For those entering clinic, here are some quick guidelines for taking the perfect full mouth series (FMX)
Some other helpful tips:
- Ask patients to take off their glasses before taking the maxillary PAs, sometimes the glasses get in the way of the rod.
- Ask patients to bite down slowly so they do not displace the placement of the sensor.
- For maxillary 2nd molar PAs, ask the patient if they feel like the sensor go further back. Usually the patients are really helpful in telling you if there is room to go further back.
The obvious:
- Lead apron, absolute MUST!
- Only taking the radiographs that have been txt planned and swiped by faculty.
- Ask patient if there is a chance that they are pregnant.
- Make sure your digital sensor machine is turned on, the sensor is recognized by the computer, and everything is ready to go to minimize patient discomfort.
- If you are taking an FMX, prepare the patient for the # of radiographs to expect so they do not think you are taking unnecessary radiographs!
If you have any other helpful tips/tricks for our dental student followers to help them transition into clinic, please comment below! Our Tooth Bank community loves helping students out with little clinical pearls and tricks and trips for the students!
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