On Reassurance

Hi janet123 - sorry, I should have made it clearer that it was the patient who pulled the tray out of her mouth! (which made us jump and I saw something white drop to the floor...initially I thought it was one of her mobile teeth, but thankfully it was just a cotton roll!! ha).
I agree with taking the bottom set of impressions first, to accustom the patient to the sensation (one which I am dreading myself!) and not put them off - patients don't seem to gag if they are sat up to do the upper impressions in the first place. But that is something that's not in my control.

Thanks for the encouragement, Ekw - I know if I had done something very wrong something would have been said, but to know if I did something well goes a long way with someone like me! I did choose the right extraction forceps first time the next day though, and when I asked if that deserved a high-5, I got one!

I would say that you shouldn't have taken the tray out of their mouth before the materials have set. If they gag, allow them to gag because if they arent going to be sick then they wont, taking the tray out will just make it worse by getting the materials everywhere. The advice that I would give is that you should do the bottom set first because theyre less likely to gag which means the chances of them gagging with the upper tray is reduced. If the patient starts to gag, remain calm (dont rip the tray out) and lean the patient forward just in case they are sick.

Hi there

On your first point I probably wouldn't have done much different being firm can make a patient feel more secure and trust what your saying as you will sound alot more confident so it sounds like you did a good job and got the desired result, the fact your dentist didn't say anything I wouldn't let that bother you at all possibly they weren't concentrating on what you were saying so maybe couldn't comment either that or they just aren't the type to say well done depends how they are I suppose.

On your 2nd point with some materials or procedure practice is the key and the more you do them the easier they will be for you, maybe for some nurses certain tasks are easy for them to pick up but you learn at your own pace and make your own ways of learning things. If there's certain things you need to get the hang of more maybe you could talk to your senior or clinician and ask to see certain patients coming back for treatment? Sometimes in hospital with our trainees or newer nurses we will pick certain patients which we know would help them in certain areas such as surgicals or bridge fits and get them to do them specifically so they get the experience they need.

It's good to see someone wanting to see and do more! And wanting to improve themselves you will do just fine just don't compare yourself to other nurses in your work. 

Hi, I have two queries that I would appreciate some opinions on:

1) The other day, during some impressions, a patient gagged and really panicked - ripped the tray out of her mouth! So on the second try, I was very vocal in encouraging her to breathe through her nose and relax, and talked about the weather to try and disract her, whilst patting her shoulder.
Now, I will usually say small things (I'm a little shy), but my instincs told me to really be quite firm this time - and the second impression went fine, rest of the procedure went without any incident.
Now, I asked the dentist if I had done the right thing, but didn't actually get an answer (Pfft). What do you think - did I do the right thing?

2) As I split between nursing and reception, I've probably nursed for about 4 months, in bits. Some things I'm getting confident at, but some frustrate me (mixing GIC, learning the right extraction forceps, etc) - added to that the fact that I work with someone who boasts that she 'got the hang of it all straight away', but my course assessor has been really positive!! It does all just take time and experience, doesn't it??