This week I started my internship at Ross Orthodontics with Dr. Ross and Dr. Munn. I spent most of my time with the orthodontic assistants and they showed me around the office and showed me what a normal day is like at their office. I spent some time on Monday with Dr. Munn and he taught me some of the basics of orthodontics and told me about the process of getting into dental school and the different types of dental careers. The next day I spent most of my time shadowing Dr. Ross. He began to teach me many thing about orthodontics right off the bat and made it very interesting. Dr. Ross was much busier than Dr. Munn so I ended up learning much more the second day.
The amount of hazards in an orthodontic office are not as abundant as they are in other medical practices. There were very few sharp materials in the office. The biggest safety hazard at the practice was the risk of the spread of disease. The doctors and their assistants spend most of their time with their hands in the patients mouths. If they do not wear the proper PPE then this would increase the risk of the spread of disease in the office. There was also a lack of chemical materials. I saw nothing in the office that could have really been harmful to the patient. If there is any unsafe materials, they are kept away safely.
The office was very efficient and from what I saw there was no need to use proper ergonomics. There was very minimal moving at all in the office. The daily routine involved calling a patient to the back and then having them sit down in the chair and then proceeding to treat them based on their condition. The only ergonomical thing I could see in the office was the use of sitting in chairs instead of standing over the patient's. This is used to help save the energy of doctors and assistants by letting them rest their legs and improve their overall performance.
PPE is a very big deal at my job site. When working inside of someone's mouth, you increase the risk of spreading disease exponentially. To prevent the spread of disease all of the doctors and assistants must use gloves before even thinking about putting their hands in a patient's mouth. Another big thing that they must wear is a mask. This is to protect themselves from splashes and other things from getting into their own mouth and nose. These two PPE’s help to prevent the spread of disease in the office.
OSHA makes safety standards that must be taken into effect in the orthodontic office. PPE is one of the precautions that must be taken according to OSHA. Other things that OSHA makes the orthodontic office have is a safety exit route (in case of fires or other emergencies), properly working electrical equipment, and hazard communication (in case of hazardous emergencies like chemical spills).
I am not very well aware of my job site’s safety protocols. From the time I got there to the time I left, I did not have time to learn them because of how busy they are. I am not aware if the site even has a Material Safety Data Sheet since they do not even have any hazardous materials in the office, or at least I have not seen any. Fire safety is something that needs to be very prominent there since the site uses a large amount electrical equipment and this increases the risk of fire hazard. There is an emergency exit in the back of the office, but that is the only safety precaution that I have noticed myself.
OSHA sets guidelines that require certain practices to follow a specific set of rules. They have a specific set of rules for dental offices too. These rules are mostly centered around the protection of other patients from bloodborne pathogens. New employees must have CDC training of how to take the proper precautions on bloodborne pathogens within the first week of working at the office. All employees must also have a TB test to show that they do not carry the disease. The dentist must take an annual test to see if there is a risk of TB infection in their office. Which the paperwork for this will be stored in the OSHA workbook at the office. Another OSHA guideline that must be followed is the use of PPE when working with patients and properly taking care of different sharps and other hazardous materials. The dentist must also make sure that all of the equipment that he/she is using is sterile. (Oberman, 2011)
Next week we will be working on communication and how communication skills are used in the internship site. I have already noticed how important it is in the office and how everyone communicates with each other. I will elaborate later on that next week.
Works Cited
Oberman, S. (2011, November 30). Clinical Practice Management. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
The amount of hazards in an orthodontic office are not as abundant as they are in other medical practices. There were very few sharp materials in the office. The biggest safety hazard at the practice was the risk of the spread of disease. The doctors and their assistants spend most of their time with their hands in the patients mouths. If they do not wear the proper PPE then this would increase the risk of the spread of disease in the office. There was also a lack of chemical materials. I saw nothing in the office that could have really been harmful to the patient. If there is any unsafe materials, they are kept away safely.
The office was very efficient and from what I saw there was no need to use proper ergonomics. There was very minimal moving at all in the office. The daily routine involved calling a patient to the back and then having them sit down in the chair and then proceeding to treat them based on their condition. The only ergonomical thing I could see in the office was the use of sitting in chairs instead of standing over the patient's. This is used to help save the energy of doctors and assistants by letting them rest their legs and improve their overall performance.
PPE is a very big deal at my job site. When working inside of someone's mouth, you increase the risk of spreading disease exponentially. To prevent the spread of disease all of the doctors and assistants must use gloves before even thinking about putting their hands in a patient's mouth. Another big thing that they must wear is a mask. This is to protect themselves from splashes and other things from getting into their own mouth and nose. These two PPE’s help to prevent the spread of disease in the office.
OSHA makes safety standards that must be taken into effect in the orthodontic office. PPE is one of the precautions that must be taken according to OSHA. Other things that OSHA makes the orthodontic office have is a safety exit route (in case of fires or other emergencies), properly working electrical equipment, and hazard communication (in case of hazardous emergencies like chemical spills).
I am not very well aware of my job site’s safety protocols. From the time I got there to the time I left, I did not have time to learn them because of how busy they are. I am not aware if the site even has a Material Safety Data Sheet since they do not even have any hazardous materials in the office, or at least I have not seen any. Fire safety is something that needs to be very prominent there since the site uses a large amount electrical equipment and this increases the risk of fire hazard. There is an emergency exit in the back of the office, but that is the only safety precaution that I have noticed myself.
OSHA sets guidelines that require certain practices to follow a specific set of rules. They have a specific set of rules for dental offices too. These rules are mostly centered around the protection of other patients from bloodborne pathogens. New employees must have CDC training of how to take the proper precautions on bloodborne pathogens within the first week of working at the office. All employees must also have a TB test to show that they do not carry the disease. The dentist must take an annual test to see if there is a risk of TB infection in their office. Which the paperwork for this will be stored in the OSHA workbook at the office. Another OSHA guideline that must be followed is the use of PPE when working with patients and properly taking care of different sharps and other hazardous materials. The dentist must also make sure that all of the equipment that he/she is using is sterile. (Oberman, 2011)
Next week we will be working on communication and how communication skills are used in the internship site. I have already noticed how important it is in the office and how everyone communicates with each other. I will elaborate later on that next week.
Works Cited
Oberman, S. (2011, November 30). Clinical Practice Management. Retrieved October 19, 2015.