Dental school or dental hygiene school clinic

Does anyone else enjoy being a patient at or fantasizing about being a patient at a dental hygiene school or dental school clinic?

I have a cleaning appointment at a dental hygiene school this week, and am really enjoying the anticipation of the long appointment (usually about 3 hours in the chair), the procedural meticulousness (they really take their time doing complete charting and periodontal measurements before starting the cleaning, and they're extremely thorough with the cleaning itself), and being watched by instructors while the student works (and vice versa when on occasion the instructor takes over to demonstrate something). Obviously the underlying reason I go is the dental health benefit (the students do an extremely careful job and are held to very high standards when the instructors examine their work) but it's also a setting I love fantasizing about--there's something especially exciting about picturing myself being examined by more than one person at the same time, having multiple people watching while the exam and cleaning are happening, and the added embarrassment of being discussed as if I'm not there while people are poking around in my mouth.

waywardtraveler said

. . . . there's something especially exciting about picturing myself being examined by more than one person at the same time, having multiple people watching while the exam and cleaning are happening, and the added embarrassment of being discussed as if I'm not there while people are poking around in my mouth.

My father-in-law is a periodontist and my mother-in-law is an oral pathologist. My FIL teaches at Columbia University in the clinics part-time and while the faculty and students or residents will discuss your treatment, they know you are there but obviously aren't going to include you in all the intricacies their discussion of your diagnosis and your treatment (which is really for the student or residents education). After a diagnosis and options for treatment plans has been formalized and then they will speak with you about your desires and expected outcomes before a treatment plan is finalized.

students or residents will discuss your treatment, they know you are there but obviously aren't going to include you in all the intricacies their discussion of your diagnosis and your treatment (which is really for the student or residents education). After a diagnosis and options for treatment plans has been formalized and then they will speak with you about your desires and expected outcomes before a treatment plan is finalized.

Not sure if you're joking with this comment? Obviously I know they know I'm there! "As if I'm not there" is a common expression indicating someone present is being discussed in the third person, often in ways that act as if the person being talked about can't hear or understand them. So yes, in this case they are talking about me amongst themselves in that way despite the fact that they know I can both hear and understand their discussion. Which would generally be inappropriate but is accepted as normal in some teaching settings.

It wasn't a joke. What I said is exactly how it works.

Obviously the faculty and students know the patient is right there in the chair, but they aren't going to involve you in the discussion while the faculty and student or resident are through discussing your case. The fact is, you are there for the student's or resident's benefit. It's a teaching institution. The fact that you get treated is secondary. It's the same with medical rounds in the hospital.

Their discussion about your case is completely normal with you there and you not being included in the discussion until they are through.

It wasn't a joke. What I said is exactly how it works.

I wondered if you might be joking because if your reply wasn't a joke, your explanation was condescending and unnecessary and only very tangentially relevant. Nothing in my post indicated a lack of understanding of how it works. Suffice it to say that I understand how medical teaching institutions work at least as well as you do, so it's a bit bizarre to have you chime in and provide obvious information like that!

I simply stated how teaching institutions worked.

I'm sorry of you didn't like my answer. It was straight-forward and not meant to be condescending.

And your response would have made sense if someone had asked how teaching institutions work, or perhaps had indicated some confusion about how they worked. Answering a question no one asked, with very basic information, comes across differently.

I did respond to a specific part of your original post:

waywardtraveler said

. . . .there's something especially exciting about picturing myself being examined by more than one person at the same time, having multiple people watching while the exam and cleaning are happening, and the added embarrassment of being discussed as if I'm not there while people are poking around in my mouth.

you can see it also quoted in post #2.

Your response still makes no sense. Not sure why you think I asked how student clinics work or demonstrated some lack of understanding thereof, because neither of those things were in my post anywhere.

Your response still makes no sense. Not sure why you think I asked how student clinics work or demonstrated some lack of understanding thereof, because neither of those things were in my post anywhere.

You keep saying that you didn't ask a question on how teaching clinics work and I keep telling you I was not answering a question. I was commenting on a statement you made and I pointed that out in two prior posts. You keep missing or ignoring that.

Posts in a forum are not limited to questions YOU ask.

Your comprehension on how replies and commenting on forum posts is lacking.

It's interesting to me that after two days and being read 82 times, I am the only person who replied in the thread.

I don't know why other dental fetishists haven't replied to the original question in the opening post. I would have thought it a scenario that would have some appeal, or perhaps even be a situation that a few have actually experienced.

But it is true that relevant responses and comments can be made on a discussion thread - and that is what this is, a discussion thread, not strictly question and answer. It is legitimate for anyone with relevant knowledge and experience to simply comment and state that they recognise what has been described, and to agree (as here) that this is typical of how such appointments work and how those conducting them behave.

That's all there is to it.

Dental school clinic patient here. I visit twice a year in between my scheduled visits with my general dentist so that I have a cleaning every 3 months. I have periodontal disease and this has greatly helped me stabilize and maintain my periodontal health. I actually do this with my general dentists blessing as my insurance only covers 2 cleanings per year.

The experience itself is great. They have far more time to work with you and provide a very high standard of care in a learning environment. I've actually picked up on quite a few things in regards to oral anatomy and general dental health conditions from listening in to the students and their instructors. I typically end up in the chair anywhere from 3 to 5 hours (varies from student to student and what they need to practice).

I'd recommend the experience overall. That and it's a nice enhancement to your health care schedule.