Imagine a situation like this in your everyday life. You are the master chef standing in front of a stove. You have two sous chefs cutting, chopping, washing, cleaning, broiling - all you need to do is take the items they hand you and put it into the vessel, season it and bring the whole dish together. You decide the time it is to be cooked and the degree. But you don't have to move your eyes away from the stove for even a second unless you wanted to because everything peripheral is being handled by your sous chefs. That is six handed cooking :)
For those of you visiting dentists since years - you will remember the day when for every step the dentist would get up - move around - collect equipment - materials etc. Sometimes he would hold the suction himself with his left hand while working with the right. i.e if there was suction in the first place in the clinic.
Most dentists would work standing up for the majority of procedures and usually the patient would be seated upright.
Today working in such a position is almost unheard of.
Most patients are treated in supine ( lying down) positions and dentists are almost always seated. Working without an assistant is considered ridiculously inconvenient. Dentists usually work with at least 1 assistant - positioned immediately next to him on the patient's left. The assistant's hands along with the doctor's make for 4 hands. However today even this is considered outdated. Most dentists today prefer to work with 2 assistants. If there are 2 assistants - it means 6 hands are all working towards one procedure.
Most dentists today don't move from their chair. Once seated they position their patients in such a way that maximum visibility and access is achieved while at the same time both doctor and patient are comfortable. The assistants do all the moving about, handing him instruments, materials, holding the suction etc.
So what's in all this for you? As a patient?
Why is four handed/six handed dentistry important for the patient? What do you have to gain?
1. Dentistry is faster. With more people helping - the doctor is free to spend all his time on your treatment alone which brings down treatment time rapidly.
2. It is better. Since the doctor is not distracted by small auxiliary procedures - he is able to deliver better service because he can concentrate on the procedure.
3. Infection control. The doctor does not touch materials/equipment other than those essential to your procedure. The rest are touched/handled by the assistants making transfer of micro-organisms less likely.
If your dentist works uses 6 handed dentistry it means he/she is keeping up with the demands of today's standards of dentistry and is trying to ensure that you get the best possible treatment available ( obviously other factors count too).
For more information mail us at drarysclinic@gmail.com
Or check out our website www.aryasdentalcare.com
