Amalgam Restorations

Hey all!

Here are some pictures of me as well as my first amalgam fillings! Over the past month we've worked on a number of tooth preparations and today we finally filled them!

There are something like 30-some-odd tools that we use for the amalgam fillings alone (cleoid, discoid, beavertail burnisher, etc.) and I can barely get them all straight in my head! And apparently in about a month or so I have my first practical which involves a preparation and subsequent amalgam filling ...

Aka drill and fill.

And not to mention, bill!

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm still many quarters away from doing this in the patient clinic on real human beings. :)

On that note, one of my classmates told me in lab today that I looked like a real dentist. It was actually quite reassuring to hear that, and of course I returned the compliment -- always keep your eyes on the prize peeps!

And at your request, I will be posting more pictures of my first year at UCLA Dental School!

Cheers,

E

My first amalgam restorations!

Stressful ... but successful!