K enough of frens hearing me complain about dental sch, but the intangible rewards are really wonderful.
I came into dentistry with some goals and expectations. i was quite sure of what i want. I maybe at times be the “maverick” or the crazy odd one out who seems so passionate about dentistry when some ppl can look at me in the face and say dentistry is alternative to medicine for them.
Dental sch is not easy; managing patient’s appointments then calling patients, doing admin paperwork before and after seeing patient(Argh!!!), reading up, preparing for the session, designing and making dentures for patients, worrying about clinical work/patients when we are supposed to listen to lectures…… are all not seen by ppl. When finally seeing patients, there’s the factor when they fail to turn up/or are super late, and not the least when the most fierce teacher is around to scold you. (most of them are wonderful) The intangible rewards are really what really make the hard work and effort worthwhile. Recent 2 experiences with patients proved so.
1st is one that initially I’ve not probably communicate sufficiently with XXX that XXX don’t seems to understand or care what i say/do. i finally realised that instead of fearing not doing the “tangible things” fast enough, the most important is communication. well, in retrospect, this is what i always wanted to do once i decided on dentistry- to talk to patients. (it maybe hard in sch at times cos we need to fulfil certain requirements and are bounded by very limited time constraints). but i realised now that no matter what, the psychological aspect of patient is part of the treatment. make the choice to make time for them even if i may lack behind my peers in term of schedule. well, it’s not wise to say i can be allow to lack behind, instead all the more i should aim to improve on very efficient communication, time management, so i can spend more quality time to talk/understand the patient. well back to XXX who become very motivated and so excited about brushing! A 180 degree change due to other factors too(maybe also due to the tooth paste i gave XXX that is speical ha), but really encouraging for me as i wanted them to be able to learn how to improve their oral health. i thought last time that the “heart is most important”, but in the end i realised that that only part of the equation/statement. the “heart is most important and must be coupled with best communication”. failure to do so may not allow the patient to understand/feel that you care…
the 2nd person is that encouraged me is my first patient whom i extracted teeth for- apparently AAA has dental anxiety previously when taking out teeth some years ago even with LA given. This time round, AAA told me it wasn’t painful(during the extraction), and the most happy was when AAA put thumbs up when i showed AAA the extracted teeth on the tray. 
I must really give credit to the oral surgeon Supervisor who supervised me in extraction, she helped me alot and was very patient when i was so inexperienced. maybe the reason for such painless extraction was due to much of her effort. thks! nevertheless, i feel happy for my patient! (thks my mom who prayed for success of my first extraction too. ha.).
To me, i don’t mind going the extra mile for patients cos most of them understand that you care! must learn how to communicate better!
CCC= CARE, CONCERN, COMMUNICATION!
YOUR SMILE IS MY REWARD!
RUIXIANG
MAY YOU HAVE A SWEET DREAM WITHOUT DENTAL CARIES.
