1 00:00:01,155 --> 00:00:02,987 Hi, Dental Head start listeners, 2 00:00:03,544 --> 00:00:04,102 Christina here. 3 00:00:04,739 --> 00:00:07,129 I bring to you in this episode a 4 00:00:07,129 --> 00:00:09,200 great chat I had with Stephanie Bots. 5 00:00:09,852 --> 00:00:11,840 For those unlucky ones who have yet to 6 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:13,271 come across her online. 7 00:00:13,907 --> 00:00:17,539 Stephanie is a registered dental hygiene and specialist 8 00:00:17,659 --> 00:00:18,934 in office ergonomic, 9 00:00:19,491 --> 00:00:23,076 sharing some really important advice around our posture 10 00:00:23,076 --> 00:00:25,321 and well being as dental professionals. 11 00:00:26,195 --> 00:00:29,775 Based in Denver Colorado, Stephanie has gained over 12 00:00:29,775 --> 00:00:30,809 40000 13 00:00:30,809 --> 00:00:33,528 followers on social media and continues to spread 14 00:00:33,528 --> 00:00:35,063 her message via our conferences, 15 00:00:36,155 --> 00:00:36,973 virtual assessments, 16 00:00:37,429 --> 00:00:38,725 and her new podcast 17 00:00:39,100 --> 00:00:40,055 straight up with staff. 18 00:00:40,851 --> 00:00:43,017 We spoke about how dental school is such 19 00:00:43,017 --> 00:00:45,886 an effective time to start establishing good posture 20 00:00:45,886 --> 00:00:46,386 habits 21 00:00:46,762 --> 00:00:50,109 in preventing pain and avoiding long term issues. 22 00:00:50,826 --> 00:00:53,879 She shed so many good bite sized tips 23 00:00:53,879 --> 00:00:57,259 that are really easily digestible to start implementing 24 00:00:57,479 --> 00:00:57,719 today. 25 00:00:58,453 --> 00:01:01,080 And she emphasizes it's never too late. 26 00:01:01,876 --> 00:01:04,263 Stephanie says this is the only body we've 27 00:01:04,263 --> 00:01:06,571 got. So I hope this episode helps you 28 00:01:06,571 --> 00:01:08,915 on your way to protect in your career 29 00:01:08,971 --> 00:01:09,844 for your posture. 30 00:01:12,068 --> 00:01:14,609 Hi, Stephanie. Thank you so much for being 31 00:01:14,609 --> 00:01:17,269 on the podcast with is an amazing 32 00:01:17,803 --> 00:01:19,156 opportunity we have here. 33 00:01:19,712 --> 00:01:21,860 Have you speak on the podcast for all 34 00:01:21,860 --> 00:01:22,497 last students. 35 00:01:22,989 --> 00:01:25,134 Yes. Thank you, Christina. I was really excited 36 00:01:25,134 --> 00:01:27,677 when you reached out, you know, ergonomic is 37 00:01:27,677 --> 00:01:30,060 important for everyone, but the earlier, we can 38 00:01:30,060 --> 00:01:32,539 learn it the better. So students, like, I'm 39 00:01:32,539 --> 00:01:34,684 always excited to talk to students. So thanks. 40 00:01:35,479 --> 00:01:35,877 Yeah. 41 00:01:36,433 --> 00:01:37,307 And, you know, 42 00:01:38,023 --> 00:01:40,342 students as well, just as... And it just 43 00:01:40,342 --> 00:01:42,407 as important for people who are just about 44 00:01:42,407 --> 00:01:43,065 to graduate. 45 00:01:43,677 --> 00:01:46,695 The journey is not over like, this is 46 00:01:46,695 --> 00:01:48,863 when it actually starts. So 47 00:01:49,173 --> 00:01:52,438 I'm glad to have someone of your expertise 48 00:01:52,438 --> 00:01:55,327 talking to us about ergonomic and our posture 49 00:01:55,783 --> 00:01:58,189 just so that we can try and get 50 00:01:58,189 --> 00:02:01,225 started. But for those who haven't had the 51 00:02:01,225 --> 00:02:04,042 privilege of following you yet on your podcast 52 00:02:04,181 --> 00:02:05,241 and your socials, 53 00:02:06,034 --> 00:02:07,230 let's get to know you a little bit. 54 00:02:07,390 --> 00:02:09,942 So what was your journey into dentistry like? 55 00:02:10,500 --> 00:02:12,494 Yeah. So I... I'm a Dental hi jenna. 56 00:02:12,813 --> 00:02:13,633 I've been practicing 57 00:02:14,169 --> 00:02:16,898 about 16 years now. I do still see 58 00:02:16,898 --> 00:02:18,896 patience. It's just on a pretty part basis, 59 00:02:19,296 --> 00:02:21,374 just with started my business a few years 60 00:02:21,374 --> 00:02:23,931 ago, but I had a lot of dental 61 00:02:23,931 --> 00:02:25,210 work when I was younger. 62 00:02:25,783 --> 00:02:27,689 I was actually missing 7 and 10, so 63 00:02:27,769 --> 00:02:29,142 I went through the whole ortho 64 00:02:29,754 --> 00:02:31,899 expansion and then got implants. And so I 65 00:02:31,899 --> 00:02:33,647 was in the dental office a lot. 66 00:02:34,379 --> 00:02:37,911 So I was always interested in teeth. And 67 00:02:38,050 --> 00:02:39,986 when it came time for me to decide 68 00:02:40,045 --> 00:02:41,901 what to do, I 69 00:02:42,374 --> 00:02:44,228 It was either nursing or 70 00:02:44,843 --> 00:02:45,480 dental hygiene. 71 00:02:46,038 --> 00:02:47,870 And the reason I didn't want to be, 72 00:02:48,030 --> 00:02:50,760 like, a doctor or a dentist was honestly 73 00:02:50,897 --> 00:02:53,389 1 of my older sisters went through medical 74 00:02:53,389 --> 00:02:55,789 school, and I saw all and she's specialized, 75 00:02:55,949 --> 00:02:57,469 and I just saw all of the schooling 76 00:02:57,469 --> 00:02:58,750 she had to go through and I was, 77 00:02:58,830 --> 00:02:59,709 like, no. 78 00:03:00,683 --> 00:03:03,227 But I... I've always loved teeth, and I 79 00:03:03,227 --> 00:03:04,977 was like, well, let's let's try this dental 80 00:03:04,977 --> 00:03:06,885 hygiene thing, and I'm just... I'm so glad 81 00:03:06,885 --> 00:03:09,748 that I did, and it's it's funny because 82 00:03:09,828 --> 00:03:10,328 I 83 00:03:10,797 --> 00:03:12,868 don't think I even knew what a dental 84 00:03:12,868 --> 00:03:13,925 h did 85 00:03:14,380 --> 00:03:15,973 until I went into school. I'm like, oh, 86 00:03:16,132 --> 00:03:17,884 we go under the gun, Like, I didn't 87 00:03:17,884 --> 00:03:20,363 realize that. But... Yeah. So... And I've been 88 00:03:20,363 --> 00:03:20,863 practicing... 89 00:03:21,396 --> 00:03:23,381 I was practicing full time for... 90 00:03:24,017 --> 00:03:26,002 I'll say about 13 years. And then I 91 00:03:26,002 --> 00:03:27,988 started my ergonomic company a few years ago, 92 00:03:28,147 --> 00:03:30,000 and that's I had to kinda drop days 93 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:31,360 and it and go down to part time. 94 00:03:32,159 --> 00:03:35,460 Okay. And so ergonomic, how did that 95 00:03:36,011 --> 00:03:38,177 become an interest of yours. Did you 96 00:03:38,629 --> 00:03:40,613 did you see a lot of injuries? Did 97 00:03:40,613 --> 00:03:42,620 you see a lot in your own 98 00:03:43,072 --> 00:03:43,572 workplaces? 99 00:03:44,279 --> 00:03:46,192 Well, it's funny because I was talking to 100 00:03:46,192 --> 00:03:48,265 1 of my hygiene classmates, and she was 101 00:03:48,265 --> 00:03:50,099 like, don't you remember you were, like a 102 00:03:50,099 --> 00:03:52,970 psycho in clinic with posture. You were worried 103 00:03:52,970 --> 00:03:54,735 about everyone's posture. And I'm like, I actually 104 00:03:54,735 --> 00:03:56,564 don't remember a lot of that, 105 00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:59,507 but posture something I've always been interested in. 106 00:04:00,239 --> 00:04:03,030 But I'll say when I really started to 107 00:04:03,030 --> 00:04:05,663 pay attention to it was probably about 10 108 00:04:05,663 --> 00:04:08,215 years in to my practice, I started getting 109 00:04:08,215 --> 00:04:09,571 some pretty severe back pain. 110 00:04:10,304 --> 00:04:13,095 And I didn't know, like, what to do 111 00:04:13,095 --> 00:04:14,690 about it, and I was really nervous that 112 00:04:14,850 --> 00:04:16,764 I wasn't even gonna be able to work 113 00:04:16,764 --> 00:04:18,678 in the operator anymore. Like, it was it 114 00:04:18,678 --> 00:04:19,316 was pretty bad. 115 00:04:19,969 --> 00:04:20,869 So I started 116 00:04:21,327 --> 00:04:23,644 trying to focus more on my positioning and 117 00:04:23,644 --> 00:04:25,881 my patient positioning of my ergonomic, and I 118 00:04:25,881 --> 00:04:27,733 was just like, man. I wish there was 119 00:04:27,733 --> 00:04:30,311 someone out there that could just watch me 120 00:04:30,610 --> 00:04:32,288 work and tell me what I'm doing wrong, 121 00:04:32,528 --> 00:04:34,046 because I do... I knew I was doing 122 00:04:34,046 --> 00:04:35,899 something wrong. I just didn't know what. And 123 00:04:35,899 --> 00:04:37,660 that's kinda when the light bulb just went 124 00:04:37,660 --> 00:04:39,259 off in my head, and I was like, 125 00:04:39,899 --> 00:04:42,699 I wonder if I could learn about this 126 00:04:42,699 --> 00:04:44,379 so that it would help me with my 127 00:04:44,379 --> 00:04:46,940 pain, but maybe could help other people. And 128 00:04:46,940 --> 00:04:48,605 it just kinda started from there. So I 129 00:04:48,605 --> 00:04:49,342 relearn learned 130 00:04:50,111 --> 00:04:50,507 ergonomic. 131 00:04:50,983 --> 00:04:53,776 I started practicing more ergonomic and I felt 132 00:04:53,776 --> 00:04:55,448 that it was almost night and day as 133 00:04:55,448 --> 00:04:57,756 far as the pain difference. I had more 134 00:04:57,756 --> 00:04:59,189 energy, and then I was like, yep. Okay. 135 00:04:59,428 --> 00:05:00,861 This is what I'm gonna do. So I 136 00:05:00,861 --> 00:05:03,689 just went back to school, got my ergonomic 137 00:05:03,906 --> 00:05:06,140 certification and started my business and I've just 138 00:05:06,140 --> 00:05:09,649 been off in running ever since. Yeah. That's 139 00:05:09,649 --> 00:05:12,212 so interesting. Is you think there's a lot 140 00:05:12,212 --> 00:05:14,776 of information about ergonomic 141 00:05:15,149 --> 00:05:18,031 out there or is it kind of all 142 00:05:18,246 --> 00:05:19,992 mixed up and confusing? 143 00:05:20,643 --> 00:05:22,552 Well, it was kinda tough for me to 144 00:05:22,552 --> 00:05:23,052 find 145 00:05:23,427 --> 00:05:25,416 a lot of information, but if there's not 146 00:05:25,416 --> 00:05:27,819 honestly... As far as, like, you've done and 147 00:05:27,819 --> 00:05:29,819 how I risk we are. There's not merely 148 00:05:29,819 --> 00:05:32,560 enough information out there. But I did learn 149 00:05:32,620 --> 00:05:35,509 from... There's, like, a physical therapist, 2 has 150 00:05:35,509 --> 00:05:37,651 done a lot of work as far as 151 00:05:37,651 --> 00:05:39,636 dental ergonomic. I learned a lot from her. 152 00:05:40,033 --> 00:05:42,986 I read some studies about, like, how you 153 00:05:42,986 --> 00:05:44,975 want your patient position, how you want the 154 00:05:44,975 --> 00:05:48,158 oc ec planes positioned, reading articles and stuff 155 00:05:48,158 --> 00:05:49,590 like that. And just kind of, like, putting 156 00:05:49,590 --> 00:05:51,182 all of these little pieces together. 157 00:05:51,914 --> 00:05:52,814 And then that 158 00:05:53,193 --> 00:05:55,510 combined with what I learned when I went 159 00:05:55,510 --> 00:05:57,507 back to school to get my ergonomic certification, 160 00:05:57,747 --> 00:05:59,365 all of that kind of helped me 161 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:01,991 figure out my process as far as my 162 00:06:01,991 --> 00:06:03,985 program and how I do assessments in coaching. 163 00:06:04,304 --> 00:06:06,637 But I I wish that there was more 164 00:06:06,695 --> 00:06:07,812 information out there honestly. 165 00:06:08,703 --> 00:06:12,913 Yeah. Absolutely. I think from my experience, I 166 00:06:12,913 --> 00:06:15,296 think the only information we have got as 167 00:06:15,296 --> 00:06:16,670 an for those listening 168 00:06:17,218 --> 00:06:19,522 I mean, I've only done first year completed 169 00:06:19,522 --> 00:06:21,032 first year or a whole therapy. 170 00:06:21,668 --> 00:06:23,996 I think the only information we get given 171 00:06:24,131 --> 00:06:26,533 in Uni. I don't know if it is 172 00:06:26,533 --> 00:06:30,384 to extend more, but is just in 173 00:06:30,841 --> 00:06:32,777 in our simulation labs 174 00:06:33,329 --> 00:06:36,526 all our tutors do is just say, you 175 00:06:36,526 --> 00:06:39,402 should move your patient up and doubt. That's 176 00:06:39,402 --> 00:06:41,973 basically it. Or you should move closer. Or 177 00:06:41,973 --> 00:06:43,249 you should put your feet on the floor, 178 00:06:43,728 --> 00:06:46,280 and that was it. And but as soon 179 00:06:46,280 --> 00:06:48,353 as they walk away, it would just go 180 00:06:48,353 --> 00:06:50,028 back to what we we'd be just going 181 00:06:50,028 --> 00:06:52,833 moving back to a hunch position because we 182 00:06:52,833 --> 00:06:54,984 don't really... We're not thinking about our posture. 183 00:06:55,223 --> 00:06:57,396 We're trying to do a rot 184 00:06:58,091 --> 00:06:59,924 restoration, and we wanna get that perfect. We 185 00:06:59,924 --> 00:07:02,745 don't care about our posture So I think 186 00:07:03,039 --> 00:07:04,706 that brings me to my next question. I 187 00:07:04,706 --> 00:07:04,865 think, 188 00:07:05,738 --> 00:07:08,199 really... I mean, Uni is hard enough as 189 00:07:08,199 --> 00:07:08,835 it is. 190 00:07:09,390 --> 00:07:09,787 I mean, 191 00:07:10,439 --> 00:07:12,457 should we be really thinking about posture 192 00:07:12,996 --> 00:07:16,112 at University While we're studying or can we 193 00:07:16,112 --> 00:07:18,165 kind of get away with it and start 194 00:07:18,363 --> 00:07:19,875 maybe half we graduate. 195 00:07:20,272 --> 00:07:22,125 You know, it's interesting with post 196 00:07:22,500 --> 00:07:24,988 issues because really a lot of us develop 197 00:07:25,458 --> 00:07:28,402 posture problems when we're younger. Even... I mean, 198 00:07:28,561 --> 00:07:30,391 young, like, you know, at a adolescent in 199 00:07:30,391 --> 00:07:33,256 teen years, which actually makes me very worried 200 00:07:33,256 --> 00:07:35,764 about cell phone use? With young people 201 00:07:36,145 --> 00:07:38,064 because they're hunch over, you know we... And 202 00:07:38,064 --> 00:07:40,145 that can, like, carry on into our adulthood. 203 00:07:40,625 --> 00:07:42,004 But I would say 204 00:07:42,639 --> 00:07:45,516 school, really, I and I I understand, like, 205 00:07:45,756 --> 00:07:48,153 the demands of school. And, yes, you want 206 00:07:48,153 --> 00:07:49,831 to, like, do that restoration, do the crown, 207 00:07:49,991 --> 00:07:51,270 whatever get through, whatever. 208 00:07:51,684 --> 00:07:53,431 To get your, you know, your check sheet 209 00:07:53,431 --> 00:07:54,225 checked off. Right? 210 00:07:54,860 --> 00:07:57,083 But I do think it's a really good 211 00:07:57,083 --> 00:08:00,101 time to slow down and really establish some 212 00:08:00,101 --> 00:08:00,736 good habits. 213 00:08:01,467 --> 00:08:04,251 Because if we establish bad habits in school, 214 00:08:04,490 --> 00:08:06,718 that's just gonna follow us out into practice. 215 00:08:07,115 --> 00:08:07,911 And then it's like, 216 00:08:08,562 --> 00:08:10,310 We kinda play this trick with ourselves. Right? 217 00:08:10,468 --> 00:08:12,375 Like, in school. It's like, okay. We're too... 218 00:08:12,613 --> 00:08:14,678 I'm too busy to learn about posture. I'll 219 00:08:14,678 --> 00:08:16,982 learn that after. I've graduated and I get 220 00:08:16,982 --> 00:08:17,776 out practice. 221 00:08:18,348 --> 00:08:19,862 But then we get into practice, and it's, 222 00:08:19,941 --> 00:08:22,411 like, we need to get faster. We need 223 00:08:22,411 --> 00:08:23,924 to see more patients. We need to make 224 00:08:23,924 --> 00:08:25,676 more money and all of these things start 225 00:08:25,676 --> 00:08:28,004 to pile up and then that that importance 226 00:08:28,004 --> 00:08:29,925 of posture just goes down and down and 227 00:08:29,925 --> 00:08:30,084 down. 228 00:08:30,725 --> 00:08:33,144 But it... I mean, I can tell you 229 00:08:33,205 --> 00:08:36,325 if we don't focus on ergonomic at some 230 00:08:36,325 --> 00:08:39,444 point, we're gonna experience some pretty severe pain 231 00:08:39,444 --> 00:08:41,433 or even injury of where people can't even 232 00:08:41,433 --> 00:08:44,774 practice anymore. So the short answer, the earlier, 233 00:08:44,854 --> 00:08:46,620 the better, And I do think school is 234 00:08:46,620 --> 00:08:48,691 a really great time to start working on 235 00:08:48,691 --> 00:08:48,850 that. 236 00:08:49,647 --> 00:08:51,102 Okay. And so 237 00:08:51,558 --> 00:08:54,527 what could possibly be some of the mistakes 238 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,659 that you think we'd be making right now 239 00:08:57,799 --> 00:08:58,519 during school. 240 00:08:59,159 --> 00:08:59,960 Our school years, 241 00:09:00,519 --> 00:09:02,414 what are the common things that you see 242 00:09:02,850 --> 00:09:05,570 patient positioning is huge, and that's 243 00:09:06,100 --> 00:09:08,160 whether people are in school or if they 244 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:09,349 practice for 20 years, 245 00:09:10,237 --> 00:09:12,860 patient positioning is a really important part for 246 00:09:12,860 --> 00:09:15,721 us to to nail. Because if our patient, 247 00:09:16,039 --> 00:09:17,947 if their head and their mouth isn't in 248 00:09:17,947 --> 00:09:20,110 the right position, we're gonna be the ones 249 00:09:20,110 --> 00:09:21,783 that suffer. We're gonna be out here, Chicken 250 00:09:21,783 --> 00:09:23,296 wing or we're gonna be, like, upside down, 251 00:09:23,455 --> 00:09:26,322 you know. So I think that's important. Also 252 00:09:26,322 --> 00:09:27,676 mastering indirect vision. 253 00:09:28,408 --> 00:09:30,879 Some people, I've have seen have practiced for 254 00:09:30,879 --> 00:09:32,793 a long time and they rarely use their 255 00:09:32,793 --> 00:09:35,264 mirror, and that is just... It's a nightmare. 256 00:09:35,742 --> 00:09:37,826 So I would say probably those 2 things 257 00:09:37,826 --> 00:09:41,085 are really important, and just body awareness too, 258 00:09:41,641 --> 00:09:43,867 knowing where your head is at in space. 259 00:09:44,519 --> 00:09:46,752 Knowing where your arms are at, You know, 260 00:09:46,911 --> 00:09:49,464 or or am I twisting, you know, 20 261 00:09:49,464 --> 00:09:51,697 times during this procedure. It's just... It's really 262 00:09:51,697 --> 00:09:53,872 being aware of what you're doing, which 263 00:09:54,344 --> 00:09:56,807 sounds simple, but it's not easy when you're 264 00:09:56,807 --> 00:10:00,145 seeing patients. Yeah. And so what do you 265 00:10:00,145 --> 00:10:02,075 find we're doing with our heads 266 00:10:02,450 --> 00:10:02,950 and 267 00:10:04,290 --> 00:10:06,591 when we're not doing that indirect vision and 268 00:10:06,591 --> 00:10:08,280 we're not positioning our patients 269 00:10:08,891 --> 00:10:11,404 well enough. Yeah. So if it... Let's say 270 00:10:11,684 --> 00:10:14,002 patient positioning. If the patient is positioned too 271 00:10:14,002 --> 00:10:16,239 high, which I see all the time, and 272 00:10:16,319 --> 00:10:17,997 I used to do this too. Like, in 273 00:10:17,997 --> 00:10:19,755 all the mistakes I'm talking about, I used 274 00:10:19,755 --> 00:10:21,526 to do them as well. No so there's, 275 00:10:21,606 --> 00:10:24,158 like, no judgment here. But if the patient 276 00:10:24,158 --> 00:10:26,949 is positioned too high, that means our shoulders 277 00:10:26,949 --> 00:10:28,784 they're gonna go up towards our ears because 278 00:10:28,784 --> 00:10:30,711 we're trying to work on them. Or we're 279 00:10:30,711 --> 00:10:32,780 gonna be out in chicken wing, either 1 280 00:10:32,780 --> 00:10:34,848 arm or both arms, which is just not 281 00:10:34,848 --> 00:10:37,076 good for the shoulder or the neck. So 282 00:10:37,076 --> 00:10:38,826 that's a patient positioning problem. 283 00:10:39,716 --> 00:10:43,318 Indirect vision, I have literally seen people almost 284 00:10:43,454 --> 00:10:45,601 upside down, trying to see, you know, the 285 00:10:45,601 --> 00:10:48,241 upper art of the upper arch. I... You 286 00:10:48,241 --> 00:10:49,457 cannot do that 287 00:10:49,832 --> 00:10:52,140 with good posture unless you're using your mirror. 288 00:10:52,617 --> 00:10:54,448 So those are just a couple things. Yeah. 289 00:10:54,925 --> 00:10:56,596 Absolutely. I think... Yes. 290 00:10:57,328 --> 00:10:59,822 Indirect vision was 1 of the hardest things 291 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,651 to learn at first half. So any any 292 00:11:03,709 --> 00:11:06,022 opportunity I got to avoid using the mirror 293 00:11:06,182 --> 00:11:06,501 I would. 294 00:11:07,313 --> 00:11:09,628 But, yeah, I can... Yeah, Definitely. I think 295 00:11:09,628 --> 00:11:10,426 there was 1 time, 296 00:11:11,224 --> 00:11:13,240 like, the first time I did a 297 00:11:13,698 --> 00:11:15,627 restoration and it was a big 1. By 298 00:11:15,627 --> 00:11:18,888 the end of 3 hours in simulation, if 299 00:11:18,888 --> 00:11:19,547 you weren't 300 00:11:19,921 --> 00:11:22,784 using good posture by 3 hours, you really 301 00:11:22,784 --> 00:11:24,795 could feel it like you could really 302 00:11:25,424 --> 00:11:28,245 you can tell that that if your body 303 00:11:28,784 --> 00:11:31,184 kept on doing it, it didn't feel right. 304 00:11:31,824 --> 00:11:32,324 So 305 00:11:32,625 --> 00:11:34,797 it is good. And it's good to sort 306 00:11:34,797 --> 00:11:37,669 of know these things. With indirect vision to, 307 00:11:38,387 --> 00:11:40,781 there are some times where it's like, 308 00:11:41,434 --> 00:11:43,352 You can't use your mirror. You know, because 309 00:11:43,352 --> 00:11:45,190 you need your other hand to stabilize or 310 00:11:45,190 --> 00:11:46,868 whatever it is. And I understand. I mean, 311 00:11:46,948 --> 00:11:48,706 I'm a clinician, and I get it. It's 312 00:11:48,706 --> 00:11:50,065 not always going to be perfect. 313 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:52,240 And I... That's something that I really want 314 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:54,799 people to understand. It's like, it's not always 315 00:11:54,799 --> 00:11:57,059 gonna be perfect. There are gonna be times 316 00:11:57,120 --> 00:11:59,053 where you have to drop your mirror and 317 00:11:59,053 --> 00:12:01,370 do this number, you know, that's just gonna 318 00:12:01,370 --> 00:12:03,847 happen. But what I try to stress with 319 00:12:03,847 --> 00:12:05,938 people is, like, try to be is good 320 00:12:05,938 --> 00:12:08,353 as you can as often as you can 321 00:12:08,412 --> 00:12:10,806 so that when you have to go upside 322 00:12:10,806 --> 00:12:12,881 down or hunch over or lean over or 323 00:12:12,881 --> 00:12:13,280 whatever, 324 00:12:13,694 --> 00:12:15,070 you're not so depleted 325 00:12:15,446 --> 00:12:17,437 because you've been doing good up until that 326 00:12:17,437 --> 00:12:18,871 point. You know what I mean? But I 327 00:12:18,871 --> 00:12:20,544 just want people to realize. That you're not 328 00:12:20,544 --> 00:12:22,376 gonna have perfect to ergonomic all the time. 329 00:12:22,789 --> 00:12:24,222 But we just wanna try to have it 330 00:12:24,222 --> 00:12:27,647 as much as we can. Okay. So just 331 00:12:27,647 --> 00:12:28,386 to summarize, 332 00:12:28,921 --> 00:12:31,470 what should we be doing with our head. 333 00:12:31,804 --> 00:12:33,640 What should we be doing with our arms 334 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:34,438 and our shoulders? 335 00:12:34,917 --> 00:12:37,951 So what ideally... So let's talk about natural 336 00:12:37,951 --> 00:12:39,547 posture for a second, and we're gonna go 337 00:12:39,547 --> 00:12:40,425 from the top down. 338 00:12:41,716 --> 00:12:44,849 Ideally with our head, we want our ear 339 00:12:45,146 --> 00:12:46,741 stacked in line with our shoulder. 340 00:12:47,459 --> 00:12:49,932 And most of the time, we and dentistry 341 00:12:49,932 --> 00:12:50,671 work forward 342 00:12:51,457 --> 00:12:53,994 because we're, like, looking at our patient with 343 00:12:53,994 --> 00:12:57,243 cell phones. We're hunch over with laptops. We're 344 00:12:57,243 --> 00:12:59,643 hunch over, So we really want to move 345 00:12:59,643 --> 00:13:01,713 our head back to get the ear in 346 00:13:01,713 --> 00:13:02,509 line with the shoulder. 347 00:13:03,066 --> 00:13:04,818 This is like, from the profile view, if 348 00:13:04,818 --> 00:13:06,172 you imagine it from the profile. 349 00:13:06,903 --> 00:13:08,596 And then we want our shoulders 350 00:13:08,970 --> 00:13:11,617 down. We wanna try to think of our 351 00:13:11,833 --> 00:13:14,060 shoulder blades like, going to little pockets in 352 00:13:14,060 --> 00:13:15,968 our back. So we want our shoulders down. 353 00:13:16,699 --> 00:13:17,994 And then we want our arms 354 00:13:18,370 --> 00:13:20,518 close to our sides with the elbows bent 355 00:13:20,518 --> 00:13:21,711 at about 90 degrees. 356 00:13:22,348 --> 00:13:24,192 So that's a good and then you know, 357 00:13:24,351 --> 00:13:26,257 for seated, we... I mean, we can talk 358 00:13:26,257 --> 00:13:29,434 about seated positioning too, but when we're sitting 359 00:13:29,434 --> 00:13:31,658 down, we want our feet flat on the 360 00:13:31,658 --> 00:13:33,509 floor, like, what your instructors have said. We 361 00:13:33,509 --> 00:13:34,950 don't wanna be up on the tip toes 362 00:13:34,950 --> 00:13:36,389 or, like, crossed or anything, 363 00:13:36,950 --> 00:13:39,029 but we also want our hips to be 364 00:13:39,029 --> 00:13:39,909 above our knees. 365 00:13:40,724 --> 00:13:43,199 Not parallel to the knees, but above the 366 00:13:43,199 --> 00:13:44,816 knees. So that's a really nice 367 00:13:45,274 --> 00:13:45,913 neutral posture. 368 00:13:46,472 --> 00:13:48,467 And we can have that... We can't have 369 00:13:48,467 --> 00:13:50,239 it a hundred percent at the time. But 370 00:13:50,239 --> 00:13:52,636 we can have it pretty close to that 371 00:13:52,636 --> 00:13:54,634 if we're using really good equipment and then 372 00:13:54,634 --> 00:13:56,393 just like checking our body awareness. 373 00:13:57,591 --> 00:14:00,103 If you're like me, you might be feeling 374 00:14:00,161 --> 00:14:02,814 overwhelmed by dental school and all the little 375 00:14:02,952 --> 00:14:05,663 extra extracurricular tasks we need to complete life 376 00:14:05,663 --> 00:14:08,029 ind insurance. So let's get that ticked off 377 00:14:08,310 --> 00:14:10,629 today and talk about dental protection Limited. 378 00:14:11,110 --> 00:14:14,870 Unlike other insurance providers, dental protection Limited advocates 379 00:14:14,870 --> 00:14:17,445 for our students. And provides a free membership 380 00:14:17,445 --> 00:14:20,424 during our student life in 18 months beyond 381 00:14:20,565 --> 00:14:23,205 graduation. They have got our back with plenty 382 00:14:23,205 --> 00:14:26,017 of resources through their student pub and an 383 00:14:26,017 --> 00:14:28,571 expert lead podcast with tips to mitigate risk 384 00:14:28,571 --> 00:14:31,363 and provide our patients with best care. I 385 00:14:31,363 --> 00:14:32,855 suggest that you jump onto to their website 386 00:14:32,974 --> 00:14:35,368 after this episode and see for yourself the 387 00:14:35,368 --> 00:14:37,284 amazing link they go through to support us. 388 00:14:37,683 --> 00:14:39,279 It's so easy to sign up so get 389 00:14:39,279 --> 00:14:42,009 your ind insurance order today. And you won't 390 00:14:42,009 --> 00:14:44,646 regret having dental protection limited on your side. 391 00:14:45,205 --> 00:14:47,443 Thank you dental protection limited for helping me 392 00:14:47,443 --> 00:14:49,841 get started and for supporting the dental head 393 00:14:49,841 --> 00:14:50,580 start podcast. 394 00:14:54,227 --> 00:14:54,727 So 395 00:14:55,100 --> 00:14:56,449 do some of these, 396 00:14:57,480 --> 00:14:59,249 suppose in neutral position 397 00:14:59,799 --> 00:15:01,720 is there tools that we need other than 398 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:03,399 like our mirror and that, But are there 399 00:15:03,399 --> 00:15:05,259 are other tools that might help us 400 00:15:05,639 --> 00:15:07,959 get into neutral position that we can talk 401 00:15:07,959 --> 00:15:08,200 about. 402 00:15:08,773 --> 00:15:09,273 And, 403 00:15:09,650 --> 00:15:11,505 you know, are they affordable 404 00:15:12,519 --> 00:15:15,867 what about things that really we can't afford 405 00:15:15,867 --> 00:15:18,355 just yet. What's your advice there? What are 406 00:15:18,355 --> 00:15:20,351 the tools that we should be using to 407 00:15:20,351 --> 00:15:23,304 help us get there? Great question. So the 408 00:15:23,304 --> 00:15:24,981 the 1 thing and I talk about these 409 00:15:24,981 --> 00:15:28,024 a lot. The 1 thing that is really 410 00:15:28,024 --> 00:15:31,211 exciting that's come out recently is ergonomic loops. 411 00:15:31,929 --> 00:15:33,297 And I don't know if you've seen them. 412 00:15:33,456 --> 00:15:36,320 So not all loops are created equal, and 413 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:38,785 not all loops are ergonomic. And I I 414 00:15:38,785 --> 00:15:40,535 feel like I just breakouts hearts when I 415 00:15:40,535 --> 00:15:43,021 say that, but if we can't, if we're 416 00:15:43,021 --> 00:15:44,298 wearing a pair of loops, 417 00:15:45,016 --> 00:15:46,612 and we still have to have our head 418 00:15:46,612 --> 00:15:47,112 forward 419 00:15:47,490 --> 00:15:49,086 or we still have to tip our head 420 00:15:49,086 --> 00:15:49,405 down, 421 00:15:49,898 --> 00:15:52,044 that's not an ergonomic loop. We need something 422 00:15:52,044 --> 00:15:54,213 that allows us to have this, like elevated 423 00:15:54,270 --> 00:15:54,905 head position. 424 00:15:55,621 --> 00:15:57,313 So these ergonomic loops 425 00:15:57,704 --> 00:15:59,944 are... If you look at the... So the 426 00:15:59,944 --> 00:16:02,184 scope of the loop is like the thing 427 00:16:02,184 --> 00:16:03,865 that comes out from the glasses that our 428 00:16:03,865 --> 00:16:04,664 eyeballs look through. 429 00:16:05,477 --> 00:16:08,261 And with the ergonomic loops, these scope are... 430 00:16:08,499 --> 00:16:10,886 They come out, and then they angle down 431 00:16:10,886 --> 00:16:11,975 so that we can see 432 00:16:12,491 --> 00:16:14,321 into the patient's mouth as if you are 433 00:16:14,321 --> 00:16:15,991 looking through a microscope kind of. 434 00:16:16,707 --> 00:16:19,905 But these are the loops that truly allow 435 00:16:19,905 --> 00:16:21,975 us to have a neutral head position to 436 00:16:21,975 --> 00:16:23,488 where you don't have to jot your head 437 00:16:23,488 --> 00:16:25,240 out forward and you don't have to tip 438 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:27,253 your head down. So these 439 00:16:27,724 --> 00:16:29,080 will, like, go to my grade, 440 00:16:29,957 --> 00:16:32,110 promoting these, I wish I had them when 441 00:16:32,270 --> 00:16:34,184 I was in school, like, 16 years ago. 442 00:16:34,583 --> 00:16:36,816 But when we're talking about cost of things, 443 00:16:37,708 --> 00:16:40,180 I remember being a student. I I was 444 00:16:40,180 --> 00:16:42,651 so broke that, like, I couldn't even afford 445 00:16:42,651 --> 00:16:44,723 the discounted loops that they came in. You 446 00:16:44,723 --> 00:16:46,971 know, they were, like, 60 or 70 percent 447 00:16:46,971 --> 00:16:49,204 off, and I couldn't even afford that. So 448 00:16:49,364 --> 00:16:51,996 I understand. And these loops just like any... 449 00:16:52,235 --> 00:16:54,628 I mean, all loops are... If you're getting 450 00:16:54,628 --> 00:16:55,686 quality loops 451 00:16:56,077 --> 00:16:58,940 they're not cheap. It's an investment. So I 452 00:16:58,940 --> 00:17:01,109 recommend, you know, sometimes they do have student 453 00:17:01,166 --> 00:17:03,551 discounts if people can swing it, the earlier 454 00:17:03,551 --> 00:17:05,062 they use these loops the better. 455 00:17:05,714 --> 00:17:08,272 If that's not an auction, you know, just 456 00:17:08,272 --> 00:17:09,790 making sure that you have it on your 457 00:17:09,790 --> 00:17:11,309 wish list for when you get out into 458 00:17:11,309 --> 00:17:13,147 practice and you do start making some money 459 00:17:13,147 --> 00:17:15,065 to invest in those as soon as possible. 460 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:17,480 So I would say those allow us to 461 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:19,319 be a neutral posture. But, you know, if 462 00:17:19,319 --> 00:17:21,640 we're talking about some, like, low cost or 463 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:25,508 no cost options, If we build our strength 464 00:17:25,726 --> 00:17:27,880 in our neck and in our back and 465 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:28,518 our shoulders, 466 00:17:28,996 --> 00:17:31,389 we're much more likely to be able to 467 00:17:31,389 --> 00:17:33,637 be upright in a neutral posture sure because 468 00:17:33,637 --> 00:17:35,628 those muscles just kind of hold us that 469 00:17:35,628 --> 00:17:38,177 way. So if you learn these exercises to 470 00:17:38,177 --> 00:17:39,611 do, you know, things like Rows, 471 00:17:40,342 --> 00:17:43,436 that will in, like, certain neck exercises that 472 00:17:43,436 --> 00:17:45,578 will help you be in a more neutral 473 00:17:45,578 --> 00:17:45,974 posture. 474 00:17:46,768 --> 00:17:50,043 And I talk about micro breaks. I guess 475 00:17:50,043 --> 00:17:52,350 this isn't necessarily post related, 476 00:17:53,225 --> 00:17:55,714 But micro breaks really help to 477 00:17:56,264 --> 00:17:58,262 stretch out our muscles and give us a 478 00:17:58,262 --> 00:17:59,141 little bit of a break. 479 00:17:59,700 --> 00:18:01,638 But if we have muscles that are constantly 480 00:18:02,017 --> 00:18:04,588 contracted all day long, that's gonna kinda force 481 00:18:04,588 --> 00:18:07,139 us into an unhealthy posture, so we need 482 00:18:07,139 --> 00:18:09,610 to also, like, learn what these micro are, 483 00:18:10,009 --> 00:18:11,922 and make sure we're taking them throughout the 484 00:18:11,922 --> 00:18:13,215 day too. Oh, here. 485 00:18:14,095 --> 00:18:17,234 Just back to the neck and the shoulder 486 00:18:17,615 --> 00:18:19,535 exercises, so you mentioned rows, 487 00:18:20,348 --> 00:18:22,600 what other ones would it be like a, 488 00:18:23,055 --> 00:18:24,749 like a a lot of 489 00:18:25,125 --> 00:18:27,751 a lateral pull down? Yeah. Working on the 490 00:18:27,751 --> 00:18:30,413 lats also doing some core exercises 491 00:18:31,106 --> 00:18:32,695 to make sure that we... Because our core, 492 00:18:32,855 --> 00:18:34,047 you know, we need to hold up our 493 00:18:34,047 --> 00:18:36,114 trunk somehow and our core is responsible for 494 00:18:36,114 --> 00:18:38,519 that. So making sure that we're strengthening our 495 00:18:38,519 --> 00:18:41,000 core. We also need to strengthen those the 496 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,960 smaller muscles in our shoulder. So things like 497 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:44,460 external 498 00:18:44,839 --> 00:18:47,079 rotations either with a a band or, like, 499 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:49,732 a bell can help strengthen those muscles, 500 00:18:50,531 --> 00:18:52,469 but we also need to 501 00:18:52,848 --> 00:18:53,348 avoid 502 00:18:54,206 --> 00:18:55,485 other exercises. 503 00:18:56,138 --> 00:18:58,046 So when we're in Dentistry, a lot of 504 00:18:58,046 --> 00:18:59,398 times we're like this. Right? 505 00:19:00,114 --> 00:19:01,863 Like, we've got our shoulders kinda up towards 506 00:19:01,863 --> 00:19:05,203 our ear, and that contracts the trap muscle 507 00:19:05,203 --> 00:19:05,362 here. 508 00:19:06,333 --> 00:19:08,649 So for most dental professionals, and I I 509 00:19:08,649 --> 00:19:11,224 honestly don't know. I can't speak to students 510 00:19:11,603 --> 00:19:13,359 because you guys haven't been doing this as 511 00:19:13,359 --> 00:19:14,796 long as some of us, and so you 512 00:19:14,796 --> 00:19:16,970 might not have this severe of an issue. 513 00:19:17,529 --> 00:19:18,650 But a lot of us who have been 514 00:19:18,650 --> 00:19:21,130 doing this a while have these rock hard 515 00:19:21,130 --> 00:19:23,130 traps that's... You don't want them to be 516 00:19:23,130 --> 00:19:25,304 rock hard. That's not a good thing. But 517 00:19:25,304 --> 00:19:28,500 they're already very strong and contracted because we 518 00:19:28,500 --> 00:19:30,498 over work them so much when we're working. 519 00:19:30,977 --> 00:19:33,375 So exercises like overhead presses. 520 00:19:34,028 --> 00:19:36,342 Or, like, doing a snatch, you know, with 521 00:19:36,342 --> 00:19:39,213 a dumbbell, anything overhead probably isn't great for 522 00:19:39,213 --> 00:19:40,968 us because we don't need to work these 523 00:19:40,968 --> 00:19:43,382 muscles out anymore or, like these lateral 524 00:19:43,774 --> 00:19:44,493 type things. 525 00:19:45,132 --> 00:19:47,689 So just kinda knowing what to do and 526 00:19:47,689 --> 00:19:49,766 what not to do can really help with 527 00:19:49,766 --> 00:19:50,325 your posture. 528 00:19:51,139 --> 00:19:51,299 Okay. 529 00:19:52,098 --> 00:19:54,675 I like the idea of micro breaks even 530 00:19:55,294 --> 00:19:57,232 now. This isn't just generally 531 00:19:57,691 --> 00:20:00,254 throughout the day just being a human being. 532 00:20:00,652 --> 00:20:02,957 Having micro breaks would sounds amazing. 533 00:20:03,593 --> 00:20:04,570 What does a micro 534 00:20:05,023 --> 00:20:07,408 involve in the your surgery or in your 535 00:20:07,408 --> 00:20:10,930 practice? Yeah. So what I recommend is taking 536 00:20:10,930 --> 00:20:12,446 1 every 20 minutes, 537 00:20:13,084 --> 00:20:13,961 but you're holding... 538 00:20:14,679 --> 00:20:16,195 There's a bunch of different ones. A bunch 539 00:20:16,195 --> 00:20:19,079 of different micro breaks are stretch is, but 540 00:20:19,079 --> 00:20:21,228 holding each stretch for at least 20 seconds. 541 00:20:21,945 --> 00:20:23,935 Because when we're working and, let's say we're 542 00:20:23,935 --> 00:20:26,140 out here, you know, in chicken wing, which 543 00:20:26,339 --> 00:20:28,331 all of us find ourselves here sometimes. 544 00:20:28,888 --> 00:20:31,040 But when we're out here for a long 545 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:33,271 time, these muscles here, these traps, 546 00:20:34,147 --> 00:20:35,820 trap muscles and our neck muscles, 547 00:20:36,394 --> 00:20:39,115 They're just contracted the entire time, and they're 548 00:20:39,115 --> 00:20:41,195 not getting a break. And so when a 549 00:20:41,195 --> 00:20:44,589 muscle is contracted for a long time, pressure 550 00:20:44,648 --> 00:20:46,566 starts to build up on the inside of 551 00:20:46,566 --> 00:20:48,404 that muscle, and it cuts off blood flow. 552 00:20:49,043 --> 00:20:50,721 So then we've got all of these muscles 553 00:20:50,721 --> 00:20:53,134 that are just really strained and working overtime, 554 00:20:53,295 --> 00:20:54,974 and it's not getting the blood that it 555 00:20:54,974 --> 00:20:56,974 needs, and that's when we start to feel 556 00:20:56,974 --> 00:20:59,215 pain. They start to get really hard. They 557 00:20:59,215 --> 00:21:01,548 start to get fatigued. So what these micro 558 00:21:01,548 --> 00:21:04,365 breaks do, like, for the trap is you're 559 00:21:04,425 --> 00:21:07,061 stretching, so it feels great, but also, when 560 00:21:07,061 --> 00:21:09,312 you hold it for 20 seconds, that's when 561 00:21:09,312 --> 00:21:11,623 the blood can flow back into those muscles 562 00:21:11,623 --> 00:21:13,216 and start to heal some of the damage. 563 00:21:13,933 --> 00:21:15,845 So that's just an example for the traps. 564 00:21:16,179 --> 00:21:18,480 But I have, like, on my Instagram, I 565 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:20,543 have a whole highlight on all of my 566 00:21:20,543 --> 00:21:22,448 favorite micro breaks, and I'm actually gonna be 567 00:21:22,448 --> 00:21:24,432 starting a new series probably next week. 568 00:21:25,081 --> 00:21:28,092 Just demonstrating those, but we really need to 569 00:21:28,092 --> 00:21:30,310 focus on these muscles that we over work. 570 00:21:30,548 --> 00:21:33,690 So the upper traps. Are for our muscles 571 00:21:33,750 --> 00:21:35,750 our wrists, you know, we just need to 572 00:21:35,750 --> 00:21:36,789 to give them a break. 573 00:21:37,349 --> 00:21:37,750 Yeah. 574 00:21:38,869 --> 00:21:40,730 1 thing that I suffered 575 00:21:41,284 --> 00:21:43,538 at the very beginning it when holding 576 00:21:44,234 --> 00:21:44,894 a hand 577 00:21:45,511 --> 00:21:46,011 instrument 578 00:21:46,707 --> 00:21:47,207 was 579 00:21:47,744 --> 00:21:50,636 how tight I held my hand scaler 580 00:21:51,108 --> 00:21:53,977 and that was really painful after the first 581 00:21:53,977 --> 00:21:55,831 time I actually had to 582 00:21:56,288 --> 00:21:59,406 really start using them. What about our finger? 583 00:21:59,564 --> 00:22:01,969 Like, are their muscles and our fingers that 584 00:22:02,342 --> 00:22:03,294 we could damage? 585 00:22:04,008 --> 00:22:04,325 Yes. 586 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:06,880 Yes. L we have to all kinds of 587 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:09,262 muscles and, like tendons and l and everything 588 00:22:09,262 --> 00:22:11,327 in our hands. But back to when you 589 00:22:11,327 --> 00:22:13,312 were saying how tightly you're holding something. 590 00:22:13,964 --> 00:22:17,395 That it's just crazy to think that just 591 00:22:17,395 --> 00:22:20,188 us holding something too tightly can lead to 592 00:22:20,188 --> 00:22:21,166 things like tend, 593 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:23,400 and carpal tunnel to where people need surgery. 594 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:25,799 Isn't that crazy? It... Just because we're holding 595 00:22:25,799 --> 00:22:26,839 on to something too tight. 596 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:29,810 So I do recommend just a light grip. 597 00:22:30,049 --> 00:22:32,200 And not just on your instruments, but on 598 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:34,612 your air water, you know, on your suction 599 00:22:34,670 --> 00:22:37,379 on your your composite when you're doing a 600 00:22:37,379 --> 00:22:39,470 filling, whatever it is just a light light 601 00:22:39,470 --> 00:22:42,269 grip. But there are hand strength nerves. 602 00:22:43,070 --> 00:22:44,829 So when we're working, a lot of times 603 00:22:44,829 --> 00:22:47,080 we're like this. We've got like, claws, you 604 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:49,313 know, because we're gripping things. So what we 605 00:22:49,313 --> 00:22:51,886 need to do is do the opposite movement 606 00:22:52,503 --> 00:22:55,628 and strengthen the muscles going this way. So 607 00:22:55,628 --> 00:22:57,782 there are some strength that I have. They're 608 00:22:57,782 --> 00:22:59,776 listed. I just did a podcast about this, 609 00:23:00,255 --> 00:23:02,488 but they're listed on my Amazon storefront, but 610 00:23:02,488 --> 00:23:04,402 they're just... It's, like, hand yoga, Like, it's 611 00:23:04,402 --> 00:23:06,331 a little device you put your fingers into, 612 00:23:06,490 --> 00:23:08,187 and then you can just do these little 613 00:23:08,325 --> 00:23:10,717 exercises. Really helps with the hand and the 614 00:23:10,717 --> 00:23:11,036 rest. 615 00:23:11,753 --> 00:23:14,877 Okay. That's interesting. I I like that. That 616 00:23:14,877 --> 00:23:18,080 was probably the first pain I experience was 617 00:23:18,376 --> 00:23:19,194 just having 618 00:23:19,886 --> 00:23:22,510 because I wanted to do this perfectly. I 619 00:23:22,510 --> 00:23:23,964 wanted to hand scale 620 00:23:24,594 --> 00:23:27,810 correctly, I wanted to get to all surfaces 621 00:23:28,748 --> 00:23:32,680 correctly, in some reason, I had... I felt 622 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:34,519 like I needed to hold this thing so 623 00:23:34,519 --> 00:23:36,940 tightly to get to that surface, which it 624 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:37,500 actually 625 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:40,460 thinking back. It's like, no. It's just 626 00:23:40,773 --> 00:23:42,067 your wrist movement 627 00:23:42,599 --> 00:23:44,902 that gets you to all these differences. It's 628 00:23:44,902 --> 00:23:48,420 not how hard you're gripping on to 629 00:23:48,809 --> 00:23:49,447 a skyler. 630 00:23:50,005 --> 00:23:51,781 So, yeah. It's interesting. 631 00:23:52,237 --> 00:23:54,629 Yeah. Like, that's not actually what's making it 632 00:23:54,629 --> 00:23:56,702 efficient. And I think the stress too because 633 00:23:56,702 --> 00:23:57,442 our job 634 00:23:57,994 --> 00:23:58,875 It's stressful. 635 00:23:59,355 --> 00:24:01,674 That's, like, working on patients. A lot of 636 00:24:01,674 --> 00:24:03,674 times they're not super excited to see us, 637 00:24:03,994 --> 00:24:05,994 but that stress a lot of times presents 638 00:24:05,994 --> 00:24:08,009 in this, like, death grip that we have 639 00:24:08,009 --> 00:24:10,409 on things. But I still find myself doing 640 00:24:10,409 --> 00:24:12,169 that too. If I'm doing a hard scaling 641 00:24:12,169 --> 00:24:12,889 and root play, 642 00:24:13,609 --> 00:24:15,265 and I'm really working on a piece of 643 00:24:15,384 --> 00:24:18,577 calculus. I'm like, okay, Stephanie, like, I'll be 644 00:24:18,577 --> 00:24:20,253 gripping it so hard and I'm, like, no. 645 00:24:20,413 --> 00:24:21,930 Because I know the power comes from here. 646 00:24:22,089 --> 00:24:23,047 If you knows, so I just have to, 647 00:24:23,127 --> 00:24:24,978 like, relax it and then do it correctly, 648 00:24:25,138 --> 00:24:27,132 but it still happens to me too. Okay. 649 00:24:27,531 --> 00:24:27,851 Yeah. 650 00:24:28,409 --> 00:24:28,909 So 651 00:24:29,766 --> 00:24:31,760 this is a sad said, art. I mean, 652 00:24:32,254 --> 00:24:34,085 Is there ever a time where it's too 653 00:24:34,085 --> 00:24:35,439 late? Like, how do we know? 654 00:24:36,235 --> 00:24:38,067 Let's say we have injured ourselves? 655 00:24:38,784 --> 00:24:40,558 Is there an indication that 656 00:24:41,029 --> 00:24:43,283 it's too late to repair that 657 00:24:43,820 --> 00:24:45,038 injury? Or 658 00:24:45,814 --> 00:24:47,409 is it ever too late to work on 659 00:24:47,409 --> 00:24:50,440 your posture like, is there any indications that 660 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,080 might we might think as students, you know, 661 00:24:53,159 --> 00:24:54,908 what, I could just never get used to 662 00:24:54,908 --> 00:24:57,293 that. I could never do that. I don't 663 00:24:57,293 --> 00:24:58,326 think it's ever too late. 664 00:24:58,899 --> 00:25:00,733 But I do have people reach out to 665 00:25:00,733 --> 00:25:03,466 me often that, you know, are already 666 00:25:04,242 --> 00:25:06,316 recovering from a surgery or they, you know, 667 00:25:06,555 --> 00:25:08,230 they've had to take leave off of their 668 00:25:08,230 --> 00:25:09,916 off this because they're in so much pain. 669 00:25:10,313 --> 00:25:11,666 But I don't think that's ever too late. 670 00:25:11,904 --> 00:25:14,154 I do think that you cross a threshold 671 00:25:14,688 --> 00:25:15,188 where 672 00:25:15,898 --> 00:25:19,328 preventive techniques are not enough anymore. And peep, 673 00:25:19,487 --> 00:25:22,039 just like the mouth. Right? I mean, people 674 00:25:22,039 --> 00:25:23,954 cross over this line to where they're not 675 00:25:23,954 --> 00:25:26,125 preventive anymore. We need to start taking action. 676 00:25:26,684 --> 00:25:28,525 And it's the same with our body. And 677 00:25:28,525 --> 00:25:32,224 so sometimes people need surgery. They need Pt. 678 00:25:32,525 --> 00:25:34,444 They need to get some, you know, some 679 00:25:34,444 --> 00:25:36,775 help to to help things, but I don't 680 00:25:36,775 --> 00:25:39,249 think it's ever too late. 1 thing with 681 00:25:39,249 --> 00:25:42,203 these ergonomic loops that I mentioned because they 682 00:25:42,203 --> 00:25:44,772 kind of force you in this upright position, 683 00:25:44,852 --> 00:25:45,650 which is good. 684 00:25:46,449 --> 00:25:47,986 Sometimes people, unfortunately, 685 00:25:48,365 --> 00:25:50,520 who have been practicing a while, and they 686 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:52,995 develop what's called forward head posture. 687 00:25:53,569 --> 00:25:56,124 Where they're kind of in this fixed slumped 688 00:25:56,124 --> 00:25:56,922 over position. 689 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:00,434 They then start to get those loops that's 690 00:26:00,434 --> 00:26:02,590 forcing them upright, and they cannot do it. 691 00:26:03,162 --> 00:26:05,710 Anymore. They can't get upright, or it's really 692 00:26:05,710 --> 00:26:08,677 painful for them. And so even with those 693 00:26:08,734 --> 00:26:10,700 those people, it's not too late, but they 694 00:26:10,819 --> 00:26:12,653 typically need to get some rehab so that 695 00:26:12,653 --> 00:26:14,807 they can get their head more upright, and 696 00:26:14,807 --> 00:26:16,003 then they can use those loops. 697 00:26:16,642 --> 00:26:18,179 Okay. And so 698 00:26:18,715 --> 00:26:19,215 with 699 00:26:19,991 --> 00:26:20,491 rehab 700 00:26:20,965 --> 00:26:23,525 what does that sometimes involve? Who who are 701 00:26:23,525 --> 00:26:25,384 these specialists and who are the 702 00:26:26,005 --> 00:26:28,325 clinicians that we would need to be involved? 703 00:26:28,485 --> 00:26:29,259 We've just 704 00:26:29,619 --> 00:26:30,440 who probably 705 00:26:31,220 --> 00:26:32,579 might get to that point and be like, 706 00:26:32,740 --> 00:26:34,820 okay, who should I be speaking to? Where 707 00:26:34,820 --> 00:26:36,980 should I start if I'm starting to get 708 00:26:36,980 --> 00:26:39,305 an injury? You know, I always say start 709 00:26:39,305 --> 00:26:42,327 with your primary care physician. But most of 710 00:26:42,327 --> 00:26:44,155 the time, they're, I would say all the 711 00:26:44,155 --> 00:26:46,636 time. They're gonna refer you to either a 712 00:26:46,636 --> 00:26:49,921 sports medicine, doctor or at least a physical 713 00:26:49,978 --> 00:26:52,764 therapist to help you start, you know, evening 714 00:26:52,764 --> 00:26:54,833 out some of these muscle imbalances that we 715 00:26:54,833 --> 00:26:55,333 have 716 00:26:55,884 --> 00:26:58,144 and then sometimes people need things like cortisol 717 00:26:58,365 --> 00:27:00,305 injections or they do need to get surgery 718 00:27:00,525 --> 00:27:03,964 because the muscular issues have started causing joint 719 00:27:03,964 --> 00:27:06,373 problems to wear those like, the joints are 720 00:27:06,373 --> 00:27:08,998 even that our vertebra and our back, they 721 00:27:08,998 --> 00:27:10,589 can't get better on their own, and so 722 00:27:10,589 --> 00:27:12,021 they need to get some kind of surgery. 723 00:27:12,434 --> 00:27:14,422 So it just... It always... It just depends, 724 00:27:14,661 --> 00:27:16,411 and everyone's different as far as what they 725 00:27:16,411 --> 00:27:17,366 need. Okay. 726 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:18,820 So 727 00:27:19,529 --> 00:27:21,919 for those who are listening and are about 728 00:27:21,919 --> 00:27:22,578 to graduate 729 00:27:23,034 --> 00:27:23,534 now 730 00:27:24,229 --> 00:27:26,062 searching and applying for jobs. 731 00:27:26,953 --> 00:27:28,942 From your podcast, I've heard that there are 732 00:27:28,942 --> 00:27:33,021 tools that the practices should provide to support 733 00:27:33,078 --> 00:27:33,578 our 734 00:27:34,365 --> 00:27:35,740 ergonomic and our posture, 735 00:27:36,512 --> 00:27:39,374 so things like a saddle chair. I've heard 736 00:27:39,374 --> 00:27:40,113 is good 737 00:27:40,567 --> 00:27:41,783 for helping us 738 00:27:42,174 --> 00:27:44,571 stay in this neutral upright position. 739 00:27:45,290 --> 00:27:47,047 I mean, what other things should we be 740 00:27:47,047 --> 00:27:49,616 looking for in a practice and and how 741 00:27:49,616 --> 00:27:52,423 can we deal with the practice doesn't supply 742 00:27:52,479 --> 00:27:53,592 those things to us? 743 00:27:54,308 --> 00:27:56,296 So I guess, let me say what I 744 00:27:56,296 --> 00:27:58,682 think the office is responsible for. 745 00:27:59,414 --> 00:28:02,391 I think the office is responsible for providing 746 00:28:04,048 --> 00:28:06,366 where you are not going to injure yourself 747 00:28:06,366 --> 00:28:07,085 when you use it. 748 00:28:07,818 --> 00:28:08,717 Because I've seen 749 00:28:09,254 --> 00:28:11,189 where it used to be an old closet 750 00:28:11,407 --> 00:28:13,800 or, like, an old panel room or something 751 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:16,693 that they've, like, makeshift made into an. 752 00:28:17,563 --> 00:28:19,473 And there is no way to use it 753 00:28:19,473 --> 00:28:22,180 ergonomic. You know, the clinician has to reach 754 00:28:22,180 --> 00:28:23,931 way over here to get this or they'd 755 00:28:23,931 --> 00:28:26,159 have to twist and this... Like, that's not 756 00:28:26,159 --> 00:28:28,409 okay with me. I think that the office 757 00:28:28,409 --> 00:28:29,869 should providing a healthy 758 00:28:30,250 --> 00:28:31,210 arbitrary environment. 759 00:28:31,849 --> 00:28:33,450 So that's what I think the office is 760 00:28:33,450 --> 00:28:34,169 responsible for. 761 00:28:34,824 --> 00:28:37,541 Other things that I don't necessarily think the 762 00:28:37,541 --> 00:28:40,098 office is responsible for. I mean, it would 763 00:28:40,098 --> 00:28:41,696 be cool. It would be nice if they 764 00:28:41,696 --> 00:28:44,289 would provide it. But I don't think it's 765 00:28:44,589 --> 00:28:46,909 necessarily like, I don't think they have to, 766 00:28:47,390 --> 00:28:50,109 but things like loops, things like stool, 767 00:28:50,922 --> 00:28:53,544 I am a huge proponent of saddle stool. 768 00:28:53,783 --> 00:28:55,395 I wish they were in every 769 00:28:56,246 --> 00:28:57,597 everywhere. They're not. 770 00:28:58,329 --> 00:29:00,966 Some offices are open to getting those and 771 00:29:00,966 --> 00:29:03,764 some aren't. But I don't think that, you 772 00:29:03,764 --> 00:29:05,442 know, if you approach your office and they 773 00:29:05,442 --> 00:29:07,894 will not invest in that for you, just 774 00:29:08,013 --> 00:29:09,442 please don't let that be the end of 775 00:29:09,442 --> 00:29:10,156 the line for you. 776 00:29:10,950 --> 00:29:12,774 You can invest in it on your own. 777 00:29:12,933 --> 00:29:15,179 And the and the good thing about getting 778 00:29:15,408 --> 00:29:18,825 good equipment for yourself is it's yours, so 779 00:29:18,825 --> 00:29:19,938 you can take it with you. I mean, 780 00:29:20,017 --> 00:29:21,448 the odds of you being in the same 781 00:29:21,448 --> 00:29:23,911 practice for your entire career are pretty low. 782 00:29:24,644 --> 00:29:26,724 So it's yours. You can take it with 783 00:29:26,724 --> 00:29:29,125 you. You could even... I mean, I used 784 00:29:29,125 --> 00:29:30,964 to temp, and I would, like, carry my 785 00:29:30,964 --> 00:29:32,539 saddle stool and, like, all of my other 786 00:29:32,659 --> 00:29:34,016 stuff, you know, and I would just take 787 00:29:34,016 --> 00:29:35,692 it in and leave or bring it with 788 00:29:35,692 --> 00:29:37,288 me when I left, and it was mine, 789 00:29:37,448 --> 00:29:39,602 and I took care of it. Things like 790 00:29:39,602 --> 00:29:42,886 ergonomic instruments you know, that, yes, It it 791 00:29:42,886 --> 00:29:45,037 would be great if the office would provide 792 00:29:45,037 --> 00:29:47,268 it, but sometimes they don't. And I remember 793 00:29:47,268 --> 00:29:47,906 my first year, 794 00:29:48,479 --> 00:29:49,195 of practice. 795 00:29:49,753 --> 00:29:52,859 They had terrible in, like, terrible instruments. And 796 00:29:52,859 --> 00:29:54,214 it was a no brainer for me just 797 00:29:54,214 --> 00:29:55,807 to buy my own. You know? It was 798 00:29:55,807 --> 00:29:57,973 like, okay. Like, this kinda sucks but I'll 799 00:29:57,973 --> 00:29:59,568 spend a few hundred bucks and get my 800 00:29:59,568 --> 00:30:01,004 own and that way, I I know that 801 00:30:01,084 --> 00:30:02,918 I'm taking care of myself. Okay. 802 00:30:03,795 --> 00:30:06,108 1 thing that also sparked my interest was 803 00:30:06,108 --> 00:30:07,305 this certain pillow. 804 00:30:07,879 --> 00:30:10,935 That you suggest in your resources 805 00:30:11,554 --> 00:30:12,432 for patients. 806 00:30:12,992 --> 00:30:15,402 Could we talk a bit about this pillow 807 00:30:15,402 --> 00:30:18,116 what's so special about it. Yeah. So it 808 00:30:18,116 --> 00:30:18,935 is a 809 00:30:19,393 --> 00:30:22,266 it's a cervical cushion, so it supports the 810 00:30:22,266 --> 00:30:22,505 neck. 811 00:30:23,158 --> 00:30:23,658 And 812 00:30:24,115 --> 00:30:26,505 it does 2 things. So it keeps our 813 00:30:26,505 --> 00:30:27,142 patient comfortable, 814 00:30:27,859 --> 00:30:30,489 and I mean, patients love them. Like, every 815 00:30:30,489 --> 00:30:32,082 time I put them behind my patient, they're 816 00:30:32,082 --> 00:30:35,134 just, like, Thank you. But a comfortable patient 817 00:30:35,134 --> 00:30:37,214 is a compliant patient for the most part. 818 00:30:37,615 --> 00:30:39,295 So if we can keep them comfortable with 819 00:30:39,295 --> 00:30:41,386 something as simple as a cushion, they're gonna 820 00:30:41,386 --> 00:30:43,533 be much more compliant when we need to 821 00:30:43,533 --> 00:30:45,441 really tip them back in the chair, You 822 00:30:45,441 --> 00:30:47,031 know, especially if for working on the top 823 00:30:47,031 --> 00:30:48,542 teeth. We need them like, all the way 824 00:30:48,542 --> 00:30:48,701 back. 825 00:30:49,513 --> 00:30:52,065 But another thing it does is it actually 826 00:30:52,065 --> 00:30:53,283 gets the patient's 827 00:30:53,740 --> 00:30:56,372 head in the correct position depending on if 828 00:30:56,372 --> 00:30:58,127 we're working on the upper arch or the 829 00:30:58,127 --> 00:30:58,765 lower arch. 830 00:30:59,337 --> 00:31:01,405 So it can actually position the oc ec 831 00:31:01,405 --> 00:31:03,075 plane for the upper it kind of forces 832 00:31:03,075 --> 00:31:05,086 their chin to go up towards the ceiling 833 00:31:05,381 --> 00:31:07,767 while still supporting their head, so it's not 834 00:31:07,767 --> 00:31:10,171 uncomfortable for them. And then for the lower 835 00:31:10,171 --> 00:31:10,490 arch, 836 00:31:11,048 --> 00:31:12,723 I use... I kinda of flip it around 837 00:31:12,723 --> 00:31:14,717 for the lower arch, but then it kinda 838 00:31:14,717 --> 00:31:16,870 forces the chin down towards the chest, which 839 00:31:16,870 --> 00:31:18,465 is what we want for the lower teeth, 840 00:31:18,799 --> 00:31:20,470 And then again, it keeps them comfortable. 841 00:31:21,027 --> 00:31:23,175 So I've used this for, you know, 90 842 00:31:23,175 --> 00:31:25,323 plus year old patients, and we all know 843 00:31:25,323 --> 00:31:28,288 with that patient population that's hard to position 844 00:31:28,288 --> 00:31:30,441 them, you know? But if we're supporting their 845 00:31:30,441 --> 00:31:32,515 head, you would be surprised at how far 846 00:31:32,515 --> 00:31:34,748 they allow you to tip them back. So 847 00:31:34,748 --> 00:31:37,475 those, again, I wish like, every office had 848 00:31:37,475 --> 00:31:39,868 them, but that's 1 of the lower cost 849 00:31:39,868 --> 00:31:41,303 items. So that's not, like, buying a pair 850 00:31:41,303 --> 00:31:43,138 of loops. You know? It's, like, 60 bucks 851 00:31:43,138 --> 00:31:44,653 or something. You can get a cushion and 852 00:31:44,653 --> 00:31:46,581 it can really help your patient. Yeah. Yeah. 853 00:31:46,899 --> 00:31:49,365 Absolutely. No. That's cool. That's good to know 854 00:31:49,365 --> 00:31:51,853 as well. I... Yeah. The amount of times 855 00:31:51,910 --> 00:31:52,887 when I assist 856 00:31:53,198 --> 00:31:53,698 and, 857 00:31:54,232 --> 00:31:56,085 you know, you spend a few minutes 858 00:31:56,460 --> 00:31:58,790 having to sort of get the patient to 859 00:31:59,324 --> 00:31:59,824 continue 860 00:32:00,454 --> 00:32:02,929 lowering their chin or raising their chin up, 861 00:32:03,168 --> 00:32:05,403 you know, reminding them to do that. That 862 00:32:05,403 --> 00:32:07,260 does take up time, and it does sometimes 863 00:32:07,319 --> 00:32:08,995 affect your focus. You're kind of like, 864 00:32:09,967 --> 00:32:12,378 okay. Gotta stop what I'm doing. Again. Just 865 00:32:12,516 --> 00:32:14,747 reposition your chin or whatever it is. Yes. 866 00:32:14,986 --> 00:32:17,313 So that's handy to know. Yeah. And when 867 00:32:17,313 --> 00:32:18,829 we have our patient, you know, we're like, 868 00:32:18,989 --> 00:32:20,746 okay, tip your chat, towards the ceiling and 869 00:32:20,746 --> 00:32:22,741 they do, but then 2 seconds later, they 870 00:32:22,741 --> 00:32:24,178 start drifting down, and then we have to... 871 00:32:24,418 --> 00:32:26,429 And so many people just give up. Because 872 00:32:26,429 --> 00:32:28,903 they're tired of reminding them. And... But that 873 00:32:28,903 --> 00:32:31,617 sucks because that... Because then it, like, really 874 00:32:31,617 --> 00:32:33,533 affects our position. So these Christians just kind 875 00:32:33,533 --> 00:32:35,625 of, like, lock them in place. Which is 876 00:32:35,625 --> 00:32:36,105 really nice. 877 00:32:36,664 --> 00:32:39,644 Okay. All this information that... And all these 878 00:32:39,944 --> 00:32:42,345 tools and all these resources that we've spoken 879 00:32:42,345 --> 00:32:42,720 about 880 00:32:43,156 --> 00:32:44,902 I will make sure everyone knows where to 881 00:32:44,902 --> 00:32:47,283 find them. All... I've learned all this stuff 882 00:32:47,283 --> 00:32:47,839 on your, 883 00:32:48,791 --> 00:32:51,504 social media and you're very good at sharing 884 00:32:51,504 --> 00:32:53,488 all this information and where to go find 885 00:32:53,488 --> 00:32:55,947 this stuff. So if anyone is interested in 886 00:32:55,947 --> 00:32:56,423 listening, 887 00:32:56,979 --> 00:32:58,978 and they want to find out more I 888 00:32:58,978 --> 00:33:01,922 will obviously provide all the links to where 889 00:33:01,922 --> 00:33:04,649 they can find you and should they need 890 00:33:04,706 --> 00:33:07,510 to speak with you by all means. That 891 00:33:07,510 --> 00:33:09,346 you know where to go, and I'll put 892 00:33:09,346 --> 00:33:11,660 that all in the journey, but you're not 893 00:33:11,660 --> 00:33:15,600 based in Australia. So we don't have the 894 00:33:16,133 --> 00:33:19,094 luxury of getting you in our surgeries. So 895 00:33:19,468 --> 00:33:22,985 I suppose if we've needed someone like you 896 00:33:23,454 --> 00:33:25,611 if we wanted to work with someone like 897 00:33:25,611 --> 00:33:27,928 you, how can we get that help here 898 00:33:27,928 --> 00:33:28,807 in Australia? 899 00:33:29,207 --> 00:33:30,245 Well, I do virtual. 900 00:33:31,140 --> 00:33:33,700 Virtual is great. Yeah. And I do presentations 901 00:33:33,700 --> 00:33:36,180 for schools. It's, like a 45 minute, kind 902 00:33:36,180 --> 00:33:38,019 of crash course and ergonomic. 903 00:33:38,591 --> 00:33:40,578 That I do virtually, but I also do 904 00:33:40,578 --> 00:33:43,199 assessments in coaching virtually, where you just need 905 00:33:43,199 --> 00:33:45,757 your phone, and I can you pro this 906 00:33:45,757 --> 00:33:46,950 and I can look and see what kind 907 00:33:46,950 --> 00:33:49,655 of equipment you're working with and make recommendations 908 00:33:49,655 --> 00:33:52,121 from there. So, virtual is a nice option. 909 00:33:52,454 --> 00:33:53,729 Yeah. Or you could just find me out 910 00:33:53,729 --> 00:33:55,003 there. I'd love a trip. Yeah. 911 00:33:56,677 --> 00:33:59,680 Yes. I think if we can try and 912 00:33:59,878 --> 00:34:02,757 sort of work on our posture early. Hopefully, 913 00:34:03,447 --> 00:34:05,454 we don't really need such 914 00:34:05,827 --> 00:34:08,701 intervention. That's the goal here. I Yeah. Yeah. 915 00:34:08,940 --> 00:34:11,171 And and 2, you know, it's not just. 916 00:34:11,729 --> 00:34:13,243 I mentioned this earlier, but it's our cell... 917 00:34:13,402 --> 00:34:15,076 I mean, cell phones are huge. 918 00:34:15,728 --> 00:34:18,508 And so really making sure, like, I made 919 00:34:18,508 --> 00:34:21,368 my first podcast episode has some good tips 920 00:34:21,368 --> 00:34:23,671 on cell phone and laptop use. 921 00:34:24,244 --> 00:34:25,842 But I know that you guys in school 922 00:34:25,842 --> 00:34:27,521 are probably on your phones and your laptops 923 00:34:27,521 --> 00:34:29,918 a lot. So just making sure your phone 924 00:34:29,918 --> 00:34:32,715 is held up higher, so you're not hunch 925 00:34:32,715 --> 00:34:35,622 over it. Making sure your laptop is elevated 926 00:34:35,839 --> 00:34:37,432 on something even if it's just a stack 927 00:34:37,432 --> 00:34:39,186 of books, you know, to get the screen 928 00:34:39,186 --> 00:34:41,496 up so that you're not hunch over, and 929 00:34:41,496 --> 00:34:42,771 then, of course, in practice too. 930 00:34:43,505 --> 00:34:43,744 Okay. 931 00:34:44,545 --> 00:34:45,045 So 932 00:34:45,344 --> 00:34:48,484 for those who are interested like you in 933 00:34:48,625 --> 00:34:51,925 ergonomic and posture and helping out their peers 934 00:34:52,479 --> 00:34:54,714 where do you suggest they start looking to 935 00:34:54,714 --> 00:34:55,534 get that 936 00:34:55,911 --> 00:34:59,105 qualification and that certification? Oh, to... Yeah. To, 937 00:34:59,185 --> 00:35:01,340 like, be an ergonomic specialist? Yeah. 938 00:35:01,834 --> 00:35:03,429 What does it take? Is it just a 939 00:35:03,429 --> 00:35:05,661 course? It is. Yeah. And I can tell 940 00:35:05,661 --> 00:35:07,416 you what I did. This isn't the only 941 00:35:07,416 --> 00:35:10,127 way. But I got certified over Covid, and 942 00:35:10,127 --> 00:35:12,213 so I it was a virtual. They have 943 00:35:12,213 --> 00:35:14,124 in person, but it was a virtual course. 944 00:35:14,681 --> 00:35:16,274 It was, like, a few weeks long. It 945 00:35:16,274 --> 00:35:19,322 took it virtually, but the thing is with 946 00:35:19,634 --> 00:35:22,284 with this, is there isn't a dental 947 00:35:22,818 --> 00:35:24,115 specific ergonomic 948 00:35:24,570 --> 00:35:27,198 certification yet. Like, I I hope eventually there 949 00:35:27,198 --> 00:35:27,857 will be 950 00:35:28,168 --> 00:35:30,416 But I had to take a basic course 951 00:35:30,472 --> 00:35:32,244 in ergonomic like 952 00:35:33,015 --> 00:35:35,081 ergonomic for people who worked in a factory. 953 00:35:35,494 --> 00:35:37,409 Are on an assembly line or who work 954 00:35:37,409 --> 00:35:39,962 on computers all day. So that gave me 955 00:35:39,962 --> 00:35:42,276 a good foundation as far as what ergonomic 956 00:35:42,276 --> 00:35:45,244 is and posture and dangerous movements and things, 957 00:35:45,483 --> 00:35:47,639 But then I had to figure out how 958 00:35:47,639 --> 00:35:50,672 that translated into dentistry. And so that took 959 00:35:50,672 --> 00:35:53,152 a lot of like, field work on my 960 00:35:53,152 --> 00:35:56,166 part observing dozens of clinicians to realize what 961 00:35:56,166 --> 00:35:57,991 the issues were, and then I was able 962 00:35:57,991 --> 00:35:59,578 to build my program from there. 963 00:36:00,228 --> 00:36:02,636 But if people just want, like, a basic 964 00:36:03,646 --> 00:36:05,315 understanding of ergonomic, honestly, 965 00:36:05,951 --> 00:36:06,110 Youtube. 966 00:36:06,825 --> 00:36:08,514 You know, like, if they don't wanna go 967 00:36:08,514 --> 00:36:10,751 through the whole certification, Youtube has some really 968 00:36:10,751 --> 00:36:11,630 good resources, 969 00:36:12,109 --> 00:36:14,666 there is a book in Dentistry. I don't 970 00:36:14,666 --> 00:36:15,726 know the name 971 00:36:16,359 --> 00:36:17,954 of, I can't remember the name of the 972 00:36:17,954 --> 00:36:19,230 book, but I can tell you the name 973 00:36:19,230 --> 00:36:21,463 of the author. Her name is doctor Bethany 974 00:36:21,623 --> 00:36:22,123 Val. 975 00:36:22,899 --> 00:36:25,053 She is the physical therapist I mentioned, and 976 00:36:25,053 --> 00:36:27,935 she wrote an entire book on dental ergonomic, 977 00:36:28,094 --> 00:36:29,526 and I've learned a lot from her. So 978 00:36:29,686 --> 00:36:31,777 I would say at least order that book 979 00:36:32,073 --> 00:36:33,425 because that'll teach you a lot too. 980 00:36:34,079 --> 00:36:35,279 Okay. Well, that's good. 981 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:36,400 Well, look, 982 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:39,199 I really enjoyed talking about this topic. I 983 00:36:39,199 --> 00:36:40,339 think it makes 984 00:36:40,639 --> 00:36:42,900 will make a huge impact on how 985 00:36:43,614 --> 00:36:46,746 we perform as clinicians and how 986 00:36:47,124 --> 00:36:50,156 much we will actually enjoy doing what we 987 00:36:50,156 --> 00:36:50,656 do 988 00:36:51,208 --> 00:36:53,515 it would be... Yeah. I think it's so 989 00:36:53,515 --> 00:36:53,913 important. 990 00:36:54,391 --> 00:36:54,891 So 991 00:36:55,346 --> 00:36:57,972 for all those who are listening and want 992 00:36:57,972 --> 00:37:00,219 to get to know more about Stephanie, I 993 00:37:00,219 --> 00:37:03,032 will put those notes in the 994 00:37:03,489 --> 00:37:03,989 episode 995 00:37:04,367 --> 00:37:06,919 notes. Might get those links into those episode 996 00:37:06,919 --> 00:37:10,197 notes and yeah. Thank you again, Stephanie for 997 00:37:10,197 --> 00:37:13,295 being part of the podcast. And, yeah, I 998 00:37:13,295 --> 00:37:16,077 wish you all the best in your future 999 00:37:16,077 --> 00:37:16,974 endeavors, and 1000 00:37:17,283 --> 00:37:19,507 in your future teaching. I think we need 1001 00:37:19,507 --> 00:37:21,732 more people like you. Oh, thank you. And 1002 00:37:21,732 --> 00:37:23,797 thanks for having me on, and I just 1003 00:37:23,797 --> 00:37:26,369 wanna rest to you, and then everyone listening 1004 00:37:26,369 --> 00:37:28,070 to, like this is an amazing 1005 00:37:28,530 --> 00:37:30,610 profession that we're all in, and we have 1006 00:37:30,610 --> 00:37:33,184 such an opportunity to help people. But let's 1007 00:37:33,184 --> 00:37:35,264 just not forget about ourselves because we have 1008 00:37:35,264 --> 00:37:36,784 to take care of ourselves in order to 1009 00:37:36,784 --> 00:37:38,385 do our job. So... And and a lot 1010 00:37:38,385 --> 00:37:40,224 of that comes down to ergonomic of posture. 1011 00:37:40,876 --> 00:37:42,090 Great. Thanks, Stephanie. 1012 00:37:42,621 --> 00:37:43,256 Alright. Thank you. 1013 00:37:44,843 --> 00:37:46,430 Thank you so much for listening to the 1014 00:37:46,510 --> 00:37:47,541 Dental Head podcast. 1015 00:37:48,111 --> 00:37:50,253 I genuinely hope this is helping you become 1016 00:37:50,253 --> 00:37:52,316 a better dentist. So if you like what 1017 00:37:52,316 --> 00:37:53,981 you're hearing, make sure you subscribe on your 1018 00:37:53,981 --> 00:37:55,828 podcast player and I want you to do 1019 00:37:55,828 --> 00:37:57,344 me in favor. I want you to go 1020 00:37:57,344 --> 00:38:00,239 to social media and share something that you've 1021 00:38:00,298 --> 00:38:01,895 appreciated from us with 1 of your friends. 1022 00:38:02,295 --> 00:38:03,891 That's how the word gets out. That's how 1023 00:38:03,891 --> 00:38:06,210 more people gain and benefit from what we're 1024 00:38:06,210 --> 00:38:08,192 doing. And if you're a dental student or 1025 00:38:08,192 --> 00:38:09,778 a graduate, you wanna get a head start, 1026 00:38:10,016 --> 00:38:12,077 go to dental head start dot com to 1027 00:38:12,077 --> 00:38:14,666 find everything we're doing to help dental students 1028 00:38:14,725 --> 00:38:15,523 become great dentists.