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The Dental Clinic At School Of Dental Medicine Within Salk Hall

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This semester, I was assigned to the dental clinic run by the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Dental Medicine within Salk Hall. This site is a very accessible resource that people in every different population can utilize for maintaining their dental healthcare. During my time at this site, I have seen many different patients during screenings and procedures. The school accepts patients regardless of race, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnic origin. Due to this indiscrimination, members from all of these populations visit the clinic on the daily basis. Those who are financially unstable and those without insurance comprise the population that visit the dental clinic most frequently. This is primarily due to …show more content…

Financial counseling is provided to every patient to suggest options that work best for them in the long run. Overall, I believe that the dental clinic is a very useful resource that is beneficial to all populations, students and patients alike. My time at the dental clinic was full of experiences that will follow me through the rest of my career. Being that I was a part of many different patient interactions during my time here, I have witnessed appointments with members of most of the populations that make their way into the clinic. My first reaction when receiving my assignment for the semester was apprehension. I had a lot of dental work done before/during high school, so being in a dentist/orthodontist office setting is not unfamiliar to me. Being on the other side of the situation, giving care rather than receiving, was a new aspect of dental work for me. As I started in the clinic, the first few days were filled with observation and listening to interactions between patients and dental student/instructors. As I became more comfortable with the new setting, I began to increase my patient interaction slightly. Instead of standing outside of the cubicle looking in, I would sit in on appointments face to face with patients. This became much easier as time went on, due to the fact that dental students were acclimated to my presence after a

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