Paul Healy Staff 2
I am fortunate enough to have an opportunity to speak with three staff from Paul Healy’s Orthodontist Practice: Ali, Mandy and Savannah.
A: It’s nice to meet you. Let’s begin at the very beginning.
A: You come to work. You enjoy your work. What do you enjoy?
Ali: We enjoy each other’s company. We enjoy spending time with each other. Even though we are at work we are a great group of people. That’s enjoyable. Enjoying the rest of the team. It’s a nice place to turn up to.
A: I assume you also get satisfaction out of doing the right thing by patients. Making their teeth straight.
S: We see the patients over a couple of years and often when they come in, they are a bit shy and over a few years they get to know us and when their braces come off, they are excited and happy and it is nice to see them transition through that period. One of my favourite things.
A: You said you did some debanding today?
M: Yes.
A: After debanding what food would they be looking forward to?
M: Popcorn.
A: Not celery.
M: What a lot of people say is they want be able to bite into a fresh apple.
A: Spoken like a real Tasmanian.
A: When shopping and you see someone with straight teeth what do their teeth tell you?
Ali: They have seen an orthodontist or been blessed in their genetics.
A: Would you make a judgment on how clean their teeth are?
Ha, ha. Not out loud.
A: That’s true.
A: So, do you get pleasure out of seeing patients coming back and doing what you have told them to do?
S: When they actually wear their elastics. Sometimes we ask patients to wear elastics. Some patients wear them really well others not so well.
A: Can you tell.
S: Yes. Because the bite is correcting or not. When they wear them consistently and well the bite is correcting the way it is supposed to. And they get the result which is nice.
A: So, if a patient is not wearing the elastics how do you tell them to wear the elastics?
S: Well, it is probably more the clinician’s job than mine but you have to explain they only work when worn full time not part of the time.
A: Do you talk to the parents?
S: Sometimes. Yes. If the parent is there.
A: Assuming they come back and they are now wearing the elastics that is a good moment.
S: Yes definitely.
A: And you. Anything similar. Getting pleasure by changing behaviour.
M: Probably another one is food. They have been tempted by hard crunchy food and have lost a couple of brackets and you have a chat to them you explain to them it will prolong their treatment time with every broken bracket and then they begin to start making better food choices and towards the end they are glad. We get to the end and it is a really great result.
A: Is bad food, food that knocks off the brackets?
M: Anything that is hard crunchy, sticky or chewy is what we recommend they avoid with braces on.
A: And what is good food?
M: Nice healthy diet; healthy food such as apples, carrots, celery, corn on the cob, meat which they can chew.
A: And you. Can you tell me about a patient where you have changed their behaviour?
Ali: Lots of instances. Oral hygiene. Skills of toothbrushing. Everyone is involved in that. To be able to learn to brush around the braces. It is a learned skill. Sometimes it takes time. Especially when we are dealing with younger patients.
Often it is a team approach and the parent has to come on board. Introducing that skill. It is important. It is a rewarding thing. One of the parts of dentistry that is rewarding. When you do help people maintain their health.
A: Yes absolutely. That is definitely a good part of dentistry.
Ali: Yes.
A: It’s nice to meet you. Let’s begin at the very beginning.
A: You come to work. You enjoy your work. What do you enjoy?
Ali: We enjoy each other’s company. We enjoy spending time with each other. Even though we are at work we are a great group of people. That’s enjoyable. Enjoying the rest of the team. It’s a nice place to turn up to.
A: I assume you also get satisfaction out of doing the right thing by patients. Making their teeth straight.
S: We see the patients over a couple of years and often when they come in, they are a bit shy and over a few years they get to know us and when their braces come off, they are excited and happy and it is nice to see them transition through that period. One of my favourite things.
A: You said you did some debanding today?
M: Yes.
A: After debanding what food would they be looking forward to?
M: Popcorn.
A: Not celery.
M: What a lot of people say is they want be able to bite into a fresh apple.
A: Spoken like a real Tasmanian.
A: When shopping and you see someone with straight teeth what do their teeth tell you?
Ali: They have seen an orthodontist or been blessed in their genetics.
A: Would you make a judgment on how clean their teeth are?
Ha, ha. Not out loud.
A: That’s true.
A: So, do you get pleasure out of seeing patients coming back and doing what you have told them to do?
S: When they actually wear their elastics. Sometimes we ask patients to wear elastics. Some patients wear them really well others not so well.
A: Can you tell.
S: Yes. Because the bite is correcting or not. When they wear them consistently and well the bite is correcting the way it is supposed to. And they get the result which is nice.
A: So, if a patient is not wearing the elastics how do you tell them to wear the elastics?
S: Well, it is probably more the clinician’s job than mine but you have to explain they only work when worn full time not part of the time.
A: Do you talk to the parents?
S: Sometimes. Yes. If the parent is there.
A: Assuming they come back and they are now wearing the elastics that is a good moment.
S: Yes definitely.
A: And you. Anything similar. Getting pleasure by changing behaviour.
M: Probably another one is food. They have been tempted by hard crunchy food and have lost a couple of brackets and you have a chat to them you explain to them it will prolong their treatment time with every broken bracket and then they begin to start making better food choices and towards the end they are glad. We get to the end and it is a really great result.
A: Is bad food, food that knocks off the brackets?
M: Anything that is hard crunchy, sticky or chewy is what we recommend they avoid with braces on.
A: And what is good food?
M: Nice healthy diet; healthy food such as apples, carrots, celery, corn on the cob, meat which they can chew.
A: And you. Can you tell me about a patient where you have changed their behaviour?
Ali: Lots of instances. Oral hygiene. Skills of toothbrushing. Everyone is involved in that. To be able to learn to brush around the braces. It is a learned skill. Sometimes it takes time. Especially when we are dealing with younger patients.
Often it is a team approach and the parent has to come on board. Introducing that skill. It is important. It is a rewarding thing. One of the parts of dentistry that is rewarding. When you do help people maintain their health.
A: Yes absolutely. That is definitely a good part of dentistry.
Ali: Yes.