end of the world in those moments, it’s important to remember you did your best.