An eye for an eye

Abstract

Okay, you are putting a patient's braces on. Well, you're not doing it; your assistant or hygienist is. Your assistant prepares the patient by placing him or her in a supine position, draping him or her, inserting cheek and lip retractors, doing a quick prophy of the teeth, and preparing the enamel surface using a liquid etch on a cotton pellet or a spongy-tipped instrument. During the etch phase of the procedure, a wee bit of etching solution somehow manages to enter the patient's right eye, causing a chemical burn.