Two years ago, the South West District Dental Hygienists (SWDTs) at Northside High School in Clayton had been working for two hours a day to make sure all of their patients’ teeth and gums were maintained.
The team’s work was being supported by the National Centre for Dental Health, and their focus was on keeping their patients healthy and happy.
The team, which had been running for over a year, was finally given the go-ahead to start working full time at Northsides dental clinic, after a successful two-year contract.
But for all their hard work, there were moments when the team were on the verge of tears.
One such day, the team had just completed an intensive two-hour dental exam on a patient who had had a serious case of sepsis.
A patient with no history of medical problems, the man was diagnosed with sepsi-associated pneumonia.
As they began the exam, the doctor told the team that his blood pressure was low and he needed a blood transfusion.
For the next hour and a half, the doctors and nurses at the clinic could only watch on as the patient’s blood pressure and temperature fluctuated wildly, until finally, his blood was found to be normal.
After a long day of testing, the patient was finally diagnosed with pneumonia, and the SWDTs team was told to move on to the next patient.
It was the start of a new year, and when the staff went back to work the following day, their first patient was a healthy young man, who had a similar condition.
The man’s condition was the same, the only difference was the condition he had developed was sepsidemic, meaning he was not the first to develop it.
In the months that followed, the two staff members who had been caring for him developed a bond of trust and respect, and became one of the best-loved and respected dentists in Clayton.
As a result of the dedication and dedication of all the staff at North’s dental clinic that year, Norths Dental hygenic and SWELL had a number of high-profile graduates.
After graduating, the staff became a staple in the Clayton community, working alongside the local community and the Clayton Regional School District.
The following year, a new group of staff were hired, who joined the SWNTD in 2019 and worked alongside the new Southside dental clinic.
The staff members at Northwoods were also highly respected, and were given the chance to build on their experience by being given the opportunity to become part of the team at Souths West Dental Clinic in 2021.
The work of the SWTCD staff is now second to none.