So I’ve decided to blog my life as a dental hygienist. I have been employed for nearly 6 months full time, but I have been licensed for over a year. I hope to add new stories atleast weekly, though I feel I may have to update a little more frequently than that. In the dental office, you never know what you’re going to get!
The Stories You Are About To See Are True.
The Names Have Been Changed To Protect The Innocent =)
Some Stories I can think of that have happened before I began to blog:
In my first week as a hygienist, I had one of my very first child patients. (At this office, that is) and she was a BLAST. Not shy or scared at all. After we finished with the appointment and we decided to get to the good stuff (the goodie bag and treasure chest!!), she came up to me and thanked me and tried to hand me $.53. I just assumed she was showing me how much money she had so I said, “Wow, that’s a lot of money. Are you saving up for something special?” To which she replied, “No, it’s for you. I wanted to give you a tip for doing such an amazing job.” I didn’t want to offend her but I said I couldn’t accept her tip but that I enjoyed spending time with her and I was looking forward to seeing her again in 6 months. Her mother looked at me and said, “No, really. You have to take that tip. She has been carrying it with her to give to you for days. She was very excited about giving you a tip.” So I, of course, HAD to take the money. She was SO EXCITED that I took it. It may be the best $.53 I’ve ever earned. I still have it in a drawer in the office. =)
This story reminds me of another interaction I think is blog worthy between myself and a 5 year old patient I had a couple of months ago. He was in for his first ever dental appointment and school exam. He came back to my operatory by himself and was NOT shy. He was very talkative and I asked him if he was excited to start Kindgarten, to which he replied, “YES!” So, since he seemed to like this subject, I stuck with it. I said “What are you going to do in Kindergarten, do you know?” He just looked at me puzzled and shrugged his shoulders. So, I continued by saying, ” I bet you will get to meet all sorts of new people, that will be fun.” Still staring at me puzzled and kind of appauled, he says, “They’re not PEOPLE, they are KIDS!!” To which I said, while trying to hold back my laughter, “Well, that’s true, but kids are just smaller people right?” He laughed and said “Oh, yeah!” I don’t think I stopped smiling about his comment for the rest of the day.