Make a beanie in an hour!!!

The yarn is from loops &threads. I saw it in the Michaels store. 

The idea came suddenly. I was experimenting with the puff stitches. So, this just happened. 

Then I made up the pattern in a round. 

It looks so cute! You will agree!

I recorded the pattern . Then a lot of time editing and finally got it published. 

Thestitch is still amazing me! i can come up with that???? 

After making the pattern as a flat rectangle, my hubby said looks like wheat.. Then I looked for wheat stitch. Yes there is one!!! Mine is little different. 

I am stopping my story here. The video is embedded below. View that!!!

 

ToothTalkings

A spiral crochet beanie

 The yarn is from Red Heart. I saw it on sale while browsing Amazon website. 

The light colour will work well with textured stitches.  

I was making a regular beanie. 

Instead of doing increases and regular stitches, I made post stitches and clustered the increases. 

I love the result.

Wish to see the video pattern? 

The crown is started with a magic circle. You can easily change to a ch4 and slip stitch to create a ring to start crocheting. 

The video says where to stop for different sizes. It also gives the crown diameter measurements. 

If you are not familiar with measuring a hat crown, this is the perfect video for you. 

Are you going to make one? 

Are you going to look at the pattern to get some ideas? 

I am just curious what you are going to do with this crochet video tutorial. 

Fun with crochet!

ToothTalkings

Pivoting the blog direction

It is 2026. Actually, it is going to end soon

I am changing too. 

After a mastectomy in 2023, I am not interested in discussing dental assisting.

It may be a personal change issue.

Now, I spend more time crocheting.

It was fun before. It is still fun. 

Selling on Etsy was an option. Soon, I got bored. 

So decided to record videos of my patterns. I am more interested in doing small projects. Making blankets is not for me. 

Smaller projects finish up quickly. A small amount of yarn can finish a project.

So, I am pivoting to talk about crochet. 

Life in

Toronto is still good. 

Dental Loupes for Dental assistants

I was seeing dental assistants wearing loupes on Instagram. 

A quick search came up with this product called "Hero Loupes" 

They have something called "Sidekick"., which is the lowest price one. This can be clipped onto the safety glasses. Price is $293 Canadian. 

Looks very nice. But I am not sure about the weight. 

Will it be good for people who have prescription glasses? Not sure. I think, since it is clip-on, it can be clipped on to the prescription safety glasses without trouble. 

This can be a life changer for full time dental assistants. 

 

ToothTalkings

Dentist lost licence

I saw this news: The Barrie dentist, Dr. Chapnick lost his licence. The reason stated was that he sexually abused a patient.

He was asked to pay $10,000 to the Royal College of dental surgeons. a quick search showed me he owned two practices in Ontario. But, the offices are not taking any patients for Dr. Chapnick now. 

My heart goes to all those people who worked for him.  Here, even though the doctor is the culprit, the staff also bear the shame. 

Why do things like this happen in dental offices? How the dentist got the chance to abuse a patient? 

It is not easy to get licensed to be a dentist. How many foreign dentists are appearing for the licensing exam and failing each year? Think of the money they have to spend to appear for the exam! 

I just wish dentists think of all those things before writing a prescription and before giving a treatment. 

The shame of malpractice is not only on the dentists, but the family, friends and the staff has to suffer it too. 

It is a sad situation that a dentist or any healthcare provider becomes an abuser. 

Can they get help to stop abusing other people? 

Are there more victims?

So many unanswered questions...

 

ToothTalkings

Electric tooth brush

Electric toothbrushes are in style. 

How to use a Sonicare one?

It rotates. So, you just hold it gently against your teeth. No force at all. 

Let the brush do the work for you.

Move from tooth to tooth and allow the brush to work on all surfaces. 

Sonicare has a timer setting. So you will be sure you are not brushing faster. 

My Sonicare even let e know when to change the brush head.

isn't it nice?

 

ToothTalkings

Patient's demands

It is not always a great workday at the office.

Most patients don't like to be on a dental chair for restorative work. 

This week, I got an unpleasant patient. He was not interested in having a conversation with me. 

He was talking nicely to the dentist. After giving the anaesthetic, the doctor left the room asking me to place the rubber dam. 

He was making my job very difficult by closing the mouth. To make me miserable, the dam tore when I was stretching it over his teeth. 

When I try to place a new sheet, he snapped " you call the dentist". I went to the dentist and told her "I can't place it". then the doctor came and done that. 

He was very cooperative with the dentist.  

I wanted to blame this as the patient not being comfortable in a dental office setting. I wanted to blame dental phobia. I wanted to blame myself for tearing the dental dam.....

I wanted to overcome the bad feelings and let them go too.

 

ToothTalkings

Gingival retraction

ToothTalkings

The dentists try to retract the gingiva before taking final impressions for crowns or veneers.
All these years, I was taking gingival retraction chord for this purpose. Oh, no, I was not packing the chord. Level 2 dental assistants are not supposed to do that.
To stop gingival bleeding, the chord is socked in a hemostatic solution like Hemodent first. Then the dentist use a retraction chord packer to place it around the tooth.
I got a chance to see another material recently. The dentist use Expasyl system. It comes like an anesthetic cartridge, a gun and a tip.

It is easy to assemble. The application is faster than packing the chord. The dentist will wash the material from the gingiva and dry the area before taking the final impression.

There are other materials like magic Cord retraction paste. But, I haven't got a chance to use that.
The simple trick for cutting a retraction chord to fit around tooth is to wrap around your little finger and cut it. Usually it will be perfect size.  How that works??? No clue.  But it works all the time.

Brain Dead after Dental visit.

The other day while surfing on the net, I slearned about the horrible tory of a girl became brain dead because of dental treatment.
The girl was getting treatments done by a paediatric dentist. General dentists refer little patients, who are not co-operative to pedodontist. Some times, the kid need more care than the general dentist can offer.
But, what went wrong in the dental office, that made the little girl brain dead?

The article says the kid had breakfast before procedure. Was it known to the dentist? Does it made the complication? a lot of un answered questions.

How on earth, the kid had so much decayed teeth to begin with?
Wasn't the drinking water fluoridated in Edmonton?

I am so sorry for the family. Hope, this sad fate will something positive in the end.


Make dreamscometrue

ToothTalkings

Dycal: Information for Dental Assistants

What is Dycal?
Dycal is a cavity liner, which comes as a two paste system, base and accelerator. It is Calcium Hydroxide. It can also be used in pulp capping.

It usually used when the dentist feels like the cavity is so deep and almost the nerve is almost exposed. The calcium hydroxide will help the tooth to heal. 

How to Mix Dycal
Here is a video of how to mix the dycal.




Usually the assistant gives the Dycal along with a Dycal applicator to the dentist. (Dycal applicator looks like a ball burnisher but slightly different.)

The one above is single ended. The one below is double ended and you can see how it is different from a ball burnisher.

It is a hard setting and has low solubility. Dycal helps the restoration of pulp vitality and do not interfere with composite filling materials.

If doing composite fillings, usually dentist put Dycal first, then do the etching, bonding and placing of composite.

What do you think of this post in Toothtalkings? 

Any questions, please use the comment section. 

ToothTalkings

Save money by taking care

It is good to have dental cleaning done every six months. The dental professionals advice you.

In reality, it is expensive, isn't it? Without a good paying job or having a job with benefits, regular dental dental visits are expensive to many of us. Then think about the need for getting cavities filled or the severe toothache leading to root canal treatment? That will sure put your budget upside down.

If we can spend some time each day to take care of our teeth, we can avoid some of the expensive treatments. 

Brushing and flossing regularly is the first step to maintain healthy teeth. It is not that expensive. Just careful to brush gently. By, brushing gently, what I mean is your brush should look like new even after six months of using.  

Make a habit of flossing after dinner. If you are just starting to do flossing, little bit of bleeding from the gums are expected. But, if the bleeding is not reducing with the continuous use of flossing, it is an indication that the gums are infected and needs to be checked by a dentist.

You might have heard of oil pulling from Dr.Oz show. I am sure the benefit of it. It is just another way you can try everyday to have healthy mouth. 

All health conscious people know carbonated soft drinks and high sure diet are not good for health. That goes to oral health too. How many people know that raisins are not healthy for tooth? Any food that stick to tooth is not good at all. So, after eating such sticky food, remember to brush it off or chew on sugar free gums, or chew a celery stick. 

Crunchy fruits and vegetables are called detergent foods. They can remove the food sticking to the tooth surfaces to avoid getting cavity. Drink more water instead of juices. Rinse mouth with water after each meal. 

I am not suggesting we can avoid dental visits completely by these tips. We can reduce the chances of getting cavities and gum disease by being careful. 

Usually, if you are getting the cleaning done at a hygiene clinic, it will be less expensive than getting it done in a dentist's office. 

What do you think of this article? Do you have any other dental tips? Please share your thoughts in the commet section.

ToothTalkings

Ultrasonic cleaner : Only for medial and dental offices?

You might have seen something like this in your dentist's office or the doctor's office. You might have even asked what is that and what is doing.

The friendly dental assistant might have told you it is an ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning the instruments. 

What is it really doing? 

First of all, it can be used to clean more than dental instruments. It can be used to clean jewelry, lenses and optical parts. 

It has a chamber to hold the cleaning solution (specially designed for the ultrasonic cleaners) and a wire basket to hold the instruments. The ultrasonic cleaner uses ultrasound for cleaning. 
Actually, the sound waves produces millions of bubbles in the solution, which implode. This cavitation process helps to loosen the blood saliva and plaque from the instruments. It is done in a microscopic level, which is far better than hand scrubbing the instruments by hand. This cleaner helps to remove debris from the tiny crevices and pores of the instruments. 


Your dental assistants will wash the cleaned instruments and then sterilize them in autoclave or statim. 

Now, there are small ultrasonic cleaners available in the market to be used at home. You can have one to clean your precious gold and silver jewelry or eyeglasses or dentures at home. 

The iSonic one can be bought with less than $50. 

Then on Instructables I saw this homemade ultrasonic tank.

Can it be used to remove that annoying dirty marks from the shirt collars too? 

What else you want your ultrasonic cleaner to do for you? http://roozda.15minspan.hop.clickbank.net?pid=txtnopop

ToothTalkings

Useful links for DentalAssistants

We used to do only one blog post per week on ToothTalkings. When I found these articles on the web, thought the blog readers will be benefited from the information. 



1. Green tea is good for oral health. Some teas can stain the teeth though. Will you be using a straw to avoid staining when drink tea?

2 Will we use 3D printing in Dentistry?. 
I saw 3D printer was used to create heart of the baby in "Grey's Anatomy". Will we be using a 3D printer to make a custom night guard or a crown in the future?

3. According to Forbes, Dental Assisting is a good job for young people.
 They said median annual earning is $33,000. I came across this forum on Indeed.com and many hate being dental assistant. What is your take on it? Is it a job with  good pay?

4.Oil pulling is good for dental health: 
 Oil pulling is putting one table spoon of oil in the mouth and swish it around for about 15 minutes. Just spit out and rinse your mouth. 
I never tried it. But thinking of doing as an experiment.

5. It is the flue season: Health and Safety policies for dental staff during the flue season. 
The article is for the dentists. But, it is nice to know what the policy must be. Do your work place has a health and safety policy?

ToothTalkings

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Dental Assisting: 10 tips to be an effective DentalAssistant

We have seen what a Dentist wants from a good dental assistant. Let us look at how we can be more effective at work, so that we can perform better.

1. Get Organised

First thing first. We have to be really organised in the dental office. We need to know where the instruments are, where the procedure tubs are etc. 

I find that keeping the instruments arranged in the order the boss wanted to use.[???] My filling instruments are in the same place. The composite tub always has the extra shades, articulating paper, polishing discs, micro brushes, clear matrix, and so on.

Our Endo tub has all the RCT items like files, paper points, cotton pellets, the endo instruments the dentist really likes and cavit for the initial appointments. I have the syringes for the disinfectant solution for the canals also in the tub. 

If you can't remember all of the steps your dentist follows, then make notes for yourself and keep it in the tubs too. That way you can have a quick look and make sure everything is available within reach before starting the procedure. 

2. Stop Multi tasking

I know, our bosses sometimes want to get things done faster than we can possibly do. But don't fool yourself - just concentrate on the task at hand. We are doing enough multitasking by doing the suction and retracting the tongue or cheek itself. 

3.Know what the Dentist wants

What is the motto of the office? What does the dentist want to project? Is it a whiter smile or a healthier smile? Does the dentist like you giving post op or not? Do he/she like you to move the light to improve visibility? Do they really want the instruments to be passed or want them to be in the tray? Do they like you anticipating the next step and being ready or to take things only after they ask? 
Follow accordingly.

4. Have strong relationships with co-workers

It is very important to have strong relationships with everyone in the office. The receptionist in the office may have been there for a longer time than you. The technician who comes once in a while might know more about the office than you think. The people who comes to pick up lab cases regularly can be of great help, if you have a friendly relationship with them. 

5. Listen carefully

Listen to the dentist. Then listen to patients and co-workers. This helps you to earn more appreciation from your boss and co-workers. 

6. Come Early

I Know it's not applicable to all offices. But if you have a key or your office opens a little bit earlier than the first patient, this is helpful for earning a stress free day. We can prepare things early and be ready for the first patient. Arriving 5 minutes early will make you feel less anxious too. 

7. Be Healthy

We cannot afford to be sick when we earn an hourly rate with no health benefits and sick leaves. 

So take care of you. Eat healthy, exercise and take those flu shots in the winter time. Use hand sanitisers. If the office don't buy the hand moisturizers for the staff, have yours easily accessible for you after each hand-washing. Un-broken skin is your better barrier against the diseases.  Do all thats possible to be healthy. If possible, bargain with the dentist to get a free cleaning for you every 6 months.

 8. Take time to relax

Dental assisting is a stressful job. Make sure to take a few minutes everyday to relax and gain clarity about the work you do. 

9. Never stop learning

Do you think dental assisting is a dead end job? It will be only if you stop learning new things. Learn a bit more everyday. It can be oral hygiene, infection control, or a new dental product. Spend fifteen minutes to watch a dental video or to read a dental blog. Anything is better than doing nothing, right? 

10. Have a positive attitude

Last but not least, have a positive attitude. People love a positive person. Your boss can be mean and co-workers can be bothering. You cannot control other people. We all have control over one thing though: That is ourselves and our attitude, and that is our greatest asset. 

Do you have any other tips to be more effective? Do you like to share your special method to be more effective?
Please share your thoughts in the comments. 

ToothTalkings

Bells Palsy in Dental Assisting career

Toothache is considered as one of the most annoying and severe pains. In my career as dental assistant, I have seen many people and saw how the dentists deal with the situations. 

It can be from an infection on the root, or may be food stuck in a cavity or a TMJ problem.  There are many types of diagnostic tests to identify the cause of the pain. The cold test, X-rays, palpating around the jaw...It is amazing to see how my boss is ruling out some ot the cause, and asking questions to figure out the exact cause and carefully looking on the X-ray and explaining the findings.  

This particular patient came with pain on the left corner of his mouth. I love to talk to patients, like you talk to someone to know the person. That way, I can remember the name and some of the details of treatments done on that day. That way, I can avoid the mistakes like that in the last post.

Dr. X ordered couple of X-rays, and done  a thorough examination. In the end I heard Dr.X saying there is nothing wrong with the joints or the last molars. There was no wisdom tooth present in the X-ray. The patient was given prescription for pain medication and specific instructions what to do. he was asked to come back in a couple of days to see how is it going. 

The patient came back and told us he had to go to the hospital because he felt numbness on one side of the face the very next day. The doctor diagnosed the condition as Bells Palsy or Facial Palsy. He was given medications to deal with the symptoms. 

Bells Palsy  is paralysis or weakness of the muscles, usually on one side of the mouth. It can affect the taste buds and the production of saliva and tears. It is caused by virus and it is not transferred from person to person.  Most of the time it is completely curable. 

I was just imagining the scariness of all this to the patient, when facial paralysis happened all of a sudden... 


 I think, Dr.X's diagnosis  helped the physician to make the correct diagnosis faster. 

Have you had any such experiences to share?

ToothTalkings

Dental Assisting Blunder

Everyone in Dental field know December is the busiest month of the year. Not a great time to commit a blunder. You know, when we get busy the stress increases. Then there will be mistakes too.

I started working with this new place only three months back. The owner has two offices and I used to work in the newer office usually. When it was holidays, I was asked to help out in the older office. 

Dr.X asked for two bitewings and a PA. The office was busy and Dr.x took the chart to finish writing. I finished the X-rays, and dismissed the patient. When the processing was done, I was seating the next patient. When the second patient was done with the treatment, I arranged the X-rays and wrote the name I think, belong to the correct patient. The front office filed the X-ray according to the name. 

The patient came after Christmas for the filling. I was again in that office, I had no memory of this patient at all. Dr.X remembered about the X-rays, but they were not in the file. I went to check the usual places I might have placed them... They were not anywhere to be found. You know, how it will look like...

Then, the front office checked the schedule to find out his previous appointment and took out all charts  on that day. There the genius receptionist found out the X-rays filed in another chart, with names matching. But, she being in the same office for several years, happened to remember, that no X-rays were taken for that patient. 
Dr.X compared the radiograph with the patients mouth to make sure. 

Yes, it was my big blunder

Dental Assistant's realization

So you are a dental assistant. How do you help your dentist?

I learned to mix the cements, take the X-rays , transfer the instruments and do infection control. They also taught us we are supposed to talk to the patients while seating them. We also earned to do charting and not to talk about patients and treatments to other people. 
Now, with all this knowledge, we started working only to realize that what we learned is just a small part in real work place.

We need to be very mindful what Dr.X is doing. Sometimes, from our side we may not have a clear vision of what they are working on. So, we will try to move our chair, and oops, we just hit the foot pedal with the wheel of the chair. So, we just stand up to see more. 

While trying to do a good job in suctioning, your other hand should adjust the light so the Dr.X can see it clearly. In my experience, one Dr. X will immediately re-adjust the light. Then another Dr.X insisted that I should not touch the light handle at all. So, we really should know the dentist's likes and dislikes. Otherwise, our life is going to be very miserable and we will see us soon out of the job.

If we know what they are going to do ( from the schedule), we can arrange the instruments and materials before they start prepping. 
While doing the drilling, they may change plans. Instead of a composite filling, she finds an IRM is better. So, we need to put away the materials and ready for the IRM. 

Some offices have the foot pedal with a switch for the water flow. When the dentist take high speed hand piece, some pro-active assistants will turn the switch with foot, so that the dentist don't have to think about it. That is a great way to be the favorite assistant  to a lady dentist. 

 Identify the instruments they use. Even with simple composite fillings, each dentist has a preference of instruments.
One of my favorite dentists love to use hollenback carver whenever she uses matrix band for restoration. The other dentist in the same office do not like a hollenback at all. 
One dentist do not like me taking the curing light until she verbally says to "cure it". 
I lost my confidence over the years by being compared to the previous assistants who already left the office. many many years, I was taken for granted and never been told I did help Dr.X. I used to hate being a dental assistant. Yet I do find few dentists whom i love to work with.

My favorite dentist do tells me things I needed to know about the office, the procedure, and the instruments.

The best dentist I ever worked with was a new grad. I am still doing dental assisting because of the way he treated me. Before that I never considered myself as a good dental assistant. 

 Now, I understand that I have some good qualities which every dentist likes. Even though I am not a 100% perfect assistant, some dentists really love to have me in their office, like my present boss. 

I am thankful that I am lucky to meet few nice people in dental field. 
Dear dentist, your assistant might not be perfectly reading your mind, yet complement her when she is up to your expectation. I know, I will be eager to help you more when I know I am doing something right.

Dental assistant's story of a new Scrub

To work, we, dental Assistants need scrubs. Recently, I started going to Mark's work Wearhouse . 
I love their scrubs. The stitching is nice and the style, awesome!

The price is a bit more than what I love to spend. Yet, I wanted something to make feel good while I am working. Tried a few scrubs to find the one I love. I really love the people working in the store. When I bought the first pair, I received the "Scrub Club" card. It works like this: If I buy 5 from them on regular price, I can get the 6th one free. The "Health Pro" scrubs were my style. 

The following months, I went back to the store and bought more. 
Bright pink, grey, blue...Now I have filled all the 5 stickers on my card. Each time, I am getting a discount card to be used for next time. That makes me visit the store again and again. ( I love the store any way, right?)

Now, let me tell you what happened with my last pair of scrubs. It was perfect and i was glad to own it. 
At work, the dentist asked me to get the Pridex rince. It was kept underneath the sterilizer unit, in the lower shelf. While I was sitting on the floor to get it in a cup, the scrub pants went low. I didn't realize it. My back was clearly visible to the patient sitting on the chair in the treatment room. My dentist, who happened to see it, later told me secretly about the incident. 
Yes, DAs, it is very embarrassing... Now my question is how can we let the "Health Pro" know about our concern about the scrub pants...

Do dentists really trained to work with assistants?

North America, dentists hire dental assistants to help them. The assistant is anticipating what the dentist might need next in delivering treatments. This co-ordinated working makes the procedure done faster and effectively. It helps the dentist to concentrate on the tooth they are working. This is also helpful in reducing the dentists fatigue. 

Then why dental assistants are taken for granted? 

Let us look into that:  One assistant told me she trained in India as a dentist and was working there several years. They did not have dental assistants. They don't have the high volume suction in the office. The patient has to get up and spit in between. The dentist does everything during the treatment. There is no one to help them keep the area dry or to adjust the light. They see fewer patients than an average North American dentist. To those dentists, a  dental assistant, is just another person to be paid and they don't value the skills of the assistant. 

The DA schools will teach us the transferring of instruments and how to retrieve the used instruments. But, what if the dentist is not used to giving back the instrument? 

I just passed the condenser for plugging the composite. Then, while transferring the burnisher, I am supposed to retrieve the condenser. But, what if the dentist just put it on the tray and grab burnisher from me? If there is a second tooth to be filled, I have to extend my hand over the patient to grab everything back from the tray. It is decreasing my efficiency and thereby slowing the dentist. 

Now I am left to wonder, didn't they got trained in their school with assistants?

Bitter experiences in Dental Assisting

In the last post we tried to show the Dentist's point of view of a perfect dental assistant.

Now let us discuss about the Dentists, I worked for over the years.

 In the past I worked with dentists who believe there is no need to talk or appreciate a dental assistant. Then there was the one who don't like to respond to an enthusiastic, cheerful "Good morning Doctor". 

Then I had more than one  Dr.X who never want to pay the staff. They conveniently forgot the pay days. Then they changed the biweekly pay days to once a month, because, it is too much wastage of check leafs. Many do not like to print the pay slip, because "it is just a waste of paper, right"? 

I worked with one Dr.X, who has an office in upscale area. I was told, the office cannot give me a rise, because I cannot clean the aquarium without help. 
Then there is one who talks about money in every other sentence. For example, "people buy costumes and candy for halloween, it is just a waste of money right?" But, then, "I do take my kids for trick or treating", because "it is just for the kids". 
You will know when you have a mistake, but you will never know when you did something really right in that office. 

Another Dr.X was more interesting. The dentist who hugs and bullies... You never know what is going to come the next moment. With a high employee turnover, the dentist is still thinking why the assistants are not staying for long....



Let me tell you, I never offered medical or dental insurance in any of these offices. 
On the ODAA facebook page I have seen one assistant mentioned about the benefits. Like one of my receptionist friend said, "when you retire, and getting out of the office, we will give you a kick from your back, to help you get out faster."

I will tell you about the better experiences from dental office in one of the future postings. 

Now, do you wish to share any of your experience?