DENTAL INTERNSHIP AT

PASUI FAMILY DENTISTRY

Rebecca Triplett
Fall 2010, Clemson University
Dental Internship at Pasui Family Dentistry

 This fall, I was given the opportunity to

complete an internship through the Health
420 course in the Public Health Sciences
major.
 I spent my 180 hour internship at Pasui
Family Dentistry, and I could not be more
grateful for having received this chance; I got
to do and learn so many new things while I
was there.
 Pasui Family Dentistry
 Pasui Family
Dentistry is a dental
office located in
Easley, SC (along
Highway 153) that
offers general,
family, and cosmetic
dental services.
 They offer a range
of services and
procedures, from
preventative care to
dentures to teeth
whitening.
Mission Statement: General Philosophy

“Dr. Pasui and staff have an uncompromising

commitment to placing the patient first. This
principle guides the formulation and execution of all
procedures and conduct, whether administrative or
clinical. Our goal is to provide the highest quality
dental services to patients while maintaining an
environment that fosters the professional and
personal growth of our individual staff members. At
Pasui Dentistry we know that building a good
patient-provider relationship is essential to your
satisfaction with our practice. Every staff member is
dedicated to maintaining that good relationship
every time we interact with you.”
 Mission Statement:
Clinical and Administrative Philosophies
CLINICAL PHILOSOPHY:
“ The clinical staff is dedicated to providing the most current operative care in
order to resolve your oral and maxillofacial problems. We administer all
treatment in a caring, safe environment where patient needs and desires are
given our undivided attention. We are dedicated to the complete clinical
management of each patient during every phase of your visit with us. Fees for
services rendered allow us to maintain our ability to provide the best care
possible; however, we will manage trauma, pain, and infection as a priority and
work with you an in equitable manner to fulfill your financial obligations.”

ADMINISTRATIVE PHILOSOPHY:
“The administrative staff is an essential component of a successful practice. By
maintaining a smoothly functioning business office, the administrative staff
makes it possible for the clinical staff to provide seamless dental care. The
administrative department is dedicated to providing patients with expedient,
courteous service. Additionally, they work very hard to help patients maximize
their insurance benefits. The administrative department is also committed to
properly scheduling patients in a manner that provides maximum convenience
and minimal waiting time for patients.”
The Office
 The dental office is very new,
having been only finished in
January of 2010 (previously they
were located in an office across
the street).
 There is a large waiting room,
front desk, sterilization area, and
lab, in addition to the 7 surgical
rooms and 5 hygiene rooms.
 The office also boasts a second
floor, where a stockroom and
break area are located.
The Staff

 The office is maintained

by a staff of 17:
 2 Dentists (Dr. Pasui is full
time, while Dr. Suber is at
the office on Tuesdays and
Wednesdays)
 4 Assistants
 6 Hygienists
 5 Front office staff
My Role
 While interning at Pasui Family Dentistry, I had
a lot of different jobs and roles, in addition to
the shadowing and observing I did.
 My main tasks involved working in the
backroom, ensuring that all instruments were
sterilized, all the rooms were cleaned and
stocked, and that patients got seated and set
up in a timely fashion.
 I also was able to do basic assisting for some
dental procedures.
A Day in the Life…
 Because I had many different tasks, it’s
easiest to summarize them as I go through a
typical day for me at Pasui Family
Dentistry…
A Day in the Life… Cold Sterile
 I start every morning by arriving at the office at 8 o’ clock, when
they start seeing patients.
 The first thing I do is empty the cold sterile, a container filled
with a liquid chemical germicide, where heat-sensitive
instruments have been sitting overnight in order to be sterilized.
 Wearing thick gloves to protect myself from the harsh chemicals, I remove
the instruments and tools, rinse and dry them off, then put them in the
proper drawer.
 A Day in the Life… Pulling Cases
 The next thing I do is print the schedule for the next day. On the schedule, each
patient is color-coded and labeled for whatever procedure they are coming in
for. Certain patients come in to try on their new partials, bridges, crowns, or
dentures. These are located in cases on shelves along the wall.
 Each section of shelves has a different label. There are four different sections: Crowns and
Bridges In (meaning they have arrived and are ready for the patient), Crowns and Bridges Out
(meaning that these are still waiting to be sent out to the lab to be made) Partials and Dentures In,
and Partials and Dentures Out.
 Also along the wall are two shelves, one labeled “Lab Cases For Today,” and the other labeled “Lab
Cases For Tomorrow.”
 My job is to highlight the patient, find their case, and pull it to put it on the “Lab
Cases For Tomorrow” shelf. This not only makes the process quicker for when
the patient arrives, but it also ensures that each patient will have their case
when they arrive so that there are no issues.
 If a case that needs to be pulled is still on the “Out” shelf, I take it down, mark it on the schedule,
and leave it in the lab with a note saying to call the people in charge of creating the piece to make
sure that it will be there by the time the patient comes for his or her appointment.
 Printing off Highlighting the
the schedule patients who
have cases

The case wall. The cases are also

color-coded based on their contents
and the dentist.

Using my printed schedule to find and pull the proper Leaving a note for a case
cases, which will go on the “Tomorrow” shelf. whose partial hasn’t arrived.
 A Day in the Life…

After a patient leaves, I I often refill the

clean up and prepare disinfecting wipes used Sometimes I’ll stop in
I usually have to the room for the next to clean rooms and and shadow a dentist
bring patients back procedure. certain equipment. on a procedure like an
and set them up. extraction.
After my first tasks, my day is less structured, because it is
based on patient flow and the procedures that we’re doing.
If we’re running low Sterilization of I help the hygienists by I often aid the assistants
on supplies, I head up instruments is a huge making new-patient by helping them to
to the stockroom. part of my day. bags for them to give enter patient notes and
out. edit charts.
 Internship Project One
Making a Bleach Splint
 For my internship, I also had to
create a series of projects
showcasing what I had learned
and done.
 For my first project, I decided
to learn how to make a bleach
splint, which is used to hold a
bleaching agent against a
person’s teeth to whiten the
teeth.
 This process involved two
major steps: the first being to
take an impression and make a
model. The second step
involved using lab equipment
to actually make the tray itself.
 Internship Project Two
Learning How to do an Extraction
 My second project involved
learning how to do an
extraction.
 I started from the beginning,
learning how to look at a
patient’s x-rays to identify the
tooth, see why it needed to be
pulled, and see if there could
be any complications.
 I learned the process by which
the tooth is removed, including
all the different instruments
and techniques that are
needed.
 Internship Project Three
Sterilization
 Since so much of my time was
spent sterilizing equipment, my
third project centralizes around
sterilization.
 I go through each step of the
sterilization process (starting at
the ultrasonic and ending at the
instruments going into their
correct places), explaining
what I’m doing, why, and what
is happening at that stage.
 Internship Mini Projects
Cleaning a Room, Cleaning an Autoclave, and Tools of the Trade

 In addition to my larger three

projects, I also decided to do three
smaller “mini-projects.”
 My first mini-project details the
process by which I cleaned a room,
something I did very often at the
office.
 My second project involves the
weekly maintenance of an
autoclave, because they are very
important to equipment
sterilization.
 My third mini-project involves me
learning the names and uses of the
different tools and instruments
used by the dentist.
My Internship Experience
 My experience at Pasui Family Dentistry was
thoroughly enjoyable. I was able to work with an
amazing staff in an amazing office, and I learned so
many new things.
 One point of this internship was to help me
determine whether or not dentistry really was a
correct path for me, and the experience did
everything to show me that I am going in the right
direction—I could definitely see myself doing this in
the future.
 In fact, I enjoyed my experience so much that when I
was given the opportunity to stay on as a member of
the staff, I accepted in a heartbeat, and will continue
to work there in the spring!