Ethics Project

The ethics project was a way for us to learn that each person has their own personal ethical philosophies acquired through education and experience.  As dental hygienists, we need to advocate and incorporate ethics into our everyday lives, as we will face ethical issues when providing care, whether it be towards the patients or co-workers.  This project gave me the chance to ask the difficult questions pertaining to drug/alcohol abuse in the dental office.  A classmate and I interviewed a registered dental hygienist, who is still practicing and has much experience with this topic. 

When interviewing this person and describing scenarios where ethics came into play, I learned that everyone has a different method of dealing with these issues and that sometimes there’s not always a right or wrong way of doing things.  I learned that a lot of your own personality has a lot to do with your ethical practice and how you would handle certain situations.  Because the person I interviewed had so much experience with drug and alcohol abuse in the clinic, I think I learned above the scope of things. Like how to treat these patients and why some people abuse these substances in the first place. 

It gave me a great foundation to reference if I ever experience this issue.  The person I interviewed was extremely helpful and provided ethically based answers.  Above all else, you could really tell that her main focus was the patient’s well being, which is the kind of hygienist I would like to become.    

Clinical/Patient Experience

When choosing my patient for the practice case doc for Theory, I choose a patient who was diagnosed with down syndrome.  I had never treated a patient who presented with this condition and was interested to see how the syndrome affected the individual’s oral health, hygiene practice, and how I would need to modify my treatment.  I did some research before seeing my patient and learned that down syndrome can contribute to significant oral health effects and impact dental hygiene care by limited intellect and physical inabilities.  Periodontal disease and caries are the most significant oral health problems in people with down syndrome.  Xerostomia, mouth breathing, enlarged tongue, malocclusion, bruxism, poor oral hygiene, and conical-shaped roots can also be common negative contributing factors of the syndrome, which the patient is experiencing.  My patient was accompanied by her mother, who is solely responsible for her daughter’s oral hygiene.  The patient did report however, that she did brush her front teeth occasionally.

When using the cavitron to implement debridement, my patient reported feeling as though she was drowning, and she suffered from a severe gag reflex.  I had to cavitron two teeth a time, could not seat my patient fully back, and I placed warm water in the water bottle to decrease sensitivity.

I had a really positive experience with this patient and I learned a lot.  Many factors and conditions can contribute negatively to a patient’s current oral health.  It is my professional responsibility as a hygienist to not only identify these conditions, but to provide the upmost quality of care to restore current decay, prevent further disease, and to give patients the knowledge and skills to best suit his/her individual needs.  Each patient requires customized care by addressing current conditions and risk factors that could be contributing to his/her oral health.  I learned that no matter what condition the patient presents, every patient deserves customized quality care.  I also learned that I need not fear or be intimidated by conditions I am unfamiliar with.  My patient was the sweetest person imaginable.  I learned that it is not only important to inform the patient what you are doing step by step, but to tell the care-taker as well, especially in regards to at-home oral hygiene practices.