40 / 48
40
|
Volume 3 Issue 5
S
upporting
Y
our
P
ractice
Are you our next “
Masked Dentist
”?
Have you any funny or memorable incidents to share based on your experiences in clinical practice?
We are looking for dentists who would like to share their stories with their colleagues—in a safe,
anonymous and nonjudgmental manner. We take the Masked Dentist approach because we believe
that the sharing of experiences is worthwhile and educative, and we don’t want to hinder such sharing
if people have a concern about being identified.
Please feel free to contact Dr. O’Keefe directly at
jokeefe@cda-adc.ca .“Another story from that same externship was about a patient who arrived at Bob’s
office with an older set of dentures that he had taken a pair of pliers to and removed
all the teeth. When Bob asked why he’d done that, the patient said that set (made by
another dentist) weren’t white enough.
Bob made a set with the whitest colour possible—and the patient loved it. He introduced
me to the patient on the street one day and the patient had great praise for Bob—and
for his very white teeth!”
“In my early days in practice, I did extensive work with
seniors and their dentures. I did some challenging work
with stroke victims who needed special dentures because
of changed bites and sagging faces. But my next story
relates to a lady, who hadn’t suffered a stroke. I examined her
and clearly she had a set of dentures that were two sizes too
big! I made her a new set, but she was reluctant to give up the
ones she was wearing because they were her late husband’s.”
“My final story comes from a nurse who worked in seniors’ care for years. This nurse one-
upped my previous story and related an incident in which a lady arrived in care and when
her husband came to visit he made a stink because they had “lost” her dentures. He phoned
to apologize the next day because he found them when he took his shirt off and they fell
out of his back where they had been lodged. They figured he had rolled on to them in bed
and did not notice them.”