‘I learnt about dentistry from that’

Readers are encouraged to submit clinical experiences, good and bad, in a culture of open reporting, so that other clinicians will learn from these experiences. Unlike articles in Dental Update, in which published articles are peer reviewed by two experts in the field of the article, this page is not subjected to review other than by the Editorial Director.

Thank you for this initiative: here is one to help start it off. The patients' names have been changed.

About a year after purchasing a practice, a Mr G Black was booked for an UR5 crown preparation at 11.00h. I went to the waiting room, seeing Mr Black seated I asked him to come in. There was another patient with his back to me examining the magazines. He came in, was seated and his medical history checked. I checked what we were to do – the UR5 was missing the buccal cusp and had a fractured MOD filling. The crown preparation was undertaken uneventfully and he was asked to rebook for a fortnight later.