My biggest weakness answer is that I tend to not ask for help when I need it. I will take on more than I can handle which can lead to frustration or just plain running behind schedule. (and nobody is happy about that!) So, I try to remind myself that we work as a team and that means it’s ok for me to ask for help if I need to!

I also did this. I was hired full time right out of school, but my position did not start for several months. I was SO nervous that I would forget everything I learned and lose all the skills I had gained in the clinic, so I searched for temp work right away. It was very intimidating and I was literally just thrown right in to my first patient’s appointment. It wasn’t pretty! but I got through it and I quickly became comfortable and confident. It was definitely challenging going from office to office, but I learned many different systems, worked with several types of people and really was able to decide what aspects of the practice were important to me. I even continued to temp on my days off for a bit after starting my FT position. Once I had kids it became too much, but I do recommend it. You’ll do great!

Thanks, I will probably end up just replacing them w/ another pair of Danskos. I’ve always sworn by them. I was just hoping somebody had a less expensive option that was comparable. Thanks again!

I currently use a diode laser for certain patients. I use it at every srp appt and again at their perio maintenance if indicated (bop, no pd resolution, etc) We only have one laser in the office so it’s hard to use it for every single pt that presents w/ bleeding so I generally reserve it for my srp appts. I am hoping that we end up purchasing another laser so that I can make it standard practice for any pt w/ active inflammation/bleeding.
We do not charge for use if it is part of a prophy or perio appt. We do charge to treat lesions such as aphthous ulcers and cold sores.

I just finished a year of pumping at work. It is definitely not easy but I was able to make it work. It was nearly impossible to pump on a set schedule so I grabbed every opportunity I got. If I finished early w/ a patient I would pump for 10 mins or so before my next pt. I pumped on my lunch break for a longer session and every time I had a no show/cancellation. When my daughter got a little older and was nursing less it was easy to scale back on pumping but I always tried to pump at least 3x day in the beginning then I tapered down to 2x and eventually to one time at lunch. I also work w/ amazing staff who helped me get it done. Like I said, it wasn’t always easy but I managed to continue breast feeding for a year. Good luck!

This is a toughie! I’m actually in the same predicament more or less. I am 8 weeks pregnant after having 3 miscarriages over the last year. My employer and co-workers were aware of my past pregnancies so after each loss I had to deal with letting them know….which was just awful.
Anyway, this time around I am being very careful not to tell anybody until we are in the “safe” zone. I have to wear a lead apron at work and of course everybody asked if I was pregnant. I simply told them “no, but we are trying and I’d like to be extra precautious”. That seemed to work but I still think that they are on to me. Unfortunately, working in a small office environment there is not real sense of privacy. You certainly are not required to discuss it with anybody but be aware that they may figure it out on their own.

I completely agree Sue. We had a mom that would miss bringing her child in for appointments and then when she did finally show up it was all “whitening, whitening, whitening”. I had to carefully explain that good hygiene habits come first and once they are established she could worry about cosmetics. Mind you, the child was 8yo at the time. Mom insisted we schedule a bleaching session (which of course we refused). I explained that she was too young and it shouldn’t be a concern at this age. At her next prophy visit she had of course done otc bleaching on this young girl. I can’t imagine the body image issues she will have growing up 🙁

I am not a fan of it. Our doctor swears by it and we are to use it on every patient when screening for sealants, although most of the time she ignores the numbers anyway. I don’t trust the numbers as I have seen it fail to detect caries and go off the charts in areas that are not decayed. The diagnodent we use has trouble calibrating and the whole process is just frustrating to me. Waste of time when you have new radiographs and an explorer. Just my opinion though….

Good to know that I’m not alone in thinking this is absurd! I actually started to feel a little guilty about my out right refusal and disgust at the suggestion….I needed this verification that I was not crazy! I stand by my decision and am positive that there is no legal way she can make me pay for a broken chair. I have been in this office for 4 years and have never had a patient damage the chair b/c they were to heavy…I’m not too worried that it will happen going forward. However, you all are right, I need to find a new office. It has been a long time coming and unfortunately this is not the first time she has shown insensitivity toward certain people. Unfortunately, it has recently become worse and much more difficult to ignore

I do a 6 wk re-eval and use the 4910 code then the pt is placed on 3 mo recalls. Dr does not do an exam at the re-eval. I was recently at a CE course and the speaker said that checking probing depths at 6 week re-evals is a waste of time b/c it takes longer than that for tissues to heal and pockets to shrink and that we should be be evaluating poh and bleeding only. Anybody else ever hear this? I always do a whole new perio chart at the 6 week appt.