Everyday Oral Surgery Dr. Grant Stucki and Dr. David Salomon: How to Keep Assistants Mentally Engaged During Surgery, Nuances of the Bite Block, and the Importance of Patient Positioning for Surgery
The career of an oral surgeon is intimately linked to the responsibilities of their assistants, but the topic of how to train assistants is not frequently spoken about. Today on the show Dr. Stucki sits down with his co-host Dr. David Salomon and they have a productive discussion about approaches to training assistants, as well as bite block usage and patient positioning during surgery. The show begins on the topic of assistant training, and we hear about the different ways our hosts have tackled this important side of the practice. Dr. Stucki likes to give his assistants as much responsibility as possible, while Dr. Salomon is more hands-on in his own capacity, and listeners get to hear about the pros and cons of each approach as well as some contextual factors that have influenced these differences. From there, our hosts tackle the issue of bite block usage, highlighting the value of moving the block during surgery for better access, as well as the fear-inducing idea of removing it completely and the possibilities this technique offers. This leads to a discussion on how to use other tools like sweethearts and electric drills to free up the hands of assistants where possible. Toward the end of the show, Dr. Stucki and Dr. Salomon exchange their thoughts on patient positioning, weighing in on how it affects the surgeon’s posture, the role of assistants, the process of surgery, and more. Be sure to catch today’s episode.
Key Points From This Episode:
- Differences in approach to delegating to assistants between Dr. Stucki and Dr. Salomon.
- Tradeoffs between how much work it is to train an assistant and the extra work the surgeon does otherwise.
- The plus side of having assistants who have extra responsibility for keeping them engaged.
- Routines and approaches our hosts use to train their assistants.
- How Dr. Stucki and Dr. Salomon’s contexts influence their approaches to training assistants.
- Complexities around assistants making mistakes; common mistakes that bother our hosts.
- How Dr. Stucki trains his assistants to do IV sedation and Dr. Salomon’s views on this.
- Nuances of bite block usage: Benefits, context-specific requirements, and more.
- How Dr. Stucki and Dr. Salomon use sweetheart retractors and guide their assistants to do so.
- The goal of saving assistants’ hands by using sweethearts, electric drills, and more.
- Dr. Stucki’s usage of the bite block for maxillary impacted third molar cases.
- Fear around taking bite blocks out during surgery but how much is possible if done correctly.
- A discussion of the topic of patient positioning and how it relates to assistant use and surgery.
- Preferences around having a chinner assistant who can get in the way of the surgeon.
- The value of putting patients in a sniffing position for keeping the airways open.
- Dental chairs versus surgery chairs: Which work better for oral surgery and patient positioning.
- Getting patients in the right position before sedation to save yourself the strain.
- Final thoughts on the value of training assistants well and topics for future shows.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Dr. Grant Stucki Contact — 720-775-5843