Mountain Lakes AccessHealth Dental

ClinicMadison Walton

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.

17 Harris Forceps

These forceps are used to extract 1st and 2nd mandibular

molars.

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.

Suction Solution

After every patient and after every clinic, the suction lines

must be cleaned out to ensure that any debris and

fluids are flushed away.