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Abstract

Operative Dentistry publishes articles that advance the practice of operative dentistry. The scope of the journal includes conservation and restoration of teeth; the scientific foundation of operative dental therapy ; dental materials; dental education; and the social, political, and economic aspects of dental practice. Review papers and letters also are published. PublisherOperative Dentistry is published four times a year: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn , by the American Academy of Gold Foil Operators and the Academy of Operative Dentistry. SubscriptionsYearly subscription in U.S.A. and Canada, $20.00; other countries, $24.00 ($27.00 air mail); dental students, $13.00 in U. ContributionsContributors should study the instructions for their guidance printed inside the back cover and should follow them carefully. Permission EDITORIAL Fundamentals-the Key to Success"There is nothing like serving an apprenticeship to fortune, like earning the right to your tools. In most enterprises the temptation is always to begin too far along; we want to start where somebody else leaves off. Go back to the stump and see what an impetus you get. Those fishermen who wind their own flies before they go a-fishing,-how they bring in the trout; ... " (Burroughs, 1881).The urge to begin the next step before mastering the previous one is ever present; but the urge should be resisted sedulously. Fundamentals first, application later-that is the key to success. Unfortunately these days too few can discipline themselves to refrain from "embarking on what comes after without having mastered what goes before" (Pavlov, 1955).No football team is likely to succeed whose players are not proficient at blocking and tackling, skills unlikely to be acquired during the competition on a Saturday afternoon. A requirement even more fundamental for a football player is the development of strength and stamina, qualities attained mainly by lifting and pulling weights, and other exercises, which at first glance might seem to have little relevance to playing the game.If attention to fundamentals is important for success in a simple activity such as football, how much greater the importance for success in the intricate and complex practice of dentistry. How unfortunate it is that in recent years so many dental educators, in undue haste to advance students to treating patients, have abandoned sound principles of education by curtailing the time spent on fundamentalssuch as carving teeth. By neglecting fundamentals, students enter the clinic unprepared. They then require extra assistance from clinical instructors who, under the best of circumstances, are usually overburdened. Teaching-and learning-thus become inefficient. How can an instructor, with eight to twelve students to supervise, respond to a student who announces, "I'm going to do a foil in the distal of a canine this afternoon but I have had no experience with class 3s so I would like you to show me how to do it"? Increasing clinic time for such a student is fruitless; all that is increased is ...