CATEGORY 136 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST Recently I did something very routine. I broke a tooth. I then did something not quite as common. I took this tooth back to the room I had worked in for over twenty years. A: Nice to meet you, Simone. A: Nice to meet you Daniel, again. D: Yes, I just went back to the home country which was good. A: I’m going to your home country next March. I’m going to Edmonton to see my sister. S: I’ll just pop a bib on you. We do have a little mouth rinse if don’t mind rinsing with that. There is a tiny bit in the cup. S: Beautiful. And we have some glasses for you. D: How can I help you today? A: Well, I’ve broken a bit of a tooth. I think it is mainly tooth. The 46. I think it is free of caries, largely but it does need to be repaired because all the food is getting stuck in there. D: Is that head rest okay for you? D: There is an amalgam filling there. Looks like a clean fracture. A: It’s amazing how much food gets stuck there. D: Yes. I know. It happens. Daniel fiddles and looks closely at the tooth. As he looks at the tooth I think back. I could tell him why that cupboard is there. Why they x-ray machine is over there. He only seems to be interested in my tooth. D: Yes Alan. A clean fracture. Do you want me to try without an anesthetic. A: No LA. Apart from that it’s all up to you. I’m not going to tell you what to do. D: I’ll just do my thing. Raise your hand if you want anything. Okay. A: Simone, do you enjoy your work? S: I do. A: What do you, like about it? S: I like that we meet lots of new people. We do something different every day. A: How do you get people to relax? To be happy? S: Don’t know. I talk to them. Let them know we are here for them. A: I think at the moment your job is easy; Daniel’s job is more stressful because I could comment on what he does. D: Just try it with the cold water. Make sure you’re okay. That it’s okay for you. A: The tooth is alive but happy; head forward. D: Let me know if you need anything. D: Just the slow speed. A few vibrations. Time for drilling; sucking; I try and breath threw my nose. A: When you were at school did you imagine doing what you are doing now? S: No, I didn’t. A: What did you want to do? S: I wanted to be a hairdresser. A: Okay. I need my haircut, actually. Ha. Ha. Ha. D: Tiny bit more. More drilling. Must concentrating on breathing. D: Alan you’ll feel a bit of pressure between the teeth. Let me know if you need anything. D: Almost there. Have a cough if you need it. D: Now have a rest. A: Do you need to have a filling to be a good dental nurse. Do you need to sit in this chair? To understand? S: It helps. Yes. A: Have you had any fillings? S: I have. I’ve had a few. A: By him. S: Yes. He’s very good. THE FULL COMPLEMENT Dr Alan Carlton goes back to the room he worked in for 20 years D: Just polishing it up now. Do you want a drink? More drilling. I look at pictures on the ceiling. I put them up years ago. They have changed everything else in this room. D: So just want to see what your bite is doing here. Bite once. A little adjustment. A: Do you take many teeth out? S: Ahh. Not too many. A few children. A: Is it something you need to experience in order to help? Ha. Ha. D: Just bite down again Alan. Thank you. Little high still. More drilling. D: How does that feel there? A: Good. Ready to eat. A: So, do you look on this as home now or Canada? D: Last time I went home it felt really foreign to me. A: You’ve got two homes. D: Felt really foreign. More like home here. It’s a sense of calmness coming back here. A: A lot of people in Hobart have come from elsewhere, including my wife. A lot of people were born elsewhere. D: Yes. A: I think we beat Canada in the soccer. D: I wouldn’t know. I am not a big sports guy. Unfortunately! A: You are a good runner. D: I’ve gone out of it a bit. Need to get back into it a bit more. A: The Point to Pinnacle is coming up. D: No, I don’t know if I’ll be there. D: All right. Feel around with your tongue. How’s that feel. Happy with the contact. A: That’s fantastic. Thank you. My aim in this column is to understand the dental community. I want every section of the dental community illuminated. Everybody has a story to tell. Everybody has a story worth hearing.
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