Today was our first day at our Internships. We finally got to wear our Salwar Kameez!! I observed both
Dr. Pio and Dr. Priya. I was able to watch Dr. Pio perform the 1st
sitting of one root canal and the 2nd sitting of another root canal,
fit a retainer to a young girl’s mouth, put in two fixed partial dentures, and
do a filling on one woman’s three front teeth. At Dr. Priya’s clinic I watched
two extractions due to decay and two fillings. Both of these dentists see many
more patients in a day than dentists do in the US. They perform every procedure
very quickly.
While at these clinics I noticed many differences from the
US. I watched both root canals and one of the extractions done with no
anesthetics. Another major difference I observed was the amount of help the
dentist gets from his/her assistant. In both offices I noticed the assistant
not doing much other than cleaning up after the procedures were completed. Dr.
Pio’s assistant did help him with the suction when needed, but did not stay in
the room when each procedure was done. Both dentist offices are very small and
their personal offices are in the same room as the dental chair. A patient’s
visit at the dentist seems much more casual than it does in the US due to
people walking in and out of the rooms the whole time. There is not any
preventative care done at the offices. There are no dental hygiene chairs or hygienists,
therefore the dental offices are more for treatment than prevention.
On another note, we got to cross the road for the first time
without a guide! This is a big step for us since we usually have someone to
tell us to hold hands and when to run. We went into town and bought some Indian
candy and snacks. None of it was too shocking or different yet, but we hope to
find some unique Indian food and candy soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment