In this section, I will be talking about what skills I have that other hygienists don’t, why I am focusing on my skill set, and what makes my experience unique.
Please read on.
What skills do I have that other hygienists don’t?
I always put patients at ease while at the same time I focus on teaching them excellent oral care. No matter how poor the prognosis is I always tell the patient, “the hard part is done! It is your presence in my dental chair!” because that’s where I educate and treat my patient. They always smile back! 🙂 I say “I need you to keep me busy to get my work done and you need me to educate you about oral hygiene and treat your condition.” I always make sure the patients understand there is always a way out no matter how poor the oral condition of their mouth. That I am here to make it better and definitely no need to be embarrassed from me! I communicate it in a way that does not make them feel bad, but motivated to come back and also to tell a friend!
Why did I decide to talk about my skill set? Because I am different and special. How?
During my clinical hours, I would always struggle with patients falling asleep, I believe it’s a good sign that my hand scaling techniques are painless. Some of them say “I feel comfortable with you…” or “I trust you…” or “You have good energy…” It’s priceless to hear those words especially when I am still learning. Everyone’s life is different and the reasons for their choices are unknown. When we focus on our own growth, it creates good vibes of personality. To earn words as “trust” or ” feel comfortable with” from patients who are not your friends or family members is a great feeling. Most of the time family or friends say good things to make you feel better, even if it was not that great. My patients who I treated were either clinic patients or strangers.
Of course, I managed the patients falling asleep with dental bite block but the fact that that 90% of my patients were sleeping without any anesthesia I found interesting and odd.
I am very thankful to the NYCCT Dental Hygiene Department for giving me the clinical knowledge and theories that I could confidently apply to my patients during my fourth semester.
It was very rewarding to earn trust from my patients while still being a student !!
