MindingAndMiningYourTeeth2012
Introduction/Definition/etc
Some Dental Schools still have a lot to learn about how to treat people...
Body
So I've tried two of the three Dental Schools in the larger area,
as a clinic patient. At Howard, after three years of intense
long 3 day weekend Diversity Tavistock Group Relations training
some in the Dental School building, I had issue with a student,
who thought she was better than me, and knew everything,
but what she didn't, so that House of Pain was a No,
after asking supervisors for another student,
and not getting it, so I went elsewhere.
Back when the popcorn I brought I broke a tooth on kernel,
in a StreetSense WillWriteForFood Writers Group lunch workshop
meeting, Howard Dental school and/or Hospital wanted to extract
without even seeing it, followed by a trip to the emergency room,
for urgent care proved worthless (a long wait and antibiotics only,
much less a series of medical bills), extraction is the customary
process, Despite Seeing The Problem for poor, disabled, and
homeless people... And they wonder why we have poor
health when we don't have teeth to eat... Makes you say
Hmmm...
I went and found another dental school, and without race as much of an
issue, Howard is a traditionally African American school, I thought
that had something to do with being treated differently, one or maybe
two non AA in the waiting rooms, and among students, but turns
out it's the arrogance of the students and the system that allows it,
AFAICT.
At the other one, I've been ridiculed, x-rayed multiple times
(which required some teachers/doctor's approval to do again,
from a bad first shot, or just being malicious, I can't tell),
essentially water boarded by probably foreign national students,
as a former DOD employee, that raises eyebrows,
(tilting the chair badly or intentionally causes liquid to make
the patient (me) choke with fluids, and even had
a cup of stuff poured into my mouth while helpless in a dental chair
by other students, and had open wounds
saying that's what that is...
more ridiculing and saying it was a biohazard like
HIV/AIDS, so clearly people are not being supervised well,
or At All...
Lastly, when a new electronic health records system was put in,
and they started all over, asking, no interrogating questions,
with an unknown student later I had to ask who she was,
turns out she's looking for a patient for her hygienist exams
(using some jargon name which only students and profs would know
with demeaning tone of why don't you know that?),
without even asking for permission sits through the whole
process doing nothing, likely enjoying my being ridiculed/ interrogated,
then declares I'm not an appropriate patient for her,
Medical questions for history were do you have x,y,z.
But the dental hygienist didn't accept the answers given.
Did a doctor tell you that you have x,y,z?
Some things like Eating Disorders,
and Aspergers/Autism, no one has told me, and you
self declare, even homeless and MH system plus disability
takes your self diagnosis, and/or if people generally think you are.
Like with Alcoholics, the denial is amazing,
She claimed Dentists were doctors. I don't think of them that way,
I would not go to a Dentist for a broken bone besides a tooth.
I would not go to a Doctor for tooth problems.
Perhaps literally Aspergian, but Dentists are Dentists,
and Doctors are Doctors.
Using some other definitions, both my parents are Doctors,
Ph.D.s are Doctors of Philosophy.
Would I let them do surgery, not much, besides
minor scrapes and bruises, even Dr. Mom was a nurse at one
point, so she does know medical, more than most,
and went on to do much more than nursing,
specialized knowledge and post doc research.
usually trumps general practitioner knowledge,
though some MD's are both MD & PhD,
not a lot that we would normally encounter clinically,
[ except at NIH... ]
So back from digression to electronics medical records interrogation,
on history, not only my history, but that of my family,
(some is to be expected)
near the end, "Anyone in your family ever have a problem with the medical system?"
or very similar, (I asked for a copy of the questions and my record
and at the end only got an almost blank page, she said she deleted it,
didn't believe what I had told her,)
WTF? ^^2 Of coarse people have problems with the medical system,
they are Not Gods, despite their egos... That school, on the medical side,
instead of dental was one of the NoGo's of my father's frequent
visits with heart and other problems. One time with ambulance people
making jokes of hitting a deer ( by backing up ? ) graphic stories of
blood all over the place, while sick and old people are helpless,
and you wonder what's been done to people when
incapacitated, helpless [ old ] and restrained alone in a vehicle
(not unlike MetroAccess vans, BTW)
So the questions eventually end, seems like hours, maybe 20-40
minutes up to an hour, taking longer when I don't do what she wants
which is not truthful, changing my answers to fit her narrow mind
and lousy unspecific broad questions,
somehow unrelated, Yes to their unbelief, I've been to Patch Adam's
place, spent a month there, can't interrupt to have them see these
online AVeteransSonLaughsAndSpitsAtMe2011 and HippieClownCamp2011
proves it and I should put up my certificate of completion or similar
sometime ) No I'm not a Doctor nor Med Student, more snickering
and ridicule, I didn't say but I'm too old to start, but I've have worked for
both NIH and a medical school, in labs, and research environments
as a gifted and talented student, and other programs, etc
No, I won't try Surgery On You, nor play doctor in situations,
besides role playing and educational skits, etc
that would be dangerous and dumb. Yes, I have experiences that
most people have not, No, I'm not taking loans to do something
that I'm too old to really start, at 48 starting Med School would not
make sense, it's a 15 year process, and I'd age out,
if I could even get accepted and complete it...
So let's just say, I've led an interesting life,
which makes good things to write about,
some of which I can, but some nay, Most I can't,
As Interrogated, I said would suggest? reverse engineering
the electronics records system,
it seems so bad that it was made by a student, and while
they said they were trying something different that visit,
without specifiying what that was,
( = Lack of INFORMED Consent) thought they
seem to have me sign HIPPA forms, saying I already
had previously, but new system, here is a blank signature
thingie, but nothing shown on what that I was signing,
so that is a systemic problem right there...
Kind of like signing a blank check...
and when I reversed some of the questioning,
they had some "learning experience", IIRC,
adjusting to the new system,
they really need to give a paper form of the questions
to the people while waiting for 10-20 minutes to start
the appointment, so that we can review the questions,
then enter the answers with written proof (scanned in
as image for records completeness) and validate by getting
clarity on the questions when meeting during the appointment,
so many were bad questions, and the way they were asked
would not even pass a Certified Substance
Abuse Counselor's internship experience, much less
a bachelor's clinical psych practicuum
and like at Patch Adam's in discussion with med students
and graduated baby docs, they don't teach Therapeutic
Communication Skills, like we had for bachelors level
clinical psych (that class really sucked by the way,
my teacher was fit to be a patient instead of a teacher,
and while the other students stuck up for me,
tired of what she was doing to me,
talking of how their husbands were,
she was a raging feminist which normally I would not mind,
but when attacking me for things I don't even do,
(there may have been other safety problems on campus at the time)
I know I'm blunt, even rude at times, but more a Dr. Phil,
get to the point, no BS, than harmful, as she was and using her
authority to hurt students/ others). My grade was
not good (probably a C), but I did pass
and I don't think the dental hygienist or a lot of others would have...
The hygienist seemed to be caring on the surface,
but there was a you are not human quality to it,
not a clinical detachment and objectivity typical of scientists
working in clinical fields, but a you are less than me,
more like I have experienced with some Catholics,
Indian and some other classism, elitism and even racism, frankly.
Let me be clear, not with all Catholics, some are very caring
and helpful, but also some are judgmental
critical and demeaning to those who are not
Catholics and others in general...
I've had the same personal experience with some Indians,
there is a class system in that country that may have come from
the Colonial British, I'm not sure, I've never been there,
but like some people starting clinical experiences in social
services, there is a learning curve to how to
even talk with people who not like you,
who didn't go to college, may not have finished high school,
are poor, sick, of a different background,
may have come from the projects,
or may have done things you haven't like a military veteran,
and/or other world traveling, like Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, etc.
So my experience, was learning of intense sickness
and poverty (even before that medical bill)
first hand in a private psych hospital,
as an intern (senior level undergraduate),
and the patients / clients/ human beings
are dealing with life and death (suicide and/or other
serious health risks) while you are a khaki wearing yuppie,
privileged, and probably white, while patients may not be,
and the anger you receive for being not sick
while they are in crisis, transference is some of it,
counter transference, also some of it,
and some of it's really the patient's/ client's/ human being's
but the "meet people where they are" sort of approach,
and if you haven't lived it, maybe don't try
to judge others based on your limited experience,
much less lack of lived experience...
(all done while hiding my personal experience,
pre Peer Movement and Drop In Center / Advocacy
experiences)..
Anyways, I said to the hygienist and voyeur
"your questions sucked", then below the surface
I notice she wants me to hold a vaccuum tube,
in my lap, after saying and enjoying that my mp3 player
stopped mysteriously, she says she "did that",
I later mistakenly deleted my playlist (AND CONTENTS)
on an old SanDisk Sansa player running old version of RockBox
attempted updating and brought out for this purpose.
She said she dind't like it... Well in private dentists
offices they had TVs and gave you the remote
and some local channel guidance to watch
and hear what you wanted, probably as distraction...
At the end of the cleaning, while I had office receptionist
witnesses, I was told I had cavities (caries, if she
used proper technical terms of dentists)
so I started talking to her as she had me for the last hour(s),
"you say I have cavities, how many?"
"You can count? Can't You?"
She back steps to I don't know, with attitude,
then comes back moments later as apologetic,
but not really, "I did what I was supposed to do"
but I'm betting she was not supposed to violate
my human rights and dignity in the process,
while helpless in a chair with her co worker,
a likely foreign national student, enjoying it,
who didn't have a business card,
so I didn't even get her name, spelling etc,
when told verbally, just enjoying the show...
Receptionist says after the hygienist stepped away,
"that went well" I just groaned, shaking my head,
words didn't describe how badly I'd been treated,
that time and previously.
So. some unsolicited advice, as you get older,
and if poor and disabled, retired and fixed or limited income,
going to a dental school clinic, even the advanced
graduated ones, may not be the best choice.
Some MedicAid people get publicly funded comprehensive care
throught that system, others of us don't have dental,
optical and need to find low cost means,
which usually take much more time, and
may not even be saving any money,
as students and the clinic system works at a snails
pace to even get a first appointment like at Howard,
it was almost lottery like, in calling in to find the odds
of when they were starting or still accepting,
I was lucky (?) to get in on an emergency basis
then come back, eventually as a regular,
only one of the students really wasn't working
out and the supervision didn't seem to manage
and deal with it (was it irregular to have respectful
treatment? or is the population of clinics so bad
that nothing we say is really believed?),
so I went elsewhere, which may even be worse,
as much more travel is required and other issues,
only some of which are stated above...
Conclusion
Summary of experience or similar
Universal health care? WE NEED IT...
Retraining Students and Graduating,
in dignity and respect, ALSO NEEDED
Systemic changes to a system that treats
people worse than hamburger, WE NEED IT...
And all this is before you get THE BILL,
one of which in the private system was
$3000 for this disabled person, thinking
they checked a bank account (so much of that
office was about money, from glaring jewlery
of the office staff, to the cosmetic nature
of the surroundings, and they took all and
more for themselves, banking on fears
and probably mining my teeth for money...
Ironically, Mary Otto, wrote the Washington Post
article on the sick kid dying of tooth infection
problems, before coming to StreetSense as editor.
The bullying hygienist probably wouldn't believe
that either, so I didn't bother to say,
lots of things until safely out of the office
and in public with online witnesses...
And For The Record.
At one point in the interrogation,
After trying to eliminate me, by something
counter to medical history and experience,
and stepping out to their nurse to get reason not
to treat me, I just said "I like Lawyers, Do you like
lawyers?" implying the questions were more legal
than medical, especially in their wording and
implications...
Early on in the appointment, I had said,
"Do you think disabled get good care?"
and got no real answer...
So, I would not be surprised, if a lawyer
calls the hygienist on my behalf,
and at my request...
I really think she's in the wrong field,
and while dentistry may in general be a sadistic
and masochistic practice, and I may be one
of the baggy biker disabled depressed and differently
poor that people don't want to treat, there are limits
to how you can treat people, Human Rights still apply
universally and legally, IMHO.
Discussion
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20120331 Jerry
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