Mark…….you know what I admire most about you other than your pushing the envelope with crown preps. (did you get my private email thanking you for the article you sent me……I read it all and was impressed by the relative smoothness of the preps actually).

The thing I admire is your professional nature in asking pointed and well thought out questions.

Mark, until recently I had forgotten what the most difficult teeth to see with loupes are and it is the upper 2nd and 3rd molars. You block out the light with your head trying to see, you crane over at ridiculous angles to see and still cant manage to get a clear view particularly in decreased opening cases.

With the scope the hardest teeth to see are the lower first molars and 2nd premolars. Its the angle you view with the scope.

You need to use indirect mirrors alot with the scope ( even in the lower arch) but if you are used to using mirrors then it is easy easy to see the last teeth. I have very small mirrors I use at high mag to view things.

I have cases which show me prepping MO and even DOs at times on third molars.

I will post in a minute a case I did where I restored a lesion which was on the DB line angle of the maxillary left third molar which was subgingival. I did it with anesthetic at the patients request and I didnt shoot a photo until the prep was done.

In closing Mark, there are many factors associated with the learning curve and they are as follows…..I know the answers in your case but for others.
1. Do you use magnification now.
2. How long have you used them.
3. What magnifications do you use now.
4. When you want to look at the linqual of the lower left molar, how do you view it? Do you move yourself or do you move the patient .
5. Do you use mirrors routinely? ( for both arches or only the maxilla)
6. Do you trim your own dies under a scope.
7 Did you use a microscope lots in the past such as in an undergraduate microbiology program.

If you practice standup dentistry , dont use mirrors, never have used magnification, dont ever move the patient or the mirrors and only move yourself to see, never have used a microscope then the learning curve is going to be steep and long.(PErhaps a year)

If you are committed to change, have some of the features above then you may find your learning curve to be as short as a month.

I was routinely using the microscope for most procedures at around 3 months and I had only used 2.5X mag routinely and only mirrors in the maxillary arch.

The documentation is second to none.

Finally with the scope you have to learn to move the handpiece out of the way to see. The scope will otherwise see the back of the handpiece so I like the Continuum laser handpiece which is like a pen. If you have a long tip on the laser then it is irrelevant ( I use alot of surgical length burs to move the handpiece out of the way of viewing.)

I hope this gives you some insight into using a scope.

You can always come to my office for free and watch, or combine it with a course that I am giving. I am doing one in December (7th ) at the University of British Columbia and one in March 5-8th ( not sure of the exact date) at the provincial dental meeting in Vancouver. These are both lectures with hands on workshops.

Let me know if I can be of any help.

Glenn

Here is another case showing the 2nd molar in the maxilla and prepping with a laser yet the mesial aspect of the third molar.

If I can prep and photograph it , I must be able to see it huh!

Glenn

http://www.sendpix.com/albums/021115/170801000001990aec464902e33bb7/

Mark………had a look, what a cool case.

Microdentistry is wonderful when you have magnification.

I think it is great that you did that case, without anesthetic I would imagine. Nice result, perhaps next time take a picture with a probe in there to show the depth.

One thing I notice in alot of peoples cases done without mag is that caries is still present but from your pics it looks pretty good. I dont feel comfortable undermining all the enamel , its my GV Black days but I think that I am in the minority. I always feel uneasy making a keyhole type of prep (small in the enamel and larger in the dentin).

You obviously used the sharp spoon with a good degree of success and in addition you were able to save alot of tooth structure.

What camera did you use.

If and when you get closer to buying a scope , just drop me a line and I can help you out with the education part and what to buy.

Nice stuff…….I am off to view your veneer case now.

Glenn

How do you like the S2 and are you using Nikon sb 29 ring flash and 105mm lens?

DO you have any full face shots?

I am interested in colors.

Glenn