o Please describe a time when you performed a thorough head, neck and oral exam and the findings had a significant impact on how you proceeded with the dental hygiene process of care.
Annette was performing her usual head, neck, and oral exam on a patient and she found an enlarged thyroid. She recommended to the patient that she go see her primary care physician to get a better diagnosis. The patient went to her primary care physician and was told it was probably nothing. Later the patient returned to the dental office and saw Annette and told her what the physician said. Annette could not take that as a final answer and told her that she would not just leave it and should get a second opinion and have other test run. The patient went back
Initially she would perform the exams as learned in school, but now after finding something abnormal, she now does a more thorough check, especially on patients with previous history of cancer. This incident solidified her belief in early detection and proper documentation. By having the information in the patient’s chart Annette could refer back to it and follow up to see if anything has changed since the last visit. Most patients she sees do not have oral cancer but she is able to identify abnormalities and encourage the patient to have them checked to determine if they are precancerous. o Is there anything else you would like to share with me about the head, neck and oral exam in relation to comprehensive, individualized patient
As a hygienist you are the number one defense because not everyone sees his or her primary care physician on a regular basis or only for his or her annual physical. During the physical the physician is not checking for oral cancer and the hygienist sees the patient at least twice a year. Not all exams are used to check for cancer, but can also check for tonsil stones or salivary stones. One child patient had enlarged tonsils and she told the parent to come look. The parent was surprised and informed Annette that the child had strep throat often, with this extra information Annette suggested seeing the child’s primary care physician and possibly having the child’s tonsils removed. Annette said that if a patient has had a biopsy for possible oral cancer, especially smokers or tobacco consumers, she teaches them to do self-exams at home and informs them to do them once a month. She said she instructs the patient to call of they notice any
Biopsy: If the inside of your mouth looks odd, you might have oral cancer. A healthy mouth will be coral pink in color. Any variation of this color can indicate a problem. The following are some symptoms of cancer growth in the mouth:
...inical therapy that I have learned throughout the program. As a dental hygiene student I’m already implementing ethical, legal and regulatory concepts for the provision of dental hygiene process of care, and I will utilize this foundation to throughout my career as a professional oral health care provider. In addition, as dental hygienist I will pursue life-long learning to provide client care based decisions using the most current evidence-based research. Thus I pledge to continue to learn and expand my skills and knowledge throughout my career. Graduating from CADH has provided me with great academic knowledge and clinical skills necessary to apply the concepts of health promotion and disease prevention. The experience that I have acquired at CADH will allow me to provide client specific, empathetic, empathetic and suitable treatment to all of my future clients.
Moreover, I will let the patient become familiar with any instruments such as a speculum, and demonstrate the tools that will be used to obtain tissue samples that would be used during the examination. Explaining the procedure is also a significant step; this will allow the patient have a sense of control during the examination as we ask and answer questions about their current state, that would help disseminate any concern they may have. Meanwhile, they can learn about what may happen, related to any body sensations or feelings they can experience during the procedure, all while the provider continues to develop rapport and patient’s trust
Out of all the careers in the world, a dental hygienist probably has one of the most interesting and flexible jobs. Not only is this career interesting and flexible, but it is also very helpful towards others and usually pays pretty well too. Many people become dental hygienists because of the easy education requirements and high demand for their jobs. These days, dental hygienists are more respected and being hired more rapidly due to the fact that more and more people are keeping and taking better care of their teeth. They also say that at the end of the day they feel accomplished in knowing that they helped improved their patient’s health, even if only in the slightest way (“Interview with a Professional”).
Good oral hygiene is an essential part of nursing care and if left undone can lead to larger problems such as increased risk for pneumonia, tooth loss, mucosal lesions, and increased complications of comorbidities (Delgado, 2016). There needs to be a revision to the current oral care policy because oral hygiene is not being performed on the residents. This policy will benefit the patients and the facility. Patients will benefit from better oral hygiene thus reducing the risk of overall infection. The facility will benefit by saving money related unnecessary spending on items such as antibiotics and intravenous (IV) supplies.
Disease Incidence: The number of decayed, missing, and filled surfaces that occur over a given period of time. Two different examinations are required to determine incidence- one before, and one at the end of a selected time period.
Bitewing radiographs are an important adjunct to clinical examination and maybe necessary to help the clinician detect and diagnose caries (REF). However ionising radiation from x-ray exposure has the potential to cause malignancy in the patient and therefore clin...
Over 30,000 people are diagnosed with oral cancer in the US per year. Oral cancer is a cancer that is more common in people over the age of 45, but can occur at any age. Oral cancer can develop in any part of the mouth. “... Oral cancer- it is cancer that occurs in any part of the mouth; on the tongue’s surface, in the lips, inside the cheek, in the gums, in the roof and floor of the mouth, in the tonsils, and also the salivary glands”.(Salomon and Esposito; Dental Partners) Oral cancer, although devastating and destructive can be detected, prevented, treated and cured if it is found early on in its stages. Cancer is detected by dentist because there is a genetic mutation in the cell usually causing tumors within the initial area of effect. Oral cancer can be prevented, diagnosed and treated.
A dental hygienist is a very important role in any dental office. As stated by a dental assistant, “Dental hygienists work closely with the dentist as well as hands on with the patients. They assist dentists with operative procedures such as fillings and extractions, and making molds of patients teeth” (Wilson, Jennifer). A large part of their job is teaching patients proper dental care to ensure a lifetime of healthy teeth. This includes proper brushing and flossing techniques. According to the job out look, a day as a dental hygienist can include taking x-rays, cleaning and scaling teeth, charting treatment plans, putting sealants on teeth, taking impressions of teeth and completing information about the patient’s oral and medical history (Summary). In some states dental hygienist are allowed to give local anesthetic and place and remove sutures (Delivering Local Anesthetic). According to advantages of becoming a dental hygienist, hygienists spend more hands on time with the patients than the dentist does. These are some of the instruments that dental hygienists use on a daily basis: toothbrush, scaler, mirror, ultrasonic scaler, explorer, suction, computer, salvia ejector, rubber cap polisher, dental models, x-ray machine and probe. The dental hygienist uses a toothbrush to remove soft plaque from the teeth. Plaque is a soft coating on the teeth that contain bacteria. The bacteria can cause tooth decay and gum disease. The amount of plaque on the teeth gives the hygienist an idea of how well the daily brushing and flossing of the patient’s teeth are completed on a regular basis. The scaler is used to remove hardened plaque or calculus from the teeth. The mirror is used to look closely at the surfaces of the teeth a...
in taking patient clinical history, also describe the desirable qualities of an exceptional patient interviewer. Explain the value of six categories of question used in obtaining patient histories. Describe the importance of clarifying the chief complaint. Detail the components of each of the sacred elements is a clinical history. The six types of interview questions and skills are: open ended, facilitation, silence, subtle repetition, and summarization. Soon after the sacred seven develop which are: localization, chronology, quality, severity, onset, and aggravating or alleviation on the affected area. All of these questions are prior to the x-ray
Over time as individuals age and are faced with access to care issues they may begin to neglect their oral health. As time passes between dental hygiene cleanings or dentist visits the presence of oral disease may begin to increase.
A 39 years old male adult attended for a regular 6 monthly dental check up and routine scaling. The patient reports to suffer from anxiety, he is a teacher, a non-smoker, non-drinker and a regular dental attender.
Optimal oral visual screening for OC remains a simple and essential tool to identify any suspicious lesions and potentially increase survival. A thorough visual and tactile examination in dental patients, particularly those with a history of smoking and elderly is warranted. Dentists should stay alert for signs of oral potential malignancy and counsel their patients about risk factors for oral cancer. Although OPMDs were rare, our results confirm the importance of a thorough chairside screening by dentists to detect any mucosal changes.
Key words such as closed and open questions are very well explained. Differentiating when to use each type of question is described and useful for facilitating an interactive dialogue. It is important to understand how to assist the patient in relaying important details and to ensure that what the patient has expressed is understood.
The comparative need was particularly useful as other oral health projects were carried out for the same community topic, aged care facilities.