Just a decade ago small dental clinics in India usually treated their patients without any anesthesia. My first visit to the dentist office was predictably painful: I had two of my primary teeth taken out without any anesthesia. I vowed never to return to a dentist’s office ever in my life. For the next ten years, my fear of being in pain prevented me from going to the dentist and my parents were no help since they did not believe in going to clinic for their own checkups. After moving to US, I was still reluctant to go to a dentist because of my initial fear. I finally went when my mother visited the office to get her infections treated. That second visit to a dentist transformed my fear of dentists into a sincere appreciation of their work. The elegance and dexterity that the dentist exhibited when she took three of my mother’s teeth out both astonished and impressed me. The entire experience made me feel that my mother was in competent hands. As my visits to the dentist became more constant, I started to understand the importance of oral health to a greater extent. My initial hesitation and fear changed into willingness to keep myself healthy. My first experience with a dental patient was with my own mother. While in India, she got a bridge placed, but her cavities were not filled; this led to an infection and the removal of six of her teeth. As a result, she has been in pain for the past five years, and it has been frustrating for me because I am unable to do anything for her. Hence, between my mother’s daily trips to the dentist and a curiosity to learn more about her problems, I decided to shadow Dr. Lisa Veiga, my dentist in Waterbury, CT. Shadowing her was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. She introduce... ... middle of paper ... ...earning languages, and I presently speak Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. Living in a multicultural society, being bilingual will allow me to serve my patients better. I plan to become proficient in speaking Italian by the end of my senior year. Even before I knew I wanted to be a dentist, I knew that I wanted to be exceptionally good at any profession I chose. I know that becoming a dentist will involve hard work and commitment, but being a good dentist will also involve establishing a relationship of trust and attending to a patient’s needs and worries. I will bring my experiences, knowledge, penchant for hard work and social skills to dentistry, my chosen profession. Dentistry will allow me to help people in both physically and emotionally significant ways, and to have the balance I need to be able to spend time with my family. In essence, dentistry is my dream job.
In the Dental Hygiene field, many challenges come about every day and during different situations. Every day there are new challenges and unusual situations that occur in the dental field, but one challenge that continues to come about and has been a big dispute over the years is the ability to provide beneficial information about oral health care for the underprivileged. For the individuals that are not fortunate enough to pay to have services done in the dental office, lack the knowledge of how important good oral health care is. They do not receive the one on one conversations explaining the significance of taking care of your teeth and gums that the patients who can afford to make appointments and receive essential services do. That
Patients feel fear not so much from the actual pain but from the lack of control that they feel lying in a dental chair. That creates a lot of anxiousness in some patients, as they don’t feel helpless. Most dentists continue treating all patients in a similarly assuming that they all have similar pain level and will handle the procedure in the same way. Dentists should be mindful of their patient’s level of tolerance and make them aware of the entire procedure ahead of time so that they are able to handle the unexpected situations. They should take time to ensure that the patient feels comfortable at every step. Use of medications and wide array of techniques can help patients eliminate pain and anxiety and making dental visits a pleasant experi...
Imagine having to spend half your fortune on correcting your teeth.”Tooth decay was a perennial national problem that meant a mouthful of silver for patients, and for dentists a pocketful of gold.” (Wallis, 17) If patients don’t take care of their teeth, many issues can start to appear later in their life. Some patients are not knowledgeable of the correct procedures toward keeping a healthy smile. In order to keep a healthy smile patients must be better informed about the knowledge to achieve that success and also maintain.
All the various factors that lead me to dentistry amounted to just a part of my decision to become a dentist, the other half of my decision came from the simple question, “(w)ill this be a satisfying career for me?” A satisfying career, to me, is defined by whether or not I can use my career as a means to assist others and experience a sense of accomplishment and self-gratification in helping others. The notion of a satisfying career was one that came through personal experiences. Being a former Medicaid recipient, I was thankful to those that worked in the public health sector to help those in need, including myself and my family. Through my past experiences, I felt obligated to reciprocate the resources and assistance that I had received. At the end of my career, I hope to reflect back on my career and experience a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment for having helped others throughout my career; this is what will amount to successful career, from my point of view.
I can remember being a little boy sitting at the piano in church, listening to the preacher talk of how Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, which symbolizes the idea that we are here to serve. That message profoundly resonated with me throughout life. It was not until I began accompanying my grandmother to her multiple dental visits that I was able to see how I could put this calling of service into action. I saw firsthand the significant positive impact my grandmother’s dentist was able to make in her life, which encouraged me to want to learn about the field of dentistry. I then started researching dental health and learning of the importance of oral healthcare and how it affects the entire body. I then began to learn of how patient access to proper dental care was limited because of several factors such as, financial barriers, transportation, and dental fear, especially in the underserved minority communities. Given the shortage of black dentists, I realized I could make a positive difference by being an inspiration to those in the community, as well as serve in a professional career that would provide needed healthcare to the community. This is when I began to develop such a strong passion for
I can remember coming to school and hearing all my classmates talk about how much they hated going to the dentist. Going to the dentist was one thing that I have always loved to do. The sound of the tools and just the smell of the clinic was never a bad atmosphere to me, I actually enjoy the dentist. Laura was my first dental hygienist from as far back as I can remember, and she had the whitest teeth I have ever seen! I have honestly came to the conclusion that I am obsessed with teeth. With this being said, I have always felt and known that I wanted to be a dental hygienist. I am currently in my first year here at Community College getting my preq for dental hygiene. I always get the question, “Why would you want to look in somebody’s mouth all day?” After I hear this question and then I start thinking to myself. I want to be a dental hygienist because first of all someone has got to do it and secondly, I think smiles light up rooms and if I can help get more smiles in this world then that is what I am going to do. With seeking my career in dental hygiene I have great hopes of being able to help people understand and find compassion in caring for their teeth and inspiring them as Laura inspired me.
I want to be a dental assistant focusing on orthodontia. Usually when I go to the orthodontist I don't see the doctor first I see the assistant. After the assistant takes off my rubber bands the doctor usually comes over and tells the assistant what to do to my braces. Usually the assistant changes wires, rubber bands, tightens wires, and just about everything else. I choose this career because I want to change people's lives and how they look at themselves when they smile. Teeth are one of the main points of self confidence. Before I can become a dental assistant I have to go to a trade school. Then I can go find an office to work at to start my career.
I decided to do my research report on dentistry because it is a perfect blend of science and art. It is a science in that you must fully comprehend on the different types of diagnostic and procedures you are doing. It is an art in that you are constantly working with your hands to create a beautiful smile. The impact you make on helping a person achieve an impeccable smile is not one to compare with materialistic things like money or cars. People often mistake dentist as only doing practices when in fact they could do more, like research. I was fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to interview Dr. Sarah Pham, DDS, a close family friend who practices dentistry in her own private office in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Pham was
It was hard to listen to one member of our profession speak so ill of another. Regardless if it were true, the patchwork comment resonates with what Kazemian, et al. describe as overtreatment due to fee-for-service systems. As dentists, we are reimbursed based on our coding. This incentive to maximize the amount of codes per appointment creates an alluring opportunity for the provider to perform hasty, albeit slipshod treatment. Unfortunately, this too often leads to gross errors, misdiagnoses, and treatments with poor long-term outcomes. It cannot be emphasized enough that rushing does not equate to efficiency and success. We should always strive to improve the well-being of our patients and their long-term health, and this can only be attained by thorough diagnosis and sound treatment protocols. Ostensibly, speed of treatment may momentarily appeal to patients, but as providers we are held to a higher standard. Ultimately, it is the care we provide to our patients that defines us as
Gao, X., Hamzah, S., Yung-Yiu, C. K., McGrath, C., & King, N. M. (2013). Dental fear and
Some people may wonder, why dentistry? Dentistry is often viewed as maybe boring, or an odd profession to aspire to go into. As I have grown up I have always known that I at least would like to go into the health field, and help people In any way that I can, however
AS a dentist one should be strongly determined to devote selflessly for the betterment of mankind .Patient usuall...
Maintaining oral health is extremely important not only for your mouth, but for your overall health (Wallace, Taylor, Wallace & Cockrell, 2010). Poor oral health impacts a person’s quality of life and general health, It causes pain which could result in poor nutrition (Griffin, Jones, Brunson, Griffin & Bailey, 2012). The residents at Menarock aged care have a private dentist from Alpha dental that visits the facility when prompted, although some resident’s families take them to their own family dental professional.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000) Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General .Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, 2000.
Growing up I heard many stories from my peers of their experiences at the dentist’s office. It is upsetting to say that most of my visits were vividly terrifying. As a child, the grinding, scratching, and high-pitched twangs of the instruments digging around in my mouth would leave my ears ringing and teeth vibrating every single time. The smell of fluoride and disinfectants permanently infected the air, sending chills through my body the minute I walked in. I quickly learned that latex posses an extremely unappetizing aftertaste. Needless to say, I was not always enthusiastic about going to the dentist’s office and getting braces did not make anything better for me.