Smiles for Kids 2013
Summary
I attended the Smiles for Kids event at Carrington College Hygiene clinic on February 2, 2012 in Sacramento. My responsibility for this event was to provide clinical care to underserved children of varying ages. The care I provided included scaling, coronal polishing, and flossing. We ended up seeing a little over 40 children as a clinic and of those children, I saw a total of 4, 3 girls and 1 boy. Each child I saw was unique and provided 4 very different learning experiences for me as a student and clinician.
The first child I saw knew just enough English to communicate with me. Upon examination, I saw a few areas where the teeth were completely decayed into the pulp chambers. I asked the little girl if any of her teeth bothered her, and with a smile she replied “no” then went on to tell me she wished she could come to the dentist more often, because we were so nice. Throughout the little time I had with this girl, she was resilient and maintained a smile the entire time. I learned that some kids are a lot stronger than we realize. While I looked into her mouth and felt so much pain for her, she was just thankful and happy to be there with us.
The next little girl I saw knew even less English than the first child I had. She was very timid and I found myself having to continually tell her to open and to keep her head towards me. I could tell she was very afraid to be in our chair. Before I did anything I showed her what I was going to do and used enthusiasm to explain. This seemed to help her become more comfortable with me looking in her mouth. She didn’t have any suspicious areas, but she did have calculus build up on most of her teeth that was more than most of the adult patients I had seen in clinic. I learned from her the importance of being patient and enthusiastic in order to provide fearful children with care.
The next girl I saw was talkative and so excited to be there. She had fantastic home care and her only concern was bad breath. Initially, I thought it was silly for a 13 year old to be worried about bad breath. I suggested a few things she could try implementing and she was so excited to start trying my recommendations. I learned from her that age is irrelevant with human needs. Even though she was only 13, her breath mattered to her and it felt good being that helping hand with recommendations she hadn’t yet tried.
The last child I saw was a 12 year old boy. He was so thankful for our care. He had decent oral hygiene and was very social. When I saw him initially, I thought he was going to be troublesome, but he was such a sweet kid and I really enjoyed talking with him. I learned from him the importance of not making assumptions before having taken the time to talk with people.
Reflection
The most important thing I took away from this experience was the importance of giving back to the community. Though it is very difficult to see children with conditions no child should ever have to worry about in their mouths, it is so important to be a helping hand that makes a difference in their lives. This experience will help better my career as a dental hygienist, because it helps build character, understanding, patience, and compassion. I did not know what to expect once arriving to the clinic that morning, but I am so glad I was a part of Smiles for Kids. I look forward to many more opportunities to be a part of it.
Reference
[Untitled image for smiles for kids]. Retrieved
February 8, 2012 from http://purl.manticoretechnology.com
I attended the Smiles for Kids event at Carrington College Hygiene clinic on February 2, 2012 in Sacramento. My responsibility for this event was to provide clinical care to underserved children of varying ages. The care I provided included scaling, coronal polishing, and flossing. We ended up seeing a little over 40 children as a clinic and of those children, I saw a total of 4, 3 girls and 1 boy. Each child I saw was unique and provided 4 very different learning experiences for me as a student and clinician.
The first child I saw knew just enough English to communicate with me. Upon examination, I saw a few areas where the teeth were completely decayed into the pulp chambers. I asked the little girl if any of her teeth bothered her, and with a smile she replied “no” then went on to tell me she wished she could come to the dentist more often, because we were so nice. Throughout the little time I had with this girl, she was resilient and maintained a smile the entire time. I learned that some kids are a lot stronger than we realize. While I looked into her mouth and felt so much pain for her, she was just thankful and happy to be there with us.
The next little girl I saw knew even less English than the first child I had. She was very timid and I found myself having to continually tell her to open and to keep her head towards me. I could tell she was very afraid to be in our chair. Before I did anything I showed her what I was going to do and used enthusiasm to explain. This seemed to help her become more comfortable with me looking in her mouth. She didn’t have any suspicious areas, but she did have calculus build up on most of her teeth that was more than most of the adult patients I had seen in clinic. I learned from her the importance of being patient and enthusiastic in order to provide fearful children with care.
The next girl I saw was talkative and so excited to be there. She had fantastic home care and her only concern was bad breath. Initially, I thought it was silly for a 13 year old to be worried about bad breath. I suggested a few things she could try implementing and she was so excited to start trying my recommendations. I learned from her that age is irrelevant with human needs. Even though she was only 13, her breath mattered to her and it felt good being that helping hand with recommendations she hadn’t yet tried.
The last child I saw was a 12 year old boy. He was so thankful for our care. He had decent oral hygiene and was very social. When I saw him initially, I thought he was going to be troublesome, but he was such a sweet kid and I really enjoyed talking with him. I learned from him the importance of not making assumptions before having taken the time to talk with people.
Reflection
The most important thing I took away from this experience was the importance of giving back to the community. Though it is very difficult to see children with conditions no child should ever have to worry about in their mouths, it is so important to be a helping hand that makes a difference in their lives. This experience will help better my career as a dental hygienist, because it helps build character, understanding, patience, and compassion. I did not know what to expect once arriving to the clinic that morning, but I am so glad I was a part of Smiles for Kids. I look forward to many more opportunities to be a part of it.
Reference
[Untitled image for smiles for kids]. Retrieved
February 8, 2012 from http://purl.manticoretechnology.com