Post on 23-Jan-2017
Dental Clinic Goals
The goal of the Dental Clinic is to provide pain relief from tooth decay via extractions. It is not
an emergency clinic, but does it’s best to see as many patients as possible.
Operatory This is one of two identical operatories in the dental
clinic. Each operatory had to be installed and equipped with the money the dental clinic received in a grant. Each room has up to date suction and mechanical
chairs.
Patient Waiting Room This is the area designated for patients to wait for clinic to start. The way the clinic
runs, patients are seen in the order in which they sign in. So a lot of the time, this waiting room will be full 30 minutes before the clinic even starts
Sterilizer This is the sterilizer the
dental clinic uses to sterilize all the equipment and patient
gauze. We are anticipating purchasing a new sterilizer
because this on tends to fail a lot and sometimes it takes
two hours to sterilize equipment when it should
only take about 30 minutes.
Supply ClosetThis is the supply closet where all of the clinical supplies are kept.
Part of my job during my internship was to keep track of the supply levels and notify Tonya when something needed to be ordered.
OmnicellThis automated dispensing
cabinet hold all of the Dental Clinic’s anesthesia, topical
anesthetic, over the counter pain medication, and
prescription pads. Before each clinic, anesthesia and a
prescription pad must be checked out of the clinic and
then returned at the end.
X-rayThis is the panoramic x-ray
machine that the clinic bought so the dentists can get a better idea of what is going on inside the patients
mouths. A lot of times patients just require an x-ray
and cleaning and not and extraction.
Extraction Clinic Tray Set
UpsBefore each extraction clinic, I was responsible for making
sure enough syringes and exploratory kits were
sterilized to set up enough trays. As I worked with each
dentist, I became accustomed to the tools each one of them preferred. When I knew what dentist was coming, I could
add the specific tools each of them liked to use to make
their job a little easier.
Patient Scheduling
Many days in the clinic I spent scheduling patients for
evaluation and extraction clinics. This was often very
difficult because many of the patients do not have working phones. Towards the end of
my internship, Tonya was out on medical leave, so I had to schedule and run the clinics
by myself.
Dental Assisting
A majority of my time in the Dental Clinic I spent assisting the dentists with extractions and evaluations. I tried to get pictures of me doing these tasks, but many of the patients got to nervous or it was to busy to take pictures while the clinic was running. All of the dentists that volunteer in the clinic said I would make and excellent dentist if I decided that is what I wanted to do. I took this as a huge compliment and may consider dental school in the future.
Patient BibEvery patient receives a
patient bib. A lot of the time, during extractions, the bibs will become saturated with blood and saliva and I will
have to remove them before the patients can see what
came out of his/her mouth.
Exploratory Kit
This set of tools was generally used with every patient. It
consisted of cotton pliers, a mouth mirror, and an explorer (from left to right). The cotton
pliers are used to transport materials to and from the
mouth, the mouth mirror is used to view the oral cavity and tap
on teeth to determine sensitivity, and the explorer is used to detect breaks in the
enamel and scrape plaque from teeth.
Suction Tips/• High Volume Suction: used when large amounts of blood and saliva need to be evacuated from the mouth (from
right to left) • Low Volume Suction: used when
smaller amounts of blood and saliva need to be evacuated from the mouth.
I also found it useful to catch tooth pieces that broke off when assisting
with extractions• Saliva Evacuator: used to evacuate
saliva from the mouth, normally in small quantities
Anesthetic Syringe
This is used during extraction clinics to administer local
anesthetic. There is also another version of this syringe without the finger holders, but I have learned that most dentists prefer to use
the syringe that is pictured. Sometimes local anesthetic had to be administered when Tonya
did cleanings if the patients teeth and gum tissue was too sensitive.
Topical Anesthetic
This gel-like substance is used by most dentists to
numb the gum tissue slightly before the patient receives a needle stick. In my opinion I
don’t know how well it physiologically works, but I
think the patients like to think it numbs their gums prior to
the needle stick.
Needle Tips• 30 gauge short needle (left to
right) • 27 gauge long needle• 25 gauge short needle• 25 gauge long needle
Needle HolderMost dentists like to use a
needle holder to recap needles because it greatly reduces the risk of sticking yourself with the needs. Dr.
Gus taught me to always use them and now I prefer using
them.
Dry Socket Paste
This creamy substance is used when patients develop alveolar osteitis, or dry socket. This is
caused when the clot that forms in the socket dislodges and
exposes the bone and nerve to air. Dry sockets are usually very painful. A lot of the patients at
the clinic are smokers and smoker is one of the main
causes of dry socket.
Periosteal Elevator
This instrument was routinely used by Dr. Gustafson in extractions. It is used to
retract lips, cheeks, and the tongue. It is also used to
separate the gum tissue from the surface of the tooth.
Small and Large Straight
Elevators These instruments were
commonly used by all of the dentists for extractions. They are also commonly used together so
we usually packaged and sterilized the two together. The
are used to loosen the tooth from the periodontal ligaments before extraction and also to
separate and lift the tooth from the socket.
Root Elevators/Cry
ersThese instruments are
commonly called east-west elevators because of their shape. They are used to
loosen the root and separate and lift the tooth from the
socket. Most commonly they are used on posterior teeth.
RongeursThis instrument is used to trim and remove excess
alveolar bone after extractions. Some dentists use them when putting in
sutures.
Mandibular Universal
Forceps/Cryer 151
This pair of forceps is used for posterior mandibular
extractions. It can be used for laterals, cuspids, premolars,
and roots. They can also have straight or curved handles to access different areas. The pair pictured has curved
handles.
Mandibular Universal
Forceps/Cryer 151AS
This pair of forceps has a straight handle and is used
for posterior mandibular extractions.
Universal Mandibular Forceps No.
23These forceps are commonly called cow-horns because of their shape. They are used to extract mandibular first and
second molars.
Low Speed Hand piece
This hand piece is commonly used when the roots of a
tooth need to be separated or a flap needs to be made. It
also opens access to the pulp of the tooth and removes decay. A surgical burr is
inserted to make the hand piece functional.
Surgical Burr and Burr Wrench
A surgical burr is used scrape away tissue and whatever else needs to come away
from the extraction site. It is attached to the hand piece with the burr wrench and
spins around at a high speed.
HemostatThis instrument was used
when sutures were required. It is used to hold the needle tip and maneuver it while
sutures are placed.
Absorbable Dental Sutures
The sutures that the dentists place in the patients mouths are absorbable to prevent the patients from having to come
back for another visit and have the sutures removed. Sutures are only used when gum flaps have to be cut or
when the extraction site is to large to heal on its own.
Hydrogen Peroxide Wipes
These specific wipes have to be used to wipe down
equipment and patients chairs between uses. Prior to
hydrogen peroxide wipes, Cavi wipes were used. Recent research has determined that Cavi wipes are carcinogenic,
therefore these wipes are now used.