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96 PRELIMINARY TECHNICAL PROCEDURES

(7) Repeat the process of polishing with a finer poHshing
powder such as oxid of tin or prepared chalk.

EXAMINATION OF THE PATIENT

The examination of the patient should be very carefully

conducted, including, in addition to a close inspection of the
teeth and supporting structures, a general inspection of the
patient. Such details as physical appearance, the general
state of health, manner of speech and carriage and similar
conditions should be noted. The minutest defects about the
teeth should be detected and recorded, in order that they may

receive immediate attention, since it is a great mistake to
defer these until a later date. They can be remedied in their
inception with much less pain to the patient and trouble to
the operator and will thus enable the patient to maintain more

readily a hygienic condition of the oral cavity.
Frequently the teeth should be thoroughly scaled and
polished before proceeding to the examination, thus placing
them in a cleanly condition and rendering the examination
easier and surer. Drying the surface of the tooth to be
examined with a pledget of cotton, the chip blower, or alcohol

and hot air, is often advisable to make clearer the view and
assist in the diagnosis. On proximal surfaces the use of the
rapid separator will occasionally be needed before the presence
or absence of pathological disturbances can be determined.

The correct position of the operator for examining or
operating on the teeth is as follows:
(i) He should, as far as conditions will allow, stand in an
upright position, with his shoulders thrown back and his chest
frward, to avoid the tendency to stoop shoulders.
(2) The weight of his body should rest firmly on the balls

of his feet, rather than on his heels.