Let's see... Term 5 started with overwhelming feelings and nerves about clinical requirements. But then as always things seem to work out. I had a lot of continuing care clients with whom I have build a professional trusting relationship making my job even better. As a class we looked deeper into medical histories, the interpretation of radiographs, dental specialities, and jurisprudence. I think my favourite class this semester has been dental specialties. It was interesting to look a littler close into the world of orthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, denturism, and pediatric dentistry.
Also we had the opportunity to go out into the community and get involved through shadowing. I shadowed at a general dentist office in Stoney Creek and a pediatric dentistry office in Burlington. I gained a lot of knowledge through these shadowings and seen first hand how a day in the life of a "real" hygienist plays out. I watched radiographs being taken, scaling, polishing, a full mouth periodontal assessment, intraoral and extra oral exams, seen the documentation and the flow from when the client entered the office until when the client walked out.
In February 2020, I had the opportunity to provide Brock University Nursing Students with a presentation on oral health. The purpose of the presentation was to provide them with knowledge regarding oral health that may assist them in their future field of work. Topics included oral care basics, oral cancer screening, denture storage and care, and proper use of dental aids. It was interesting to see how little the students actually knew about oral health.
Mid March 2020 my class and I were scheduled to collaborate with various elementary schools to educate children from kindergarten to grade 8 on the importance of oral health. I was assigned to educate grade 2/3 and my main goal was to give them the knowledge necessary to motivate and improve home self-care. Unfortunately due to COVID-19 we were unable to follow through with our presentations. Now that I'm stuck at home and I cannot practice in clinic those feelings of being overwhelmed and nervous don't even matter, I would much rather be in clinic. Given the circumstances of the virus we have been having to do a lot of the work from home and I know better days are going to come soon.
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