Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

I intend to continue shadowing my mentor and study each of the cases he takes on while I am present.

2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I will provide pictures of what I observe and do as evidence of my 30 hours.

3. Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

This component will help me explore my topic in more depth through experience. Orthodontics is partly learned through experience and observation, so I plan to utilize those two learning tools. Additionally, it will help me get research material and find my answers to my essential question.

Independent Component 1

LITERAL
a. I, Marisa Ruiz, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 34 hours of work.
b. My mentor, Dr. Banh, DDS, and the Dental Board of California (DBC) have helped me complete my independent component. My mentor was gracious enough to let me shadow him and to break down some of his treatments. The DBC gave me a sense of direction for completing necessary courses.
c. Here is a link to my updated Senior Project Hours Log.
d. My 34 hours have consisted of shadowing my mentor, learning about how the practice is run, and taking courses that are required for unlicensed dental assisting (Basic Life Support, Dental Practice Act).

INTERPRETIVE
The work I have completed is important to my project because the best way for me to find out the most important factor to consider when treating a patient is for me to watch an orthodontist at work and to ask questions directly. Additionally, the coursework I completed was helpful in understanding some of the basic knowledge required to enter the dental field. Dentistry is really the first step toward specializing in orthodontics, after all.

Certificate of Completion for course on Dental Practice Act

Certificate of Completion for Basic Life Support course

Watching the making of alginate molds
during slower hours

TADs - an appliance that my first interviewee
explained to me and that I saw my mentor
working on while I shadowed

APPLIED

This component helped me understand the foundation of my topic better through eyes-on (I wasn't allowed to actually do much myself) and face-to-face learning. Whenever I had a question about an appliance or the purpose of a patient's treatment, I had the opportunity to chime in with, "What does that do, Dr. Banh? How does that one work? Does that stay on all day? Where does that attach?" and similar questions. Taking courses helped me by showing me what guidelines an orthodontist (or regular dentist) must follow when treating a patient and what is required of them from the beginning. 

Digging Deeper into the Treatment of TMJ

Half a year ago, I discovered a painful popping and clicking as I opened and closed my mouth, followed by ringing in the ears. A visit to my doctor, my orthodontist, and Google have shown me that I have a condition called TMJ, AKA TMD, AKA temporomandibular joint disorder. In simplest terms, it's the dysfunction between the muscles that move the jaw and the joints that connect the mandible to the skull.

Over the course of the school year, my research has brought me to scholarly articles on the disorder, as well of its common origin and the best treatment options.

At this point it is unclear to me whether or not TMJ is caused by orthodontic braces or is even connected to orthodontic treatment. I am also on the hunt for successful non-surgical remedies, but there isn't much luck narrowing that down, either. I feel that finding a solid fix for TMJ will be very helpful in finding more answers to my essential question: What is the most important factor an orthodontist must consider when treating a patient?

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

I am most proud of my information and just the PowerPoint as a whole because I think it really came together. On top of that, the class let me know that my presentation was in fact fairly informative and that I seemed to understand my content.

2. a) What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

I would give myself a P.

    b) Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

I believe I filled all requirements for "P" consideration, made sure to engage my audience when I spoke, used my time effectively, had a decent PowerPoint, and applied my research well.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

My PowerPoint and visual aid overall was good, in my opinion. Also I feel like my information was presented well.

4. What didn't work? What would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

The main problem I had today that I would fix if I knew how is my shakiness. I came off as nervous to the class so some parts of my presentation may have been difficult to understand. Also, my peers tell me I should work on my activity and create a better one so I would definitely fix that.

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

My answer two will probably involve either patient compliance or practice setting.

Blog 12: Mentorship Hours

1. Where are you doing your mentorship?

I am doing my mentorship at the office of Dr. Dan Banh DDS.

2. Who is your contact?

My contact is Irene (whose last name I always forget). She is the office manager and works the front desk. She can be contacted at the office phone number: (626) 339-5111.

3. How many total hours have you done?

As shown on my Senior Project Hours Log, I have completed 43 hours over the summer (with a different mentor for a different topic), 25 hours of mentorship, and 28 hours for my Independent component. The sum of those hours is 96 hours, but with my current mentor I completed 53 hours.

4. Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.

The hours I completed since the school year began have consisted of filing, shadowing, and seeing what goes on away from the patient's chair. There were many opportunities to see all sorts of orthodontic appliances, as well as the process of attaching, wearing, and removing braces. My time at my mentorship has taught me that there is much more to orthodontics than what I had originally thought and I have so much more to learn.

Blog 11: Holiday Project Update

1. It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school. What did you do over the break with your senior project?

The break gave me a chance to do more research on my topic, as well as look further into orthodontics as a career. Sadly, I was very limited on my research sources because my primary database -- ProQuest -- has been down for a while.

2. What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why? What was the source of what you learned?

My work over the break has taught me that I need a new approach with my research. The source of this knowledge was my previous research and similar results coming up when I looked for new articles. I know there is more fresh research available, but I just need the right keywords to find them.

3. If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers for your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

I think I might ask an orthodontist other than my current mentor in order to gain a different perspective on orthodontics and my essential question. My final answers will be more complete after speaking with multiple practicing professionals in the field.

2014 in Perspective: A Review of Findings

About four months. That's how long I have been researching for my senior project topic. The question I have been trying to answer is, What is the most important factor an orthodontist must consider when treating a patient?

Perhaps my research was merely focused on just one answer, but I find that appliances play a large role in orthodontic treatment. Appliances used by practicing orthodontists include braces, headgear, palatal expanders, and retainers. As I have mentioned in previous posts, such appliances will correct bites and tooth alignment, or do all sorts of other miraculous things to get treatment done. (Proper planning and judgement is necessary to get the right appliance into a patient's mouth, of course, so it isn't as if the orthodontist is being forgotten.)

Basically, orthodontic appliances ARE the treatment and it would be very hard to get much of anything done without them. Combined with an orthodontist's experience and knowledge, appliances are powerful.

I hope that the new year brings forth many other revelations that will help me with my senior project. Happy 2015.