Personal Narrative: My Dental Shadowing Experience

Office Visit Reflection Paper As a part of the dental hygiene student program, shadowing a dental hygienist gave us a great preview of what we hope to do in a dental office. I had the possibility to visit three dental offices, two general and one periodontics. Although I have an idea of how to work in a dental setting at Miami Dade College Dental Hygiene Clinic, visited those offices was a great experience for me since I could observe how the dental hygienists operate and how they function in the real world.

Being a first year student at the Fortis Institute Dental Hygiene School, I have experienced many wonderful things. I have made new friendships, enhancing my learning experience, furthering my career, and my personal favorite experience, clinic. I have learned many techniques from observing the other students during this time. Also, being in the clinic had shown me that being an RDH is what I want to do. In my essay I will discuss my Fears, experiences, observations, my new found confidences, and finally how my view of Dental Hygiene has changed.

My alarm went off at 6:30 I clicked snooze and got off the couch and went upstairs to the bed and laid back down. Then I plugged my phone up into my charger and set my alarm for 7:25 and went back to sleep. When it went off again to wake me up and I got up and went straight to my mom to remind her that I'm going out of town for the weekend and she asked me about everything again to make sure everything was okay and reminded me about my orthodontist appointment. So, I ran my shower picked out my outfit for the day and then jumped in the shower, then when I got out my momma was asking me where her phone was. I said it was on the bed, she said no it was not and then I called her phone and walked out to the ironing board. That's when she found it and I asked for my card once again and she gave it to me and said don’t spend all your money now.

With my early trips to the dentist and the natural loss of my baby teeth having sparked an interest in dentistry before I really knew what being a dentist meant, I began shadowing to further explore the profession. As I watched a tooth take shape from a blob of acrylic under the experienced hand of the dentist I was shadowing, I was filled with the same awe and satisfaction that I gain from the piano. Dr. Aboud repeatedly positioned the temporary crown in the patient’s mouth, checked his bite, and painstakingly continued to adjust the crown until the fit was just right. Though I have wanted to be a dentist for almost as long as I have played the piano, my interest in dentistry grew

My interest in dentistry was sparked at a young age through my volunteer activities in Egypt, where I was raised. At 12 years old, through the Egyptian Federation for Boys Scouts, we visited a village in North Egypt. There I met people my age who were underprivileged, including Youssef. Something was wrong with Youssef's mouth, but I was afraid to ask him. When I returned home, I kept wondering what was wrong with Youssef and couldn't figure it out. Two weeks later, my mother took me for a dental checkup. I brought Youssef's picture, hoping the dentist could provide me with answers. He told me Youssef had a cleft lip and palate. He said it needed surgical intervention to be corrected and that these procedures are only performed in major medical centers, not in rural villages like Youssef's. I was intrigued by his explanation and asked him questions about the scope of

As a registered chairside dental assistant at Dental Specialty Clinic, I was the lead dental assistant and my job included to assist doctor with oral procedures and lead our dental team. Our goal was to organize the clinic in a manner so that patients were given proper care within time limit. My role was to keep track of time and our team so that planned patients were given care from the scheduled time.

This passion, fueled by my parents and my culture, is what led me to become a registered nurse. I relish my time as a nurse but I am limited in my ability to diagnose patients and perform delicate procedures. Observing and assisting doctors has given me a great deal of respect for their ability to change patients’ lives. This gratitude extends to the dentists who so powerfully impacted my life by teaching me the importance of oral health and its impact on my overall health, confidence, and quality of life. I see this same sense of gratitude from Dr. Peter’s patients and hope to affect patients so positively as a dentist myself.

For my shadowing in a dental office, I chose to shadow at Crest Smile Shoppe. I chose here because my mom regularly goes here for herself and the team members there said I was more than welcome to come in their office and shadow whoever.

After marriage, I had moved to California. There I wrote NBDE Part 1&2. Then we had to move to India and later Vancouver, Canada. According to healthcare regulation of Canada, I couldn't work as a Certified Dental assistant because it is a long procedure to get the certification and licensure. Initially, It was tough to get an observership in Vancouver but with patience and perseverance, I got this opportunity of shadowing an amazing dentist. Here I am shadowing Dr. Basant Abdel Rahman during different clinical procedures like Implant placement surgery, Implant crown restoration, RCT, extraction of the impacted tooth, restoration, veneer and other dental procedures.

I will never forget my first shadowing experience when I accompanied Dr. Allam through the process of a quadruple bypass procedure. Before surgery, Dr. Allam explained to me the anatomy of his patient's chest x-ray and the method he would use to alleviate the patient's vascular blockage. It was captivating to learn about and subsequently observe a medical application which was fundamentally based upon the anatomy and physiology I enjoyed learning about in class. There was great camaraderie amongst Dr. Allam's surgical team members that I found motivational as someone who enjoys and thrives on the spirit of team effort. Upon completion of the procedure, I accompanied Dr. Allam to inform his patient's family of the operation's success. Witnessing

Dentistry offers the ability to apply my interests in science whilst having the opportunity to communicate with people and to make a positive contribution in their lives. I developed my interest in dentistry during my regular check-ups where I got to know my dentist and build up a relationship with them. I believe that with my dedication and work ethic alongside my extensive volunteering, I have the ability to become a reputable dentist. An aspect of dentistry that I enjoy is the ‘hands on’ experience obtained and the teamwork involved alongside the mentally and physically challenging demands of the profession.

In order to solidify my interest in dentistry, I shadowed Dr. Pishya Chamkasem at Smile Solutions Dental. I immediately noticed his exquisite skill level while he treated his patients. He taught me how to do cleanings, composite fillings, and crowns. While observing him, I envisioned myself in his shoes. I knew that, under the right guidance, I could perform dental procedures and deliver honest service.

These shadowing experiences have been very insightful. Scheduling my shadowing experiences proved to be a bit of a challenge. Within the state of Maryland, public school students in third through eighth grade take the annual PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) assessment. The PARCC Assessment consists of reading and mathematics sections. The assessment for each grade level consists of at least 7 units. Typically one day is designated for each unit. Thus, while planning these shadowing experiences, I ensured that I did not visit on a testing day.

Excellence: Self improvement is a constant challenge and a goal worth striving for. Especially in a field as dynamic as dentistry, with advancements in scientific research and technology changing the face of dental practice. As a

This reflection acts as my fourth reflection since I have started my internship at Comfort Dental under the Guidance of Dr. Trino Nuno. The semester is coming to an end, and I have enjoyed my time at Comfort Dental., I previously had a clinical and administrative internship at Smile Works Dentistry in Rockwall, Texas and I can now tell you that my experience at these two dental practices was incredibly different. At Smile Works, I quickly got used to the way the practice was run because it was not that complicated and I only had one doctor’s schedule to manage. However, at Comfort Dental I still struggle with managing day-to-day functions. The reason I struggle is that Comfort Dental has three doctors and a lot more staff. Also, the computer system that I mastered at Smile Works is not the same computer system that they use at Comfort Dental. I got the chance to use all to same skills in this internship. I answered phones, checked that patient’s insurance plans are eligible to be billed and scanned paper documents into a hard drive.