Be careful when heating out gutta pecha during obturation

Just a friendly reminder to take good care when using a heat out tip to remove gutta percha. At my hospital position, the access to an electronic heatout tip is sporadic so we often have to pull out the bunsen burner and heat out instruments. The instruments are quite clunky and very long and under magnification, the other day I didn't realise that the shank of the instrument was hitting the patient's lip and burning them through the rubber dam. 

It is very possible to burn a patient through the dam so take extra care when using a heated instrument, you can put your mirror further from the tooth holding it under the shank of the instrument so it is not possible to contact the dam or soft tissues. Alternatively, if you are getting close to touching something else, the assistant can place a mirror or hold gauze to block the hot tip.