Typical Day
Pita Plaquepicker starts her busy Monday at 8:00AM with a Venti mocha latte and a muffin at Starbucks—sugar, carbs, and butter, all the food groups covered—as she hurries to the office where her first patient is already waiting for her.
It's Mrs. Vedermeyer. Mrs. Vedermeyer is always early because she comes straight to the office after dropping her son off at school. Mrs. Vedermeyer's son, Daniel, has autism and is quite a handful, from what Pita hears during their time together. Mrs. Vedermeyer has been coming in since Daniel was a toddler and Pita even remembers hearing about Daniel's diagnosis.
Pita takes X-rays of Mrs. Vedermeyer's teeth. It's been over a year since her last set. While she puts in the bite plates and places the led apron over her, Pita asks about Daniel. Mrs. Vedermeyer tells Pita about how Daniel got lost on a field trip the other day and how worried she was. At least the police didn't have to be called. Daniel was found playing with the drinking fountains near the bathrooms.
Stress affects the gums and teeth, and Mrs. Vedermeyer's teeth and gums tell the tale of a woman stretched to her limits. Instead of giving her flack for not brushing well and keeping away the plaque, Pita scrapes it off and starts talking about her own life. She tells Mrs. Vedermeyer about her niece who recently entered a beauty pageant and her nephew who wants to move across country to attend college in Boston. She wants to get Mrs. Vedermeyer's mind off of her troubles, even if only for the next forty-five minutes.
She debrades, degunks, polishes, and cleans Mrs. Vedermeyer's teeth until they shine. When she is done, Mrs. Vedermeyer has clean teeth and a slightly cleaner slate. She can check off one thing she's done for herself today.
The dental assistant takes Mrs. Vedermeyer into the next room where the dentist will oversee her progress and look at her X-rays.
The next patient up is the guy Pita thinks of as the Marlborough Man. He's kind of a Tom Selleck throwback to the '70s style, with a big bushy moustache and really gross teeth that are stained and brown from smoking cigarettes and chewing tobacco.
Pita has warned the Marlborough Man that he has to change his ways, but he just keeps smoking and chewing tobacco. It's a miracle he still has any teeth at all, not to mention that he's avoided lung or tongue cancer.
Pita does her best to clean the deep pockets of gunk out of his teeth and tries to reduce the stains. She suggests, for the millionth time, that he quit, but he just smiles and says, "thanks, I'll take that under advisement."
After an hour of scrubbing away with both the metal pick and sonic water pick, Pita's arms feel like they're going to come out of their sockets.
The Marlborough Man leaves, scrubbed clean, and Pita's next patient, Cecilia Lemming, a young mom with a husband stationed in Iraq, comes in for her annual cleaning. Cecilia tells Pita how hard it is raising their young son without her husband around and is excited because he's due to come home on leave next week.
"Well, we'll give you an extra special white smile for that," boasts Pita, and she does.
Pita's cousin, Sorel, is also in the armed services and is overseas so she can relate to what it's like worrying about a loved one and missing them. Pita and Sorel are first cousins and close like brother and sister. She wonders if he's flossing regularly, like she told him to. Healthy gums help prevent heart disease—a little known fact that she shares with all of her friends and family.
Cecilia leaves her chair with a bright smile and it's time for Pita to take a break.
She heads off to the yogurt shop across the street and gets herself a Nutella yogurt, her favorite flavor. While she's there, she chats with the woman behind the counter at the shop. She's a regular customer here and she enjoys the social time. In fact, Pita is a very social person in general, which certainly helps with her job as a hygienist. She gets very close to her patients, as well as the people in her office and her neighborhood. She has a comfortable life and enjoys the routine and her regular clientele.
After her break is over, Pita returns to the office for a new patient—a teenager with braces. Pita speaks to the girl's mother and asks if it would be possible for her to come back after the girl's orthodontist removes the wire so that she can give her a better cleaning. The mother says no, the orthodontist does not want her to do that and asks Pita to please clean around the braces.
Pita does the best that she can, but it's tricky to clean around all that metal. She relies on her sonic water tool to get the teeth as clean as possible. The patient, a young girl with red hair and freckles is sweet and cooperative and tells her she's just started high school and wants to be a dentist when she graduates. Pita suggests also looking into a career as a hygienist.
"The pay is a bit less, but so are the stresses and the hours are good," Pita explains.
The teen grins and says she'll think about it and thanks Pita for being so gentle with her cleaning. Pita decides she likes this girl and will keep her as a patient. She even gives her a free toothbrush and mini-toothpaste on the way out.
After about five more patients (all regulars), Pita is done for the day. She has tomorrow off so she makes sure that all of the charts of all of today's patients are noted and filed appropriately for the office staff to review.
Back at home by 6:00PM, Pita takes her dog, Flossy, to the dog park for a run. Flossy, a Doberman with a dazzling smile—thanks to regular cleanings and milk bones to chew—wants to stay until dusk; Pita obliges.
Pita makes herself a healthy dinner and watches her favorite shows on TV before deciding to pack it in. It's been a busy day and she's exhausted. Her back hurts a bit and her hands ache but it's nothing a little Ibuprofren won't fix. Tomorrow, she'll have plenty of time to rest and recover.
She goes through her nightly routine. She brushes with a water pick, then with a regular brush and flosses her teeth. Afterward she brushes them again for a little polish.
After she's all finished, she gives Flossy a hug and snuggles with the pooch as she drifts off to sleep, feeling minty fresh.