Convocation Case

My experience at my clinical site was amazing! I'm kind of glad that we had the opportunity to choose where we wanted to intern at. In doing it this way we actually got an idea of what we will be going to if we choose to stay in the field we have in mind. Not only that, but we got a chance to meet very hardworking people.

One of my favorite experience from being at Dr. Bratten's office was when my instructor Billie ( the dental hygienist ) was examining a patient's mouth with a probe. She notices that his gum pockets where 7mm deep and his gums were receding. She showed me when she took the probe and pocked around I his gums, and I actually got to see how deep they were. This was the first time I had ever seen something like that up close. She referred him to periodontist , so that they could take care of that for him. Billie explained to me that when someone's gums start receding there's not really anything we can do about it. She also let me know that when people are sensitive to cold objects in their mouths that's a sign of receding gums. She encouraged the patient to floss because he had a lot of plaque.

Another experience I had while working with Billie was when one of the patients came in for a cleaning, and he said that his 2nd molar on his lower left side was sensitive to cold food. She started examining his teeth and just as she suspected he had a very bad cavity. Billie got a camera and placed it inside his mouth where the cavity was located. Then, she showed me the cavity on the television screen. That was very interesting, because you could see every little detail of the cavity. The cavity was right between his 2nd and 3rd molars. Since it was in between his teeth she had to look very closely. We ended up putting a crown on his tooth. They showed me how they take the imprints in order to make the crown fit properly.

Also while being there one of the patients that came into the office hadn't had a cleaning done in 5 years! He smoked and he didn't take of his teeth at all! They gave him this rinse to use so that he could kill the bacteria and then he was scheduled to come back. When he returned for his follow up they noticed spots of leukoplakia in his lower gums. He didn't floss so the tissue in between his teeth bled easily from the bacteria that was there and from the plaque that was building up. His enamel was wasting away, and when your enamel is gone it's gone for good. Billie gave him a speech on how he should take care of his dental hygiene and re-scheduled him again for a follow up.

Billie, the dental hygienist I followed, was an amazing person. She knows how to do her job well and is very friendly with her patients. She introduced me a couple of her colleagues in the dental field. I met a lot of people that are willing to write me recommendation letters for dental school. I am very glad she gave me the opportunity to meet wonderful professionals