Saying Goodbye

It's my last day here and Dr. Patel doesn't have too many patients. So all I'm doing is following her around the dentistry helping her with x rays and teeth check ups. I'm just writing the tooth numbers and any other abnormalities Dr. Patel sees Other than that, Dr. Patel isn't making me file today but there aren't many patients so I'm also not operating the suction machine either. I'm going to miss this place and all the people. This place has given me many opportunities someone my age doesn't usually get and I'm thankful to everyone, especially my mentor, Dr. Patel. This experience will help me throughout my career path and much more. Hopefully the next time I am operating on people is in dental school.

Almost Done

Its almost my last day and I am spending it acting as Dr. Patel's receptionist. I am just filing and thanking Dr. Patel for all her help so far. Soon I will have to say goodbye and I won't be filing or answering calls anymore. I can't say I'll miss this part. Yet I will miss the part where I helped her out with her patients. I like doing that. Well, today it was sort of a slow day and all I did was manage upcoming appointments, and answer phone calls.

Strange Meeting at Dentistry

When I went today I saw my aunt unexpectedly and it turns out that she had an appointment and her dentist was Dr. Patel. It was weird and cool at the same time that I got to operate inside her mouth. I got to say, she needs to brush more. She came in for a teeth whitening/deep cleaning session, which interestingly deal exactly with what my first answer is. I got to practice more on my first answer and get more information about it. Other than that, after I finished filing the patient files, I followed Dr. Patel around acting as her assistant. I got to say that I am getting really used to this and getting a real feel of what it’s like to be a dentist and I even have started to remember a couple of patients that usually come to the dentistry. In addition, Dr. Patel is still helping me answer my second and third answer. She is giving me useful information, tips, and resources and she is a great help in me learning more about my answers and more about dentistry.

Mentorship

Today I went to the dentistry and knew I had a long day ahead of me. The first thing I did was label all the new patients files with stickers so I could organize them alphabetically. After filing about 200 files, I had to check patient insurance. I had to check if the patients still had health care and it covered what they came to the dentistry to do. After I used p 3 hours doing all of that, Dr. Patel said she needed my help with the patients and I learned a new skill. I learned how to mix the fluid like substance that goes onto your teeth that helps get rid of cavities. Honestly, its not that hard, I just have to be careful when I crush it to put it into their teeth. Other than that, I operated the suction and it was a quiet, yet hectic day at the dentistry.

Mentorship

Today I stayed at the dentistry and stayed for about 5 hours. When I got there, I noticed all the files and i got straight to work. In between my filing periods, Dr. Patel kept on calling me to help her out with the patients. Since it was super busy, Dr. Patel gave me a new duty. She taught me how to sanitize everything before the patients came into the room. After they came into the room, I would listen to Dr. Patel's conversation to get a better feel of what a dentist and patient conversation would be like. Usually, I don't get to listen to their conversations because I come into the room right when Dr. Patel needs me, but this time i was with her a lot. In the rooms I just operated the suction machine and wrote down the patients next appointment on the business card and put it into the computer. Overall, the five hours went by really quick.

December Post

Today I came into the office and I had noticed that there were files all over the place. As I saw this I realized what today was gonna be like. Well I was wrong. I thought that mainly I was going to be filing all day while I was at the dentist but since I stayed so long today, I was only filing for about an hour and a half and the other time I was inside the rooms assisting Dr. Patel. However, I wasn't only filing, i was also putting the files in order to which the patients were coming in to make it easier and faster on everyone because the dentist office was packed because it had been closed for the holidays.
Today was another ordinary day in which all I did was operate the suction machine so Dr. Patel could focus on her part. Overall, the only new things I've been learning are things more in depth about cavities and how to prevent and treat cavities.

Kids Day

Today was Tuesday and as every Tuesday, it was kids day which meant a lot of scared kids in the dentist office. In spite of it being a regular Tuesday, today Dr. Patel was hooking up the kids to oxygen tanks because she was working on tartar today. And with tartar, the dentist is scraping off hardened plaque which can be a bit painful so the oxygen tanks would help the kids breath and keep relaxed and their respiration rate normal. This is the reason I had to equip a mask so I don't spread or catch airborne diseases that the patients might or might not have. Also sometimes when Dr. Patel is scraping off the tartar, sometimes you uses a machine and the pieces of plaque can fly around the room. Overall, today was a very peaceful day.

A New Skill at the Dentist

Today when I went to the dentist I started to file the patient files like always but Dr. Patel told me that I was going to do something a bit different. Se taught me how to electronically organize the patients names, insurance, and their payment bills and more. I also was answering the phone while I was doing this. The phone part was pretty simple but the computer part was a bit tougher. After about an hour, I was called by Dr. Patel because she needed help with the patients. She also told me that I should get familiar with all the tools and the tool names so when she asks for a tool I can easily find it and give it to her when she asks for them. I also scheduled my second interview today. Overall, today was a very productive day.

Filing Is Boring!

 

 

When I got to the dentist it was not busy at all. Usually Tuesdays are full of kids running around and it's loud at the dentist but today it was super empty. That meant that Dr. Patel's "actually" dental assistants got priority and got to help her while I was stuck filing.

However, at around 3 o' clock a lot of patients started to come and it got super packed. That meant that Dr. Patel's assistants had to take a patient and I got to go in the dental rooms and watch Dr. Patel pull out a kids tooth. It was gross and neat at the same time. Of all the days I've been at the dentist, I've never seen a kids tooth get pulled out, and it was very cool. The patients name was Fernando and he didn't want to get a shot to numb his gums because he was afraid of needles, which made no sense because without the slightly painful shot, the process would be extra painful and also lengthier. Anyways, eventually, after ten minutes of crying and whining, he agreed to the shot and we took his tooth out. Today was a interesting day.