My latest frustrations.

So as promised here are a few pics at my early attempts at drilling on teeth. Keep in mind these were my first attempts and that I am already seeing improvement.  These "teeth" are made of plastic, so they don't cut exactly like real teeth, but they are good for practice. 

This one is a premolar.  This side actually turned out ok.  You can see what is called a proximal box for a Class II prep.  This allows us to remove decay on the side of a tooth and then fill in the tooth with a filling material.

Below is another prep.  It is the beginning of a Class II prep but I hadn't dropped the box yet.  The first step is to prep the tooth for a Class I filling, which is what I did here.  This side also turned out well.

Below is a picture of the same molar from a different angle.  I was trying to drop a nice box here and the drill got away from me, and the tooth was left in the mangled form you see here.  Keep in mind that there are other teeth on either side of this one, so access is a little tricky.  But practice makes perfect.  

Below is a Class I prep for a lower molar.  Over all the prep is fine, except the one spot on the lower right.  It took out a little too much tooth structure from the cusp on the lower right of the picture.  We are only talking about .5mm of tooth structure, but it makes a difference and can weaken a tooth.  There is a very specific form that we must learn to follow for each tooth in order to be able to remove decayed tooth structure while still retaining enough tooth structure for strength and to retain the filling material.  

So there you are, a few of my first attempts.  I am planning on taking the camera to school with me soon to take some more pics of my more recent teeth and the fillings I have done.   So keep your eyes peeled for more to come.