Dental Assistants working with Drug Users Patient
Dental Assistants are used to working with patients who are suffering from poor dental hygiene. Statistics show more than 10.5 million people in the United States are affected by drug and alcohol use. Substance abuse is easily recognizable by Dental Assistants. Many parents are left completely dumbfounded when the Dental Assistant has to inform them that their child appears to have a drug dependency and it is affecting their oral health. Types of drug abuse Dental Assistants encounter include sedatives, barbiturates, and narcotics.
The effects of drug use in relation to oral health care include missing dental appointments, fear, anxiety, cravings for sweets, the risk of infection from Hepatitis B and HIV, oral neglect, periodontal disease, gingivitis, and painful gums. It is easy to see from this list how taking drugs can lead to ongoing oral health issues. If the drug use continues tooth lose and inflamed gum areas may increase.
Dental Assistants are often consulted when individuals call the dental office or come in complaining of severe tooth pain. This can be a ploy on the patient’s behalf to obtain drugs from the dental facility, either in the office or in the form of a prescription. Dental Assistants need to watch for such scenarios and listen to their gut reaction in such cases. Often, these individuals will come in at closing time, get a prescription and an appointment to return the next morning. They get the prescription filled, but never show up for the appointment.
Since drug use is so common, Dental Assistants and other dental staff should be properly trained in the areas of drug use, drug interactions, and promoting drug treatment. If your employer does not offer such training, it is important that you bring it to their attention. In the mean time, it is your responsibility to train yourself by educating yourself in these areas. You can do so with textbooks or online materials.
Dental Assistants can provide patients with education, early intervention, and motivation to seek treatment for drug use. Often Dental Assistants can help the patient find a treatment program to look into. It is important for the Dental Assistant to treat the patient with respect, but fully disclose the risks involved in continued drug use as well as they affects to their dental health. This is where those valuable communication skills come in to play.
Dental Assistants need to be very careful when providing dental care to drug users. Since the types of drugs they use generally aren’t disclosed, it is unknown what types of behaviors they will display. They may become violent or experience a chemical reaction when treated with a local anesthetic.
Treating patients who use drugs also raises the risk of being exposed to communicable diseases. All precautions need to be taken to protect yourself. Most dental facilities have policies and procedures in place for dealing with individuals who come in for appointments under the influence of drugs and other substances. However, for ongoing drug users, you might not even know they have been using anything prior to treating them.
As a Dental Assistant, if you suspect a patient has been using drugs, approach the situation confidentially and carefully. Your main goal is to make sure other patients and staff members are not at risk of being harmed. You have the right as a Dental Assistant to refuse treatment to anyone for any reason. While most Dental Assistants don’t exercise this right often, there is not reason to put yourself or others at risk.
Drug use can adversely affect an individual’s oral health. Dental Assistants can offer then assistance with getting treatment for drug use. They can also educate the patient on the effects of drug use. However, this is a gray area where Dental Assistants need to procedure based on the observations of the patient and the policies and procedures in place for the dental facility they work for.
Questions and Answers
Article Tags:
dental assistants
Dental assistant jobs are essential to the dental industry and require the performance of a variety of patient care, office, and laboratory duties. In most states, the starting dental assistant salary is at least double the minimum wage. Dental assisting will be one of the top contenders in job growth through the year 2018, so the demand for dental assistant jobs will continue to grow at a fast rate. This is a great motivation to take a look into this highly sought-after career option.
The dental assistant's task is to assist the dental hygienist. The amount does a dental assistant makes annually.
Dental assistant certificate from Dental Assisting National Board is very useful for your career, no matter if you are just starting or who have long-term veteran in the field. Since all dentists require a certified dental assistant, cannot be certified, even after having spent some time working in the field or as a trainee.
Being a dental assistant can provide you with more benefits than you have initially thought of. Dental assistants have flexible working schedules, hassle-free duties, what's more is that it delivers great dental assistant salary.
If you live in Fresno, California you have probably noticed the plethora of dental offices that are surrounding the area. And with these offices comes a need for qualified and professional dental assistants.
Over the past few years making a career as a dental assistant has gained enormous popularity in the United States. In fact, it has emerged as one of the few professions in the health care industry that has pulled the interests of many people in last few years.
Teaching English abroad in Vietnam is a unique experience for anyone who seeks to explore a beautiful country with a rich heritage. You may find people who say that it is not difficult to find jobs in Saigon, but the converse is true. It depends on where and how you conduct your search.
Thailand is a beautiful country with an expanding opportunity to teachers seeking opportunities to travel and teach. The steady demand for native English speakers means that any confident applicant with basic teaching skills can secure employment without difficulties.
Doctor jobs are growing in demand. Canadian research discovered that over four million Canadians lack a family physician Because four million Canadians don't have a family physician, the need for physicians is enormous Provinces throughout Canada are desperate to fill these vacancies.
Although Singapore is an island nation, it has grown to become a modern and efficient first world model country in Asia too. The infrastructure is remarkable and education sector largely successful.
Malaysia is a beautiful country with a thriving tourism industry. Like other emerging countries in Asia, the education sector spurs the knowledge-based economy. The education reforms have been instrumental in producing a quality workforce that satisfies the professional demands of various industries.
All The Things You Need to Know About The Game Including Equipment Like Bats, Gloves, Cleats, Uniforms and Pants, to Drills, Tournaments and The Various Organizations, Like Dixie Youth Baseball
I'd like to sell my property quickly as I am about to be repossessed from the London property, so what can I do?
It's incredible how fast new parents to be move from enjoyment regarding the prospect of having their very first baby, to mild panic regarding all the new baby stuff they quickly want!
Women these days are more mindful in using hair accessories to improve their own hairstyle. There are actually numerous varieties to suit your needs. It can certainly bring charm on your wedding ceremony or even make an impression on colleagues on casual get-together or just simply keep your hair tidy on your own normal everyday activity.
It is true that majority of the local areas offer great job opportunities. The morale of the employees working in different companies is remarkable. This is very noticeable once you visit the exact workplace of the companies.
Discuss this Article
