title: A dentist's experience with change of hand dominance.
abstract: Ten years ago as a young dentist, the author found himself completely unable to engage in his practice as a result of a serious nerve injury permanently affecting his dominant right hand and forearm. Some unique opportunities and chance encounters have enabled him to overcome the permanence of the injury and to advance into a dental specialty field considered very demanding bimanually. Chronicled below are the process by which this occurred and, in particular, the author's assessment of what led to the necessary change of hand dominance. Also described is an interesting process that was required by the admissions committee of the postgraduate specialty training program as part of their assessment of the author's ability to adequately perform clinical procedures prior to his admission into the program. Descriptions of certain office design changes as well as changes in instrumentarium and techniques and the inventions to support those changes are described.
authors.affiliation: Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, California.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Munce
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001134:Arm Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003161:Compartment Syndromes / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003762:Dental Instruments; D003813:Dentistry / Q000379:methods*; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male