Oh Happy Day!

The dental clinic underwent a makeover this previous weekend. Our pre-existing equipment was outdated and prone to malfunction. We received new dental chairs that are better in every single way than the old chairs. The vacuum system was also much improved. I was pretty excited about these new changes, so I could only imagine how the dentist must have felt.

I received an acceptance letter from UT Dental Branch in Houston today, so I'll be withdrawing from UTHSC San Antonio. It'll be a much better opportunity for me here - among the advantages, I'll be closer to family/friends, and I'll be one of the first to experience the new dental school opening in 2012!

One of the Biggest Problems in Dentistry

As I was walking down the hallway to the dental clinic to start volunteering, I saw the dentist walk out with her belongings toward the parking garage. My initial thought: "Oh no, she just walked out on all of her patients!" This wasn't the case, as she explained to me that her daughter was sick, and that she needed to take her to go see the doctor. I wished her daughter well, and then went inside the clinic to say hi to everyone there before I left.

Since the dentist was gone for the day, all appointments had to be canceled except for the post-ops that only required a dental assistant. I hate when patients are rescheduled due to things they can't control. Keep in mind that HHH has so many patients to take of, so they have to wait a month or two in between appointments. I know it's frustrating for them to have to wait so long to see any progress, but that's the way things have to be for this free service. Nevertheless, I understand when they get annoyed when they come in on time for their appointment, only to find out that they have been rescheduled much later than desired. For example, the dental clinic manager informed a patient that he had to be rescheduled. The manager then filled out an appointment card and told me to hand it to the patient, who was waiting outside the clinic. As I told the patient that his next appointment was next month, he snatched the appointment card from me and abruptly left. I apologized to him for the inconvenience, but those words fell on deaf ears. I wasn't offended at all because I would've probably felt the same way if I was in his position.

One way to cut down on problems like this would be to have more dentists working for the underserved population. I think that's one of the biggest problems in dentistry today. It's not that there's a shortage of dentists in the field, but that there's a lack of dentists serving the people who normally don't have access to dental care. Sure, you see dental offices everywhere, but most of them are located in the city, where you might even see multiple offices on the same street. What makes HHH so amazing is that it is the only full service, no cost, dental clinic for the homeless in all of Houston. In the future, I'd like to cater to the underserved people in the same way as the dentist at HHH does. Maybe one day, when a homeless patient gets rescheduled here, his/her next appointment will be in the next week because there won't be a shortage of dentists willing to help these people.

One can only hope right?

Life Lessons

These past two weeks have really shown me how far I've come since volunteering at HHH back in August 2008. We had a young woman start volunteering with us last week. Whenever a new volunteer comes, I immediately hope for two things: that I can get along easily with that person, and that I can properly teach everything I know. It's through these small teaching encounters that I realize just how much I've learned myself.

There are also a few "life lessons" that I've learned since being here. I've realized that help is available for all who seek it. As cliche as that sounds, it really is true. We are social beings, with the need to have some kind of camaraderie with others. Regardless of race, sex, class, or any other classification groups we divide into, I feel that helping others should know no bounds. It's a privilege to witness how people help each other here all the time. Another thing: humor is universal. When patients open up to us and we get to joking around, we create a bond that shows we are equal, despite all of our life issues. I never thought that I would ever interact so much with the homeless. To be able to share laughs with them just shows that humor can be understood by all.

To sum it up, reach out to others with open arms, and don't discriminate with your help! I promise it's a great feeling.

Teeth Collector

Last week, the dental clinic was closed for spring break. The plan was that the clinic was going to undergo a much needed makeover during this time, as new equipment and operatory chairs were supposed to come in. The anticipation to see the new clinic was building as I drove over to the clinic yesterday, but to my disappointment, everything was the same. The dentist wasn't too pleased with this, but word from the dental clinic manager was that the new equipment was going to come in this Thursday and Friday for sure. I can't wait to see how everything looks next week.

I assisted on a composite filling and an extraction. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, so I'll keep this one short. One thing worth mentioning though: dental school requires that I collect teeth to practice on. I'll be leaving a jar filled with bleach at the clinic, and the dental assistant will make sure that she fills that jar with pretty little teeth for me. It sounds kind of creepy to me to collect random people's teeth, but hey, it's what I have to do.

A Conversion Story

It never really gets awkward in the dental clinic, but Monday happened to be an exception. Things were going fine before a patient decided to voice his displeasure with the program. This was his second visit to HHH, and the first where he would get dental work done. Normally, when a patient is scheduled for multiple fillings, he/she gets one filling done per visit since the dentist only has an hour with that person, and each filling buildup takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes to complete. I don't know how the communication process broke down, but he assumed that he was getting the whole front of his mouth fixed in one visit, which happened to be three time-consuming fillings on his front three teeth. He entered the clinic cheerfully thinking that all of his fillings would be done today, but he quickly became sour when the dentist informed him that only one filling would be done. The smile vanished from his face, and harsh words spewed from his mouth as if he was entitled to getting all the fillings done in one day. All during this tirade, the dentist listened and tried to calmly explain to him the standard procedure that goes on at the clinic even though he was having none of it. What did I do to help remedy the situation? I stood off to the side, not knowing what to do.

Finally, he allowed us to proceed with the one filling, even though he was still clearly upset over it. Instead of assisting in awkward silence, I decided to start up a conversation with the dentist about a concert I attended a few days before. Tony Melendez came to UST for a praise and worship Lenten renewal concert. What was amazing about Tony was that he played the guitar with his feet. When his mother was pregnant with him, she was given a medication containing thalidomide, which caused him to be born without arms. He didn't let his disability conquer him as he learned to do everything with his feet, even play the guitar. As if his life wasn't difficult enough, he later found out that the thalidomide also disabled his ability to have his own kids. After telling this story to the dentist, I remarked how amazing he was that despite all of his hardships, he still praised God for all his glory, and how grateful he was for everything he had in life. All during this time, the patient was listening, and I could see a slow conversion creep into his face as he realized how trivial his problems were compared to what Tony had to face. After we finished the filling, he apologized to us for his behavior and thanked us for our service.

It was easy for me to look down upon the patient, but I understood where he was coming from. He said that his teeth was one of the reasons he couldn't get a job. I know he anticipated getting his teeth fixed as soon as possible so he could return to employment, and it was a letdown when he found out he was misinformed about the treatment plan. In his own words, he said it was like "telling your kids you're gonna take them to Ben and Jerry's later on in the day, but then night comes and they close." I have to admit, that was a cute way of describing the situation.

In the end, I'm glad he had a change of heart after hearing about the armless guitar player. It's amazing how Tony Melendez continues to inspire, in more ways than one.

A patient's big "break"

Today's schedule: one filling, one extraction, and one alveoloplasty. I assisted on the extraction, which went relatively smooth. It was just a typical day at the clinic. Joking around with the staff, talking about dental school, and assisting the dentist - it's what we do.

There was a man who came in today who wasn't on the schedule. He wanted to see if there was an opening because he broke his tooth earlier in the week. Luckily for him, two patients before him did not show up, so we slid him in. He was probably in his late 20s, and he told us that he broke the tooth while eating pizza. As a result, there was a gap in the front of his smile. The reason why he wanted to fix it now was because he happened to have a job interview on Wednesday and did not want the gap to be a distraction to the interviewer. He told us that he applied at Lupe Tortilla Restaurant to be a waiter and was finally given an interview. The dentist placed a metal post in the hole vacated by his broken tooth and filled it with a composite resin. What amazed me was how quickly she was able to shape the resin into the shape of a tooth. The shade of this temporary tooth matched the shade of the rest of his teeth perfectly. When the patient saw the finished result, he was extremely grateful and told us how relieved he was that he no longer had a gap. He felt like this job interview was his one big break in life. By the way he talked about the waiter position, one could think that he was interviewing to be the CEO of a huge corporation. This made me realize that for these less fortunate people, any job is a big step in the right direction for them. I was happy that he was given this opportunity and wished him the best of luck. The patient left the clinic feeling excited and confident.

I guess the message from today's post is: be thankful for what you have in life. Don't take for granted the many blessings you have. What you perceive to be small and petty may actually be another person's treasure.

Hiatus over!

It feels great to be back! The afternoon schedule was comprised of one composite filling, three extractions, and a couple of try-ins, where the patient tries on a wax denture to make sure everything fits right before the final acrylic denture is made. I assisted on one of the extractions. On a previous visit, the young lady was told that she needed all of her teeth extracted because there was too much decay. All of her teeth were rotted and cracked, some even down to the gum line. I could only imagine how much pain she was in and how she was able to eat. The mouth is divided into quadrants, and we began on the lower right side of her mouth. We extracted a total of eight teeth, but that was only the beginning of the procedure. In order to be fitted for dentures, the bone underneath the gums has to be completely smoothed down once the teeth are out. If there are little bumps and ridges after the gum heals, the dentures won't be able to fit properly, and the suction won't be there to hold them in place. This procedure to smooth the bone down is called an alveoloplasty. The dentist cut open the patient's gum using a surgical blade to reveal the bone, where she then drilled to remove any sharp points. Afterward, the gums were stitched back together for healing. In her upcoming visits, she will need to basically repeat today's procedure for the rest of her three quadrants - extraction followed by alveoloplasty. Needless to say, alveoloplasties are bloody.

One of the best events that happens at the dental clinic is when patients finally receive their new teeth. First of all, here's just a quick summary of what patients go through when they are admitted into HHH's dental program. In their first visit, X-rays are taken of their teeth, and the dentist lays out a plan for fixing their teeth. Any teeth that cannot be saved are extracted first, followed by any fillings, then a deep cleaning, and ending with the actual denture process. The denture process takes place over four visits. The first visit is when impressions are made. These impressions are sent to a lab, where they are turned to a wax model. The second visit is a bite registration, where the dentist records where the patient's bite is on the wax. The third visit is called the wax try-in, where the wax now contains the teeth that will be used in the final dentures. If the dentist sees that everything is perfect, the wax models are sent to the lab, where the acrylic dentures are made. In the last visit, the patients receive their new dentures. As you can see, it's a long and painful process from start to beginning. Oftentimes, patients go an extended time without teeth after they are extracted.

It's no surprise when patients finally receive their dentures that everyone in the clinic experiences a sense of happiness. When the patients look into a mirror with their new teeth for the very first time, they burst into a wide smile, a smile which they have suppressed for quite some time. That single smile is what we work for, and it's always worth celebrating. It's amazing what this smile can do for our patients, as it gives them a whole new outlook on life. Many of them remark on how they can interact with others now, and some even say that they can now confidently go to job interviews to better themselves. One of HHH's goals is to give dignity to the homeless through accessible healthcare, and this is one prime example of a goal achieved.

President's Day Special

HHH was closed on President's Day. Three weeks have passed since I last volunteered, and I'm starting to feel a void in my Mondays. As I mentioned earlier, I'll retell one of my most memorable experiences I've had here so far.

During my first month volunteering at HHH, I met a particular homeless black man. He was a bit nervous about getting his teeth extracted and asked me several questions regarding the procedure. When told that he had to stop smoking after the procedure to allow the gum to completely heal, he seemed reluctant but realized it was for the best. While waiting for the dentist to come over, he engaged me in conversation about education, mentioning that it was good for me to get my studies out of the way right now so I can enjoy the rest of life, contrary to what he did. He wanted to be an aircraft mechanic, but he unintentionally got his girlfriend pregnant. His whole lifestyle changed in order to accommodate the child, and he later fell onto financial troubles and drug addictions. When I told him I was just a volunteer, he seemed surprised and told me that it was good that I was going to school and still put aside time to help out. He admitted that he wanted to give back somehow when he had the chance to. He also said that I seemed like a religious person just from the way I carried myself. In the end, he advised me to keep focus on education and pursue my dreams.

Even though I have often heard these words from parents and educators, I was moved by his concern for me. It was a humbling feeling knowing that someone who had so much to worry about still made the effort to reach out and motivate others. This experience taught me that I could learn from patients, even those who are homeless and in search of a way out of their hardships. My overall perception of homeless people changed from this moment onward. I learned that the homeless are merely ordinary people who have fallen on hard times, but nonetheless possess a wealth of wisdom and character.

Dentist on Vacation

The dentist decided to go on vacation this week. I hope she's somewhere exotic and relaxing because she deserves the time off. When the dentist is absent, the clinic still opens, but all that's scheduled are post-ops. Basically after a surgical procedure, the patient comes in a week later for a post-op to check how the gum is healing, and to remove any stitches. Other than cleaning the clinic, volunteers aren't needed. Thus, I didn't come in today.

Next Monday happens to be President's Day, and HHH will be closed. Rather than have two posts in a row describing how I didn't volunteer that day, next week I'll write about one of my most memorable experiences at HHH. It's amazing how much you can learn from the homeless.

The Homeless

In August 2008, I began volunteering at Healthcare for the Homeless Houston (HHH). Prior to this, the only dental experience I had was shadowing an endodontist. He allowed me to stand in the corner while he performed root canals. From my viewpoint, all I saw was the dentist sticking his hand into the patient's mouth. Needless to say, these were the longest hours of my life - I stood awkwardly from afar without having the capability of seeing directly into the mouth, which is where dentistry happens. Obviously. What makes HHH stand out from other dental clinics is twofold: firstly, I actually get to assist the dentist with hands-on experience, and secondly, I work with the homeless.

Honestly, before HHH, I always had a condescending yet frightful view of the homeless. If I saw homeless people on the street corner, I would immediately assume that they were lazy and incompetent individuals who had no desire of bettering their lifestyle. I would pick up my walking pace and even circumnavigate them. Over time, my view of them began to change into understanding and compassion for them. In the following posts, I hope to shed a new light onto these underserved people.

I'm at the dental clinic every Monday from 1-5pm. We'll see what next week has in store for me.