Capstone Log 4

Hours for February 21, 2013: 3 hours
Running Total: 10 hours

Today I observed the dentist with a patient who had tooth decay. To treat the tooth, the dentists have to create a temporary crown, and also remove the tooth to stop from spreading. The whole process took about an hour and a half, which included steps such as making the impressions of the patients teeth, using cords to separate the gums, and creating the temporary crown itself. As time went on during the process, the patient became a little restless and antsy. I felt bad for her because she was a little on the older side, and it seemed very hard for her to lay down with her mouth open for more than an hour. Aside from the temporary crown, I watched a little girl get three of her baby teeth pulled out.Dr. Legaspi, her assistant, and the little girl's mom had to hold her down, and comfort her the whole time because she kept whining and squirming around. During the girl's appointment, I felt bad for her because I know that it's hard getting three of your teeth pulled out at the same time, but I also wanted to give credit to Dr. Legaspi for doing a good job with calming her down. Patience is also needed in order to be a dentist because there will be patients who choose not to cooperate. In that situation, I don't know how I would have handled it. After the little girl, I watched the dentist polish and clean the teeth of another patient. Although I have already seen this, it was still interesting to watch again. For the next time, I look forward to observing patients with other needs that i have yet to see.

Capstone Log 3

Hours for February 13, 2013: 1 hour
Running Total: 7 hours

Today, I watched Dr. Legaspi perform a deep cleaning session on a patient. I learned that the difference between a deep cleaning and a normal cleaning is that in the process of deep cleaning, the doctor cleans beneath the gums. We talked about how after a deep cleaning is done, the patient must come back for a normal cleaning every 3-4 months as opposed to only twice a year. This process is called periodontal maintenance, which is therapeutic to the gums. I actually got to see the consequence of not properly caring for your teeth, and with watching the process of deep cleaning, brushing and flossing seems like a walk in the park. I felt my stomach turn a little when I kept seeing the blood of the patient's mouth, and it definitely made me want to brush and floss everyday twice a day.

Capstone Log 2

Hours for February 5, 2013: 3 hours

Running total: 6 Hours

When I got into the office, there were no patients being assisted so Well, Dr. Legaspi's dental assistant asked me to file. I put back the folders of patients who have already been helped, and i also had to pull out the folders for the patients who have appointments for tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday. After filing folders, I filed payment stubs into different folders. Although filing folders and papers can be boring and tedious, I think that it's a good skill to learn and very helpful to their business. After filing, Dr. Legaspi demonstrated how to clean and sterilize the instruments they use on their patients. She was explaining how it's important to make sure that all instruments are clean and sterilized because they're used everyday with different patients. When a patient came in, i watched Dr. Legaspi inspect and clean their teeth, and she showed the patient how to properly floss their teeth. After checking and cleaning the teeth, I observed her dental assistant polish the patient's teeth. I thought that it was interesting seeing how the doctors polish and clean the teeth instead of me being the patient and having my teeth cleaned. It was pretty cool seeing the different ways that each patient acted with the doctor because they each have their own relationship. I feel like having trust in your dentist could benefit your experience with dentistry.