[Resent with Link!] Eid, Impressions & The Value of Courses!
Hey everyone,
I hope you are all well! Firstly, Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating! I have had a hectic week, a perfect storm of Eid celebrations, studying for final exams, and a course thrown in the mix as well!
š¦· Dental Diary
This week was technically the first week back, but it was a lecture week, of a load of content, and the clinics all start next week, so I just got to work on those!
Although I wasnāt on clinics this week as we had our lecture week at the start of term, I was lucky enough to attend a course run by Dr Rupert Monkhouse and Dr Steph Azmy, all about primary impressions, called āBuild It Donāt Take It!ā. Iāve mentioned Rupert before, he has become a mentor of sorts for me, and I was fortunate enough to win a giveaway to attend his course up in Manchester.
š§ Insight of the Week
Attending this course was a great experience, because not only did I have the chance to do a lot of hands-on impression work, I learned where the value of a course comes from. A few years ago I would have said that paying for a course when the information is out there is not worth it, etc. I learned now from experiencing it that itās not about the information specifically, it is about the application of it and tying all of the theory and the practical elements together in a cohesive way that can be applied by the delegates systematically.
To give some context; I have already attended several lectures from Rupert and know the basics of what he teaches. In the course though, it was structured in a way that made it very applicable for anyone to use once they have understood the concept. On top of that, the practical aspects and the involvement of technicians, etc. all part of the course meant that the experience was very holistic and you would get immediate feedback on whether you understood the concepts.
That is the real value of a course; the information may be out there but a course packages it in the best way possible for it to be understood and applied.
I have decided moving forward that I will be investing more in education like courses, study clubs, etc. because it will pay dividends in the skills I can develop and leverage in the future.
š Clinical Revelation
This week I am sharing one key tip from the course that I thought was brilliant for creating good primary impressions. Itās Dr Rupertās āCanāt Go Wrong with Alginateā acronym:
C - compound/putty placed in areas where there arenāt teeth and the support is needed (palate and ridges)
G - green stick used for extending any of those areas, such as the tuberosities or retro-mylohyoid areas
W - wax to capture the sulcus depth and width for the areas where there are teeth
Alginate wash to finish and capture the fine details
š Reading Log
I have begun reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. You may have heard about this one; itās incredibly popular, and all about building habits and creating systems to help achieve your goals. I have heard about most of its concepts before, but I am finally reading the book itself to see what more I can learn from it!
I am very excited to announce that the dental community I had been planning since the beginning of the New Year is finally here!!
I have created a FREE online dental community over on Discord. It's linked right here:
In the community you will find:
Forums where anyone can contribute, about every dental specialty, study tips, resources, research papers and books, and more!
Study rooms to host revision sessions, Q&A-style lectures, and quiet rooms to simply join and study with a some accountability!
Exclusive events and lectures from qualified dentists, that I wonāt release anywhere else!
A community of like-minded dental students and dentists that you can get to know and network with, all looking to become better at our craft every single day!
It is completely FREE, so why not join? Very soon we will have hundreds of members in this community so you donāt want to miss out!
Donāt worry though, The Weekly Check-Up Newsletter is not going anywhere, so stay tuned!
That's all for this week, I hope you guys have a great next week! If you are enjoying this weekly email thing I'm doing or if you have any suggestions, please let me know, my Instagram is always open if you'd like any advice! Talk to you guys next week!
Omar Tabaqchali :)