I'm sorry. I don't know what to say.

Thursday,17th Dec

Task : take impression for crown( lower 7) - one for working cast and one for opposing cast

Outcome : Mr. Sarcastic wasn't happy with the impression for opposing cast.
He took the impression from me
Let's see. Patient's got a big jaw and your tray is obviously too small. You
need to extend the tray distally

I tried to beg some empathy from him, hoping he would let me off by accepting the
not-so-perfect impression
'I have already extended it and this is the biggest tray we have here. I actually
thought i could get away with a slight deficiency.......

' In that case, you'll need to make a special tray for it.' He didn't even let me finish
my last sentence which could be my key defense. So mean!

'Err..special tray for the opposing cast???' For one second I thought I heard it wrong
so I had to repeat it just to confirm although it might sound stupid

He gave me the YES-YOU-HEARD-ME look and said
'Yes, b'coz this tray is not good enough.'

I looked at him with my mouth open. I wanted to say something but i was at a loss
for words. Then i just nodded and walked away. Subconsciously, i still couldn't believe
what i've just heard.

Achievement : none


Today

Task : impression for crown (round 2)

Outcome : The wash impression turned out weird.Why did i use the word weird?It looked jagged
on one side rather than a smooth and flat margin.

Mr. S gave a few reasons why the the impression looked 'funny'
i. inadequate moisture control
ii. underextended tray
iii. position of the tongue that hinders the impression material from flowing into the
sulcus
iv. sequence of impression loading - start from the most difficult area which is the
distolingual area.

Finally he said,
Keep that impression. In a worst case scenario, you may need to pour it and make a
special tray

OH GOSH!! another special tray???? NOOOoooo

Quickly, i asked,'Can I have another go?I might get it right next time.'

'Of course!' he smiled

I repeated the impression a couple of times, taking all his advice into consideration
and sadly, i kept getting the same thing back. The same funny impression.
Feeling a bit ashamed, I walked up to him with my 3rd or 4th impression

'Any better?'

' Hmm...no. In fact, worse.' My face turned red

'Yup!' (Dunno why but i thought i sensed some glee in his tone)

He went on,' I thought i told you to make a special tray for that last week.'

'I did but that was for the upper.' I was surprised that he forgot coz he never did.
That word shouldn't exist in the world he lives in.

He stared at me in disbelief and put his palm on his forehead, as though he was saying
Why are you such an idiot??Why would you need a special tray for the opposing
cast??Isn't it bloody obvious that the working cast is more important, dope???

Again, i lost for words. This time, my anger was blazing up. I knew I had to walk
away before things got uglier.
Deep down inside, a little voice was screaming,
' Dun be such a coward. Tell him it was him asking for a special tray for the
opposing cast and he did sign the lab card. Show him the card and let him know it's
not your fault. Go, Yin Hui!!!'

But in the end, i chose to be a craven. i guess my conscience got the better of me.
What good would it do if I ticked Mr. S off??? Probably 6 months of misery in return.
Sigh...Fine, just let me stay foolish

P.S A 'Dr.L's dentistry guide for dummies' pocket book will make the best Christmas gift for me this year

*pout*

A burden called FINALIST

Today at radiology seminar
the tutor put up a panoramic radiograph and turned to us

"Third year, i'll be proud if you can grasp most of things we are going to discuss here"
"But..."

She stared at me and my group mate

"Fifth year, I expect miracles from you two!"

"And...less miracle from the forth year"

"Right, Yin, come forward and present this radiograph to your colleagues"

*gasp*

Since when the relaxing radiology session became not so relaxing??

Being labeled a finalist
you are inevitably prohibited from defending your ignorance with those excuses you used to exploit at ease like

I have no idea
haven't seen this before,
It's the first time i'm doing this
we haven't been taught how to do this yet
I'm a third year so what do u expect?


Tutors get demanding
Patients can put your degree at stake
People around you suddenly lay their expectations on you
You don't/rarely get away with blunders. Even if you stumble make sure you pick yourself up before anyone notices coz sympathy becomes so scarce that sometimes the world feels so... unforgiving

so much for the honour of being a finalist!