Getting the Ball Rolling

So far, I have been lucky enough to be able to volunteer at an orthodontist's office where the people are lovely and I am learning things here and there. It is important to note that I am off to a slow start, since I was not working there during the summer and my previous schedule hadn't allowed me to work more than a few hours at the office.


My time spent at Dr. Banh's clinic has been filled with general helping out with menial tasks. My first day was spent filing away patient data (and conducting my first interview), while my second day consisted of organizing papers into packets.

The multitude of patient files in need of being filed away.

After I finished my interview on the first day, one of the assistants, Roberta, showed me a few different appliances that are used by Dr. Banh.

The first appliance (pictured top left) is a skull with TADs, or temporary anchorage devices, screwed into the bone of the mouth in order to move teeth into a desirable position. The second appliance (top right) are different types of palatal expanders. Their purpose is to widen the upper jaw to create a better fit with the lower jaw. The third appliance (bottom left) are braces with clear brackets, which are more aesthetically pleasing than traditional metal brackets. The fourth and final picture (bottom right) is of retainers, which are normally given to patients after their braces are removed in order to prevent shifting of the teeth. At Dr. Banh's clinic, patients are able to design their retainers however they like, and the retainer for the palate has a very cute watermelon design as an example. I thought it was pretty cool to see what types of devices orthodontists use and what purpose those tiny appliances serve.

The packets I put together on the second day are one of the ways the clinic gets the word out about orthodontic healthcare and their business. The letter portion of the packet was written to the parents of elementary school students, informing them about National Orthodontic Health month and the care Banh Smiles offers. The other paper attached was a coloring page for a contest. The winning class of the contest will win a pizza party sponsored by Dr. Banh. I think the idea is lovely and is an excellent method for promotion and raising awareness. Unfortunately, the packets took all three hours of my time that day and I got cramps from moving papers back and forth. I'm thankful I didn't have to staple them, too.

The informational letters and coloring pages that I was supposed to form into packets.

Blog 6 - Second Interview Preparation

Who is your mentor and where do they work?

My mentor's name is Dr. Dan D. Banh DDS. He works at his privately operated orthodontics clinic, Banh Smiles, in Covina.

What five questions will you ask them about their background?

1. What was your life like growing up? 
2. Where did you attend college? For how long?
3. How do you feel your experience in school has affected the way you practice today?
4. When did you open your clinic? What struggles did you have getting started?
5. What do you find most rewarding about your job?
6. How does your starting salary compare to your current salary?

Blog 5 - Mentorship Reflection

• Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship? If you haven't found one yet, describe your experience so far in the search of a mentor.

I found my mentorship just by going to my regular orthodontist. After much thought, I decided on orthodontics as my topic and visited Dr. Banh's office to ask him to be my mentor. The reason I chose Dr. Banh as my mentor is because I was very satisfied with the results of my treatment and the way he and the staff treat the patients. Since Dr. Banh already teaches regularly at USC's school of dentistry, he was more than happy to mentor me and teach me about the field of orthodontics.

• Research question: What has been your most important article you have read so far and why?

So far, the most important thing I have read was chapter one of Orthodontics: Current Principles and Techniques, titled "The Decision-making Process in Orthodontics." This chapter includes the basics of what an orthodontist should look for in order to diagnose a patient, as well as guidelines for treating a patient. I feel that these two things are crucial to know since they are pretty much the center of an orthodontist's job.