My reflection on the treatment of a 40 year old, female dental caries patient

One of my greatest achievements as dental hygienists is the ability to help my patients overcome their periodontal problems through an elaborate treatment and personal change process. The patient I selected for my case study was suffering from medium dental caries. I had a wonderful opportunity in engaging this patient in a four-month long treatment regime that opened up my eyes to the realities of managing patients with dental caries.

On initial presentation, the patient had a fair to poor oral hygiene despite her regular visits with her GDP. One of the most shocking things is that certain patients, like my case study patient do not seem to have any form of concern or worries about their poor dental health. Dental caries is a serious disease because as research indicates; there is a link between periodontal disease and cardiovascular diseases/conditions. One might end up having a myocardial infarction simply because of their careless attitude towards dental caries (Matilla, 1993). The fact that the patient was in her 40s coupled with her periodontal disease predisposed her to acute myocardial infarction. There is a great need for public sensitization on the dangers of common periodontal conditions.

Life and career lessons

My encounter with the patient taught me the importance of proper communication with patients. I realized that dental hygienists can use communication in effecting positive change in their patients. I also leant of the need of evidence-based practice in all clinical operations. Another thing that I realised while treating this patient, was that sometimes when you are looking at the carious teeth on the radiograph, you cannot accurately predict how deep the lesions are. Before carrying out treatment; I always told myself that the lesions are not that deep, only to find them deeper than what I actually anticipated. This stresses the need for an elaborate diagnosis tool and criteria in the diagnosis of primary caries.

How I would improve patient treatment if I had to do it differently

If given another chance with a patient suffering from dental caries or any other periodontal condition, I would ensure that my diagnosis is based on clinical visual diagnostic criteria coupled with technical or laboratory data. I would also ensure that I treat the concept of connecting with patients as a basic ingredient of patient care. I also failed to educate the patient of the risk factors to poor dental health. In the future, I would ensure that all my patients are better educated on how to maintain a health periodontal health and on ways of preventing future attacks. I would need to come up with better ways of conducting periodontal risk assessment. This would include salivary tests, digital radiography, use of fluorescence cameras and pH analysis. Enamel preservation is a critical element of caries treatment. My future treatments would include this important procedure. I would also advise my patients on the need for behavioral modification as part of the process of caries management.

Conclusion

One of the greatest lessons I learnt in the process of treating the patient is that the very first step in any given treatment decision is conducting a proper diagnosis. It is important for instance, to establish the caries risk level before embarking on any treatment exercise. Proper communication must also be fostered with patients in order to effect any behavioral changes. I’m glad that my patient left happier than she was initially. This experience will always help me in my life long career as dental hygienists.

References

Mattila KJ. (1993).Dental infections as a risk factor for acute myocardial infarction. Eur Heart J.

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