One of the things that tires us out as dentists, clinicians, and implant surgeons (which is my job) is the emotional load that we carry for the things that go well, but particularly for the things that go wrong.
Last week, we had a major triumph where Faith, one of our two new young clinicians who have come to the practice to learn implant surgery and the ways of implant work, placed her first dental implant under my supervision and mentoring on Wednesday morning.
Faith did an extraordinary job in a very difficult implant case, which was effectively, (but not entirely), an immediate socket placed implant with a jump gap GBR with semi-guided surgery, and the decision for augmentational grafting is part of the process.
This is not generally a starting implant for anyone, but it was able to be facilitated because we were doing it together.
She had worked very hard in preparing this in the best possible way, taking all the advice and was absolutely ready to watch people place the first implant for many. It is an exhausting prospect for them.
She finished the case a little bit longer than we had anticipated (that was my fault; the appointment wasn't long enough), and then she appeared to burst like a balloon coming down on the other side of the excitement.
Me, being harsh as I am in in in these circumstances, explained to her the concept of compartmentalization, which she will now have to learn moving forward as a bona fide implant surgeon. Never will she be able to say she's not placed in the implant again, but also she (and everyone else who does this) must understand that we have to learn to live with the compartments.
Someone comes in and gives you a present to say thank you for the treatment you've provided.
Say thank you, put it to the side, move along, and think about it at the end of the day.
You never know what's coming next and how bad it can be.
On the other hand, something unexpected or even distressing happens in surgery with a patient, something doesn't go right, or a complication occurs.
Park it, compartmentalise and move along, worry about it at the end of the day.
This is what we have to do; this is the role of the surgeon.
If you extrapolate that out too much more important things. A cancer surgeon treats someone for their cancer (unsuccessfully), and they don't make it. Do they stop or do they carry on?
They compartmentalized and carry on.
In our world, our teeth, which is much less important, it doesn't feel that way to us.
The same rules apply, not too high with the highs, not too low with the lows.
It's that turning up that makes us better.
Blog Post Number - 4316
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