Shadowing Dr. C.R at the Public Community Clinic

What an experience. It's always nice to go to this clinic, particularly because I get to be around D4 students whom I feel I am most able to relate to, at this point in time. Also, I get to see a lot of things I don't see at most dental clinics because the patients are of an entirely different demographic.

I saw what I learned is called an "immediate denture" as opposed to the "conventional denture" that was put in place immediately after seven teeth were extracted from this mid-30's aged male. It was really unfortunate to see such a younger person have to get rid of his teeth at such a young age.

In addition, I also witnessed one patient that was somewhat rude and difficult to work with because the students were not catering to her wants with the limited time they had scheduled with her. She wanted to have all the work she had delayed getting in the hour time slot she was given, however, it would be impossible to do so. As a result, the patient repeatedly mentioned that she didn't want to hear any more explanations and just wanted them to complete whatever needed the most work and also that she would not be returning.

I can't imagine how the faculty instructor at this clinic manages all the stress that is applied to her situation on a regular basis. I mean the dental students, of course, feel stress, but they are done after a certain period of rotations. But the faculty members are always there. Yikes.

Yet, another good experience. Now if only the oral surgeon I've contacted would call me back....

Handsome dentist

Even four months after the handsome dentist, or as the other people in the office had apparently called him at his send-off party -- "hot dentist", people are STILL looking for him, asking where he has gone. It's unbelievable. I wish I could be as physically attractive, it definitely has to play a factor in patient retrieval. But he was pretty gorgeous...Too bad before I started shadowing and before I worked more Saturdays with him...Hehehe

And I FOUND THE PURPLE NOTEBOOK! SO HAPPY!

Shadowing Dr.K.S.

Best thing I've heard in a while, "I think you would make a good dentist." This is from a dental assistant who has worked in the field for over 35 years. It has got to have some kind of significance to it, right? It meant a lot to me just to hear those words. Especially after this stressful year of trying to get into dental school.

Shadowing Dr.K.S today was pretty much a typical day at the office with crown seats and preps, hygiene exams, and fillings. That is, other than the cutest and most patient little four year-old getting two amalgam fillings and an older emergency patient getting three tooth roots pulled out because of an infection.

Case I:
The person that had to get three tooth roots pulled out was quite a sight to see. These are three teeth that had root canals done to them and had probably chipped off because the dead teeth were brittle and fragile. So all that really remained of the teeth were the roots, which were causing his upper cheek and gums to become inflammed. Watching them get extracted was pretty cool as well as the sutures.

Case II:
The four year-old was the most patient patient I've ever seen in my life. He didn't even flinch at the pinch of the novocaine injection and was cooperative during the whole process of the two amalgam fillings. It's rare to see even adults not squirm at the injection of an anesthetic. The mom even mentioned, "I can't believe he didn't even squirm, his sixteen year-old sister couldn't even handle it. I even flinch at the injection of novocaine."

Just two asides, I was on my feet for seven hours straight shadowing today. My feet? KILLING ME. Other than that, I CANNOT, for the life of me, find the little pocket notebook that I use when I'm shadowing and it is bothering the heck out of me. I know I had it last Monday when I shadowed the orthodontist, but I haven't been able to track it since then.

Shadowing orthodontist R, part II

I shadowed Dr. S.R. again today. There wasn't as much going on today, but it was, as always, awesome to see all the progression of the cases and the completion of some of the dental work. Oh, the beauty that braces can produce. Hideous placement of teeth can turn into works of art.

What did I learn today? Well, to start, I learned that the permanent tooth kind of eats away at a baby tooth which is why they sometimes worry that the permanent tooth is not doing its job if it doesn't come out after a certain period of time when the tooth is expected. In addition, the reason they remove baby teeth once the period for the permanent tooth to arrive has passed is that the tooth must not be placed behind the baby tooth, causing concern. Thus, they pull the baby tooth in hopes that the permanent tooth will find the empty path and try to fill it.

Interesting fact of the day? Braces will not proceed to move your teeth any faster if you start with the strongest wire. They will actually do the reverse. The undifferentiated cells around the root of the tooth will just die and not help the process of completing that braces would complete if done in the regular fashion.

But gotta study for the DAT, not enough time put in today. Sayanara!

Full Moon Superstition...

I don't know if this is something the practice where I work at believes in or if it is a known superstition amongst dental professionals, but it is something I am beginning to believe the more I continue to work as a Saturday receptionist at the dental clinic.

The phones can get crazy with emergency case calls on Saturdays, but especially more after a Full Moon. The scheduling managers and receptionists, even dentists, blame the Full Moon for odd emergency case calls and unusual patients coming in. Yesterday, as soon as the first set of pedo kids came in, at least 4-5 calls came in with emergencies within the next half hour. The phones almost were off the hook until an hour before lunch.

Sure enough, when they looked at the calendar, there was a Full Moon Thursday night. Odd, isn't it?

Then, the elevator that had been out of order all week when I was shadowing was ready to go on Saturday morning when I arrived. So, I took it up just fine. On the way out, I of course took the elevator down to the LL from 2nd. But when it got down to the LL, it wouldn't open. I pressed "Door Open" several times and in the midst of doing this, it started going up all by itself. Luckily, one of the other dental assistants was on her way down. I told her what had happened, and as we went down, the same exact thing happened! It freaked us out a little bit so we decided to take the stairs afterwards.

Crazy Full Moon.

Shadowing Dr.S.O

I thought today would be a fun-filled day with lots of emergency cases before the weekend, as I hear a lot about the crazy cases that occur before the end of the day on Friday when I come into work on Saturdays. However, to my disappointment, this wasn't the case. Nonetheless, I saw some interesting things and even got the new dentist, who was recently hired after graduating this past spring, to talk to me first.

Dentist S.O. works part-time so didn't have as packed of a schedule as the other dentists do, or maybe it was they way her schedule was designed. Anyways, she had an interesting extraction where the patient had been coming in one by one as the pain was getting to her, although it was recommended that she remove all her lower teeth and get dentures. Unfortunately, it seemed that she didn't have the means to afford this kind of treatment and seemed to have opted for coming in when she couldn't bear the pain, which is sad because she couldn't be older than 35.

Another patient hadn't come into the dentist for three years, but had something in her mouth chip yesterday. She came in with her adorable little granddaughter. The granddaughter came in with a baby carrier with her little pig, Pinky, and two toy dog carrying cases with all of her toys in them. However, it was very hard to understand this little girl. Grandma tells me, while the dental assistant is running x-rays of the tooth area, that the little girl has speech problems -- didn't start speaking until she was three and is currently in speech classes.   The little girl and her dad had moved in with grams and gramps after her parents split, you could tell she was spoiled, but that she got a lot of love and attention. But back to grandma, grandma turned out to need another filling and possibly require a crown down the road. Grandma joked, "All my teeth have cavities. I tell my granddaughter, when she doesn't want to brush her teeth, 'Want your teeth to look like grandma's?'"

Mellow day, but nice to see the different styles of practice, treatment, and personal skills of the different dentists where I work. It has also given me the opportunity to actually talk to the dentists and their assistants. When I'm working the receptionist desk on Saturdays, I usually keep to myself doing what I am required to do.

So, there goes another 5 hours of completed shadowing and off to work tomorrow at the dental office. Bright and early at 7 AM.

Coming soon....Second shadowing experience with Orthodontist Dr.S.R.

A day at the office shadowing Dr.J.C.

Today I shadowed Dr.J.C. Now, having shadowed at this same office for the third time, I've gotten pretty used to seeing the same things...crown seats and preps, extractions, fillings, root canals, and hygiene exams. Today was no different, but it was kind of cool to actually be able to see while I was peering over the dentist's shoulder, a wisdom tooth extraction and the root canal of a visible near-front tooth.

Things about the dentists at this clinic, particularly Dr.C & Dr.S, whom I shadowed today and Tuesday, respectively? They work super fast, their dental assistants know it too.What's interesting about Dr.C is that she drills with just one hand and lets her left just kind of hang there while she drills. Insane.

The thing that gets to me, every time I hear it, is "That's it? I'm done?" after an extraction of a tooth that had been bothering them. They hear all these nightmarish stories about horror stories of tooth extractions and when a tooth is extracted in less than ten minutes after the miserable injection of lidocaine, more commonly known as Novocaine, they are just in utter shock. I've heard it each time I've shadowed at this particular office and it amuses me every time. It's not the most pleasant thing to see, with the bulky and tool-shop worthy instruments in someone's mouth, but it's a sight to see when the tooth just casually slips itself out...

Anyways, back for a final time this week tomorrow. Well, that is, besides working there on Saturday. I would type more, but right now I'm super exhausted and need to rest up before another 5-6 hours on my feet tomorrow tagging behind Dr.O.

'Till I get there!

Shadowing Dr. M.D.S.

Tonight, I shadowed Dr. M.D.S., whom I thought was totally intimidating until today. His personality requires some getting used to and also getting to know. My first impression of him was that he was a cocky doctor, the way he came in and sat slouched back when I was interviewing for a weekend receptionist position at this office. He told me he had two questions but would only ask me one, "Was I reliable". Of course I answered yes and was luckily given the position on the spot.

But he taught me quite a few things that I had not known about dentistry and also words of wisdom of dentistry, words that could only come from someone who's experienced it first hand. I saw him in a new light, one that was entirely deserving of his title and entitled to his position as a caregiver. I was impressed and discovered a new found respect for Dr.S.

"Doing good work is important....But a lot of dentistry is getting people's expectations in line"

People come to the dentist with certain expectations, things like expecting a treatment to last a lifetime or that a treatment will not result in any post-operative pain. Dr.S warned that it's important to let the patient be aware of the potential outcomes of a treatment and possibilities down the road. Otherwise, it will come right back to you because you are the doctor and you suggested this treatment. Thus, he emphasized a point that I had never considered. Dentistry is always about thinking ahead, whether it be preventative or post-operative.

"Every treatment is definitive -- the end of the road for a tooth."

When providing a patient with a treatment, you have to think of this treatment as a the final and last treatment for the tooth. You don't want the patient to have to go through more than they should, nor should they have to pay more for treatment. It saves both you and the patient, in the end. If you're given options, you want to choose one that will last the longest, the one that will keep the integrity of the tooth.

"When you think about life in the big scheme of things, a crown is a small hurdle...If people are educated and motivated enough, they'll find a way."

Commenting on the option of crowns and treatment options, he mentioned that if people really want the treatment, they'll find a way to pay for it. For one thing, they need it to survive and will wager the cause and effect of having treatment or holding off on it. For instance, one patient came in and wanted to hold off on having a crown put in place until next year, when she could afford it. In the meantime, Dr.S. put in a temporary crown, which would hopefully last until she was ready to afford and have the treatment.

Overall, I felt like this was a very successful shadowing experience where I learned a lot, a lot more than I had expected to.

All I can do now is wait.

Marquette Summer Program App Status: Submitted & Received.

Now all I can do is wait. Until April, according to a friend who already went through the program a few years ago. I hope someone in the heavens is rootin' for me.

Hoping for the best....

Community Health Clinic Shadowing

Friday was my first visit ever to a community health clinic. It was quite different than what I had ever seen in private dental clinics. Beginning with the location, things were different. The demographics of the people, the treatments needed. They were all completely contradictory of what was I was used to. Even policies were different. There was a sign at each chair that stated that if patients did not confirm their appointments within 24 hours of their appointment date and time, that their appointment could be handed off to the next patient who needed care. Something unheard of in private clinics.

Nonetheless, doctors treated patients equally, maybe even gave them more attention and made them more aware of their post-treatment care and explained steps in more detail. Then again, it could be because they were students, D4s. But I would like to think that their personality for care is innate and they truly do care for each patient's well-being. I was surprised and excited to hear that one of the D4 students was an alumnus of my university.

While it was a smaller clinic, it was busier than some that I had previously seen. They accommodated for as much as they could and adjusted their treatment plans accordingly. With any clinic you have to have a lot of patience and really like your job, but with clinics like these, you have to be even more patient, which is what I saw at this particular clinic.

Something interesting I saw from shadowing that I hadn't seen before. Extraction of teeth standing up! I had no idea that this was a method of extracting teeth! So cool!