SOPHE Strategie Model: Oral Health Education

Virginia Henderson is famous for her definition of nursing, “The unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well, in the performance of those activities contributing to health or its recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or knowledge, and to do this in such a way as to help him gain independence as rapidly as possible" (Blais, 2012). Her philosophy supports that caring is the foundation, the center of all patient healing.

After more than five years of the completion the economic bachelor degree and uncompleted Master degree, now I am pursuing a totally new career, Dental Hygiene, even though I never thought about before. My life was driven around the social trends without thinking of what I really wanted. Now I have chances to pursue my aspirations; I have idea of doing something that I can help people, devolve my life to society. In my country, the science and technology is not modern enough to provide residents the best knowledge about the importance of oral hygiene. Those students like me can appropriate the most modern technologies to help our people. It is so amazing that Dental Hygienists can provide valuable services whereas building the trustworthy connections with patients. As a result, I chose dental hygiene as the foundation for my health profession since.

Good oral health is important for a person's sense of well being and quality of life (Fiske, 2001). Inadequate oral hygiene can lead to pain, tooth loss, oral disease,

For my senior project I have explored the career of a Dental Hygienist, who is a licensed dental professional who is registered with a dental care association within their country of practice. Their duty is to clean teeth, examine patients for signs and symptoms of oral diseases such as gingivitis, and provide other preventive dental care. They also educate patients on ways to improve and maintain good oral cavity health. Dental hygienist occupation has many important aspects to their job, which makes it a very rewarding occupation. According to my research dental hygienists is one of the top career choices in America, being so, over the years the career has evolved into a high demanding occupation.

Ever since I was in middle school, I would tell everyone that I was going to become a dentist. That was my career plan until the summer of my junior year. During that summer, I had the opportunity to do an internship and job shadow Dr. Bradshaw at his private dental office. While observing and talking to the doctor, I realized that I would not enjoy working as a dentist. I still wanted to pursue a career in the dental field so I decided to job shadow the dental hygienists. Watching the dental hygienists perform their duties and interact with patients made me want to pursue a career in dental hygiene. I knew very little about dental hygienists besides the fact that they clean teeth. As I spent time with the dental hygienists, I learned more each day. While researching for this paper, I became knowledgeable on even more information. From reading The Occupational Outlook Handbook and A Career as a Dental

While most of the patients I interacted with were seeking non-dental care, I met patients who were seeking care to health conditions that stem from their oral health such as oral abscesses, which our team was unable to treat except for prescribing antibiotics or painkillers. I encountered similar situations when I shadowed physicians in the emergency room of hospitals, observing a variety of craniofacial disorders originating from a preventable tooth decay. From these observations, I learned that patients often did not receive treatment that addressed the root of their problems: their oral health. As the result, I learned that many physicians saw the same patient repeatedly for problems that would otherwise be easily prevented through proper preventive dental care. Determining to address the unmet needs for accessible preventive dental care, I decided to pursue a career in dentistry so that I can provide a positive and meaningful impact to the underserved community on their oral health and ultimately their overall

To begin, dentistry plays an integral role in the daily lives of countless individuals. Dentistry as defined by the International Council of Nurses is, "The profession of practice of providing care for the sick and inform in regards to oral hygiene." Populations around the world, and in particular Japan, are aging quite rapidly. Baby Boomers, individuals born between 1946 and 1964 are reaching retirement age as they too become older. As this demographic age becomes older, they will typically become more prone to sickness or other forms of detrimental illnesses. As such, the importance of dentistry in the coming years will be even more profound. As such, interviewing an individual within the health care industry provided valuable insights as to the overall profession, and the implications it has on society.

“ Every tooth in a man's head is more valuable than a diamond.” Being a dental hygienist and helping others and their hygiene is very important. Showing compassion in your patients and working hard is all that counts. I have always valued the dentist and how they keep my smile great and my teeth very clean. Helping others in the future and making them feel better about themselves is why I have chosen this career. This career offers many great things and I could not of chosen a better career.

My choice in careers seems now: to go from managing a tooth-decaying candy store to dreaming of cleaning teeth, would be a large leap on my effect of the tooth-health-spectrum. As a dental hygienist, it will be my job to clean people’s teeth, examine them for any type of oral disease, and to educate others on proper dental hygiene. To perform my job properly, it will be important to have high communication skills, a general knowledge of anatomy and diseases, and to have a close attention to detail.

The patient has a four unit bridge on her upper anteriors, she has ten missing teeth

My dream job is to be a dental hygienist and has been the same since I was a little girl. I have an interest in how health can affect one’s body. I would like to educate others how important it is to keep your body, including teeth, healthy and clean. To see people who have not cleaned their teeth in years compared to people who are able to see the dentist every six months, is a drastic difference. Some people may think it does not matter, but lack of dental care actually takes a toll on your health. I want to peruse this career to help other’s think. I will enjoy helping other people by showing them the importance of keeping their teeth cleaned. Contrary to popular belief, a tooth brush does not do all the work, that is also why it is so important to have a dentist to make sure you are getting the cleaning you need to stay healthy. Another reason why I want to pursue this career is I work best in an oriented atmosphere. Making sure people are comfortable with where they are and make sure the patients are taken care of. Creates a very friendly environment. That is why my passion is a dental hygienist.

If you haven’t figured out enough reasons to take good care of your mouth, teeth and gums, the relationship between your oral health and your overall health provides even more, because choosing to practice a good oral hygiene equates to making an investment in your overall

In this fast changing world, what do you think the best responsibility may well/must be for the dental hygienist? The best role in this ever changing world for dental hygienist is to be an educator. As stated in the article Dental Hygiene at the crossoads of change” to this day there is a big demand for oral health education because of the cultural diversity. Also it states that there is a huge need of oral education because of the many underserved communities.

Dental Hygiene is very important to me and has been since I was a child, this has influenced my desire of becoming a pediatric dentist. In a personal interview i conducted with Dr.Bills she informed me of this, “Dental Hygiene is emphasized by all dentists, we want our patients to have elegant white teeth and pleasant breath”(Bills). I would like to teach children the importance of keeping their teeth brushed so that they will have a beautiful smile and healthy teeth. Pediatric Dentistry is a superb fit for me because I care about dental health and I want children to know the importance as well. It is never too early for children to learn how important dental hygiene is.

Maintaining good oral health is essential to maintaining good overall health. Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping the mouth and teeth clean to prevent dental problems, most commonly, dental cavities, gingivitis, periodontal disease, and tooth loss. Preventing these dental diseases are