Me modeling teeth out of wax
Today is the first day of my last week of internships. I am with Dr. Andrea Smith and her team. Dr. Smith and I went to the Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic on Monday, which was a 45 minute drive, and this allowed us to get to know each other better. Once we arrived we set up the office she uses every Monday and then I was introduced to the rest of the staff there.
Our two memorable patients from the Clinic were both Cancer/Tumor patients. The first one was an older lady who came in to see Dr. Smith after having seen a lot of other doctors, she had a tumor growing on the tip of her nose as well as out of her left nostril. We were consulting her on what the options would be after she had it removed, or what the issues could be if she didn’t.
Patient with prosthetic nose
Her choices included having a partial prosthetic nose that she could glue on, or to wear a designed mask over her lower face. The patient then left knowing what the options were so she could further consult doctors. Our next cancer patient had suffered a facial cancer which led to the removal of her nose. She had been trying to replace the hole with a real skin flap until eventually she decided to take the prosthetic route. Below is a photo of her with the prosthetic on. As I hope you can see this is an amazing prosthetic, as without it, she is left with a triangular shaped space which, if you could imagine, looks like a skeletal model.
Following my day off on Tuesday, I had my first full day in Doctor Smith’s base office on Wednesday where I met the rest of the team and got settled in. I was able to stand in on procedures and see a Prosthodontists regular work schedule. The following two days I got into the lab work a lot more. One of Dr. Smiths patients wanted whitening trays, which I know how to make thanks to Dr. Buttars and his staff, so I actually got to make them. The girls at the office also let me take impressions of their teeth and then take an X-ray and develop it. I also attempted to create teeth from the root up to the base with wax. This week was an amazing experience and I want to thank Dr. Smith, Raquel, Caroline, and Ashley for teaching and helping me through the whole experience.
I have had such an amazing time at all of these offices and now have more of an insight on what different specialties are on offer in dentistry and want to thank everybody who made this possible.
🙂 x