Artifacts – Belinda Yip's Journey

Business Practice

DHYG 410.5 The Business of a Private Dental Practice (S.Sumi)

Another class that was part of Dr. Kanji’s course was the class on Private Dental Practice with Susan Sumi. I had never had exposure to the practice of business before and I had never taken interest in the past. I never really thought it was pertinent to me as I always envisioned myself as a clinician. However, I do think the new knowledge gained from this lecture helped me understand the value of my work and why it is important to manage clients’ behaviour, especially when they are not being respectful of my time as a professional. Furthermore, I feel that the practice of calling our own clients and managing them in our way at school has helped me in practicing this aspect of professional management.

Job Market and Employment Survey Class

CDHA 2017 Job Market & Employment Survey (1)

I had the opportunity to take a course with Dr. Kanji who is the program director of my program at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Kanji specializes in professional practice and we went over many aspects of life following graduation. One of the classes I enjoyed the most was the one where we focused on the current job market in Canada and the statistics for each province. Dr. Kanji emphasized the importance of establishing an employment contract as well, and the documents we reviewed can be used in negotiation of the contract. I have always found it difficult to negotiate with past positions, but the use of evidence such as this survey to make my opinions known is a great way to start. This further solidifies my philosophy of using evidence-based information when decision making. Oftentimes, we get used to advocating for the client, but forget that we ourselves need to advocate for the profession as well.

Community Moment of Self Reflection and Change

410 Comm Reflection BYip

I had the pleasure of not only doing oral health promotion but overall health promotion in community at the Union Gospel Mission in Surrey. A gentleman from the New Westminster location came to see me and described his hesitation towards a new medication that was prescribed. He was very confused about the healthcare system and where to navigate to find more information. With both my knowledge of the healthcare system and prior experience in the pharmacy field, I advised him accordingly and he seemed very grateful. At this time, I realized how important my role of a healthcare provider is outside of the clinical therapy component. It was clear that the knowledge that I provided was appreciated and deemed credible, even when some times in more traditional practice settings, it seems repetitive. With this experience, I find that I can enter my career with more confidence.

Advocacy: Community work at the Elizabeth Fry Society

At the Elizabeth Fry Society, our team of four saw marginalized women and children and provided free dental hygiene services, including debridement and oral hygiene instruction. This population had low health literacy and therefore oral health education was a big focus. As dental health is not covered under the government’s Medical Services Plan that all Canadians are part of, it may be difficult for these clients to access services and take care of their own health. In addition, some clients with Social Services Benefits or with Persons with Disabilities designation may have the means to pay for services, but some dental offices may not accept these forms of payment due to the complicated billing process. Furthermore, some dental professionals are not trained in culturally safe practice, therefore clients may not want to access care due to traumatic past experiences. Therefore, by providing the clinic, clients of this population are able to see a dental profession with low barriers or be referred out to other more appropriate clinics if needed. Prior to my experience, I did have some negative biases towards this population. However, after working with them, I have come to enjoy this special population as they are pretty receptive and appreciative of the work that we provide.

Clinical Therapy: HbA1C Levels

A case presentation on Ms. KG was done to educate my colleagues on what HbA1C levels are and how it impacts a client with Diabetes Mellitus type 2. As seen on the diagnosis slide, Ms. KG presents with several sites of chronic periodontitis and was not aware previously of the poor wound healing ability typical of clients with Diabetes Mellitus type 2. Through nutritional counselling and the case presentation, I was able to educate my client a bit more about the relationship between her systemic conditions and oral health. I believe this is important in clinical therapy as it is not always about debridement. The reasons for inflammation should be addressed first in order to truly improve the client’s oral health.

310 Case Presentation Belinda Yip

Policy Use: Investigation of International Health-Care Systems

I investigated the health-care system and dental care system between the United States of America and Canada. Although Canada’s system is not encompassing of oral health, it is still better in comparison to the system in the states as medical services are covered. Both the United States and Canada should consider revisions to their systems in order improve the oral health and other supplementary health needs of its citizens. After this assignment, I learned that it is really in the scope of a dental hygienist to be pursuing these changes in policy to improve the oral health of the population.

412 Assign 2

Oral Health Education: Nutritional Counselling

In third year, I had the pleasure to conduct a nutritional counselling session with Ms. KGL. Ms. KGL is a type 2 Diabetes Mellitus client who has been on medications her whole life. Although Ms. KGL already eats a balanced diet, and is aware of the food items she should avoid, I was able to give her more of an overview of how her condition impacts her oral health, which is not common knowledge. Ms. KGL was very surprised to learn that her systemic condition could impact her oral health, and appreciated the knowledge that was disseminated. Through this experience, I learned that comprehensive care means that even though the client may already be aware of their systemic conditions, it is important to reiterate its effects on oral health, as this is not commonly discussed with the physician.

KGL Diet

Disease Prevention: Fluoride Varnish Rotation

In third year, I was given the opportunity to go to White Rock to attend a clinic for fluoride varnish. This was probably my favourite rotation as I really do love spending time with children. According to a study by Li et al., early childhood caries are the most prevalent infectious diseases of childhood, and affect ~78% of the child population.(1) 41% of these cases are severe. With this knowledge, I understand how important it is to education families and parents of the important need to maintain their child’s oral hygiene. Fluoride is a helpful compound in preventing oral caries, and sometimes at the rotation, may be all that the child gets if they are not brushing properly.

Fluoride Varnish Reflection

Li Y, Wulaerhan J, Liu Y, Abudureyimu A, Zhao J. Prevalence of severe early childhood caries and associated socioeconomic and behavioral factors in Xinjiang, China: a cross-sectional study. BMC Oral Health. 2017;17:144.

Scientific Investigation and Leadership: Change in Plaque Index Policy

During our policy analysis class in third year, I investigated the efficacy of O’Leary’s plaque index at the Nobel Biocare Oral Health Centre at UBC. Although all sites are documented, the severity of the plaque cannot be measured. For example, there should be a difference of whether plaque is present on the whole surface of the tooth, or just the gingival margin of the distal aspect. This information would affect the oral hygiene instruction for the client, a key service provided by dental hygienists. Additionally, scanning of the paper document is not a mandatory policy at UBC and therefore information that is valuable is sometimes not present in the client’s file. Thus, this policy at UBC should be re-evaluated to determine a more effective way to conduct this assessment.

DHYG 400b_ Assignment 2 Part 1

Scientific Investigation and Leadership: Marijuana-use and its correlation with Oral Cancer

In third year, we were assigned to do a literature review in a quantitative manner. The topic I chose was whether Marijuana-use increases the risk of developing oral cancer. Through my research, I discovered that data shows both positive and negative effects on the oral cavity with marijuana use. Therefore, current research is controversial and more research needs to be conducted. As cannabis is now legal in Canada, the importance of this should be prioritized to understand the effects of this drug.

461 Assignment 3 Belinda Yip