Culminating Blog Reflection

I never thought this day would actually come! I can finally say I'm ALMOST done with senior project. I'm almost there!

Honestly, this whole experience was stressful. From the very start, I just couldn't wait for this project to be over. I never intended on doing dentistry in the first place. I really wanted to do something along pediatrics, preferably, pediatric nursing. Due to liability issues and time constraints, I realized I couldn't find a mentor on time. I had to do a lot of critical thinking when looking for a mentor. Finally, I decided I had to turn to my parents for help and ask them to find me whoever was willing to let me job shadow them. Fortunately, my parents were able to convince their friend, Dr. Yamat to let me job shadow at her office. I was really sad at first because like I said, I really wanted to pediatric nursing but I just told myself I had to deal with it because it was better than nothing. A lot of communication was involved primarily because I had to communicate with my mentor in order for me to understand dentistry. Just watching what she does is obviously not enough. I had to ask her a lot of questions about her profession. It really made me step out of my comfort zone. Collaborating with my mentor as well was also done because we had to figure out when I was going to come in and observe. Both of our schedules were really different. Most days I was available were days she was not and days she was were days I was not. Moreover, since there are a lot of other students job shadowing her in the office, she really didn't want it to become crowded so we had to set up a time schedule. Creativity was used as well because I had to be creative in how to try to understand dentistry. There are many technical terms in this profession and I had to find ways in which I can understand the language. I also had to find good ways in communicating with the patients. Some were really interested in learning about this project and others were there just to do business which made situations awkward.

This capstone project made me realize the increase of responsibility I need in order for me to make my way around the adult world. Being an adult is tough! Trying to balance school, church, and my mentor hours was really challenging for me. This resulted in me not being able to do as many hours as I hoped I would do. Moreover, I also realized how much liability adults have on them and how easy it is for one to get in trouble if they don't handle the situation. Also, the fact that I had to step out of my comfort zone to talk to strangers did improve my social skills. I'm still a shy person but when I'm in situations where I just HAVE to talk to people, I will. I'm happy this project helped me with my social skills. It made me a not-so-much of an awkward person anymore! Intellectually, this project made me more away of my oral hygiene habits. I'm glad I was able to learn more about the proper way in maintaining good oral hygiene.

Like I mentioned before some of the challenges I encountered was really trying to balance everything out. I had personal obligations I had to fulfill so trying to get in as many hours with my mentor seemed impossible. I also had to give up a lot of social events that went on just so I can work on this project, especially when it came to writing the research paper. Writing the research paper was not much of an issue for me, but trying to find time and motivation to write it was a big challenge. Senioritis really got to me during this last semester and it just got to the point where I really didn't care about what I got on the paper. I really needed to figure out how to manage my time wisely. I eventually figured it out because I'm here now! Another challenge I faced was trying to step out of my comfort zone. Like I mentioned before, I'm a pretty shy person and I usually don't like asking questions, especially when I know someone is really busy. But I really needed to ask questions since I wouldn't learn anything if I didn't. I also forced myself to talk to the patients so I can build friendly relationships with them.

Overall, this project was a really good experience and it really gave me a lot of insight to the adult world. It was a very stressful journey but I'm really glad I did it and I know for a fact that I'm going to use what I learned in the near future.

Mentor Log #7

So Tuesday, May 7 was my last day at the dental office. Business was the same as usual. I learned more about the machine used to fix dentures. The dentist was trimming the extra acrylic on the dentures which came from the pink paste mixture they used. The dentures also have different colors on the surface and I learned that the reason behind this is because dentists use different acrylic. Throughout time, the different acrylic will produce different colors on the dentures. I also watched another bridge installment procedure. I gained more in-depth knowledge about this procedure. The dentist would make the mold directly from the mouth. Then, they would use the mold and send it to the laboratory to make the bridge (teeth). I also watched another procedure where a patient was getting her molars polished. The patient has braces and also had molar bands. The molar bands holds the wire of the braces on her teeth. I also realized how much stress dentists go through when things don't go the way they expect it to be. The patient getting her molars polished kept complaining because the molar bands weren't the proper size and the dentist was getting stressed out. The overall lesson here is that dentists deal with different patients everyday and they all require special individual attention. Dr. Yamat also told me that their average work day is usually around 8-10 hours depending on the patients.


Total: 2 Hours

Running Total: 26 Hours

Mentor Log #6

On Tuesday, April 30, I was able to witness another type of dentist procedure. One patient was receiving a bridge delivery, which is when a dentist replaces a missing or infected tooth with artificial ones. The patient I watched had broken and infecting looking teeth. At first, the dentist took out the temporary teeth out and put the new/bridge teeth over the broken one. Unlike the temporary teeth, the bridge implant had metal in it. The dentist also uses this molding tool so they will be able to find the right size for the temporary and bridge implant. However, the bridge did look very artificial compared to her real teeth but nonetheless, the patient's smile was beautiful! The procedure also looked very painful because the patient would constantly tense up and her gums would bleed. I was also able to help Dr. Yamat with the x-rays. Although my only task was to press the button, I was really excited because I actually felt useful for once. Aside from the new things I learned that day, I also witnessed a patient receive a filling, general cleaning, and a patient getting her braces tightened. What I noticed about the patient getting her braces tightened was that it was really different compared to the way I got my braces tightened. Dr. Yamat would take off her wires and give her a general cleaning. I asked if it was a cleaning but she told me she was just getting her braces tightened. I thought it was really cool because she would actually clean her teeth whereas when I got my braces tightened, they would just replace the wire and I would be done.

I honestly can't wait to go back a few more times before this project is done. I'm learning so much! I still have a lot of questions to ask but nonetheless, I'm starting to find dentistry a lot more enjoyable than I imagined.

Total: 3.5 Hours

Running Total: 24 Hours