Hours for March 1, 2013: 2 hours
Running Total: 12 hours
Although it was a sunny Friday, I spent a few hours at the dentist. Today, a family came in and they all needed their teeth checked, cleaned and polished. Their son needed fillings and an extraction so Dr. Legaspi filled a cavity, worked on the two parents, then made the extraction from the son. After I watched the filling, I watched Dr. Legaspi clean the moms teeth and it was interesting because she had dentures. The process is a little different because the doctor takes out the dentures to clean them and also has to treat her remaining weak teeth. The mom was telling me that I should always take care of my teeth so my teeth won't end up like hers. Also, the father had braces so the cleaning process was a bit different too. The doctor used a flossed tool to floss, and it also took longer to clean and polish his teeth because of the brackets. Brandon, the son, then had his extraction which went pretty well. While Dr. Legaspi was pulling out the tooth, we could hear the roots break off from the gums which kind of scared me because of all of the blood that was coming out. After the family left, I watched Ray Ann, a dental assistant create a temporary crown like what I saw the last time. It was interesting again because a lot of teeth were infected with the decay and so the process took much longer. For the next time, I look forward to learning about more procedures.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
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.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Capstone Log 1
Hours on January 24,2013 : 3 hours
Today I got to meet some of the dentists, and most of the dental assistants. Since this was my first time there, I mainly learned most of the office work. I didnt have my hep. shot so I couldnt go to the very back with the xrays, but i got to watch the dentist clean a girls teeth. I learned how to make appointments for patients, read and file the charts, clean and change the machines, and file payment stubs for the patients.
Today I got to meet some of the dentists, and most of the dental assistants. Since this was my first time there, I mainly learned most of the office work. I didnt have my hep. shot so I couldnt go to the very back with the xrays, but i got to watch the dentist clean a girls teeth. I learned how to make appointments for patients, read and file the charts, clean and change the machines, and file payment stubs for the patients.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Fiscal Cliff Response
A) In the eyes of the republicans, the fiscal cliff should be solved by cutting spending and also avoid raising taxes. On the other hand, the democrats believed that a combination of both spending cuts and tax increases will help solve the fiscal cliff. The democrats are seen to be "more willing to work with leaders of the other party" which may also help solve the problem. I think that with both parties working together the fiscal cliff problem will be solved with fewer conflicts. The Republicans though, think that with the democrats, in one year, everything will get worse.
B)The way I conducted my research included narrowing down some reliable sources. I tried to make sure that the dates were current enough, and not outdated. The sites I used seemed to be very accurate with numbers and percentages from both parties. Also, I tried to use a little information from every site to compare results and numbers to check for accuracy.
http://bonds.about.com/od/Issues-in-the-News/a/What-Is-The-Fiscal-Cliff.htm
http://www.people-press.org/2012/12/13/as-fiscal-cliff-nears-democrats-have-public-opinion-on-their-side/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/01/us-usa-fiscal-idUSBRE8A80WV20130101
B)The way I conducted my research included narrowing down some reliable sources. I tried to make sure that the dates were current enough, and not outdated. The sites I used seemed to be very accurate with numbers and percentages from both parties. Also, I tried to use a little information from every site to compare results and numbers to check for accuracy.
http://bonds.about.com/od/Issues-in-the-News/a/What-Is-The-Fiscal-Cliff.htm
http://www.people-press.org/2012/12/13/as-fiscal-cliff-nears-democrats-have-public-opinion-on-their-side/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/01/us-usa-fiscal-idUSBRE8A80WV20130101
Changing my project
So, i decided to change my physical project! Volunteering at the bank didn't work out too well, so i decided that changing the physical portion would be best. Instead of volunteering at the bank, i decided to job shadow my dentist. I have already found my mentor and got in a couple of hours with her.
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