Oral Surgery Rotation

Oral Surgery was by far my favorite rotation that I have been on so far. I along with Alyssa and Beth saw lichan plannus, sialolith, osteonecrosis and many other things. It was horrible but at the same time very interesting to see many examples of what we learned in Oral Pathology. I love being in this program because I am learning and applying what I have learned every day in clinic. That is something we really didn't do very often on the undergraduate campus.

Also, with one patient in oral surgery a fourth year dental student did 6 extractions. There were no complications. He ended the appointment with instructions such as not sucking through a straw, no spitting, no smoking or alcohol use for at least a week and a list of others. After we left the Nelson clinic to go back to the dental school I saw the same patient sitting on a bench smoking! I couldn't believe it. It made me angry thinking this is what our patients do right after we give oral hygiene instructions and even after speaking with them about smoking cessation they will smoke as soon as they leave the building. It makes me angry that people don't listen to health care providers and it only harms them. The problem is that they already know that it is a problem and still can't or won't stop smoking!