Perform Patient Evaluation Measures Reflection

Patient care is not one size fits all. Everyone is different so everyone’s treatment will be

different as well. It is important to evaluate your patients needs. We evaluate their extraoral

and intraoral appearance and conditions, as well as their health history. I was able to

demonstrate my abilities in this area by providing a daily grade sheet, multiple treatment plans,

and my probing proficiency.

We begin by making an extraoral evaluation. The extraoral evaluation begins the

moment the patient walks in the door. This allows us to take note of any physical features or

characteristics that could have an impact on the way we provide treatment. For example, if a

patient arrives at their appointment shaky, pale, and sweaty, this is a good indicator that the

patient is experiencing some anxiety. It is then our job to make the necessary accommodations

to ensure that the patient is comfortable and feels more at ease. Another extraoral evaluation

we need to make is during the extraoral exam. We need to feel around our patient’s neck and

jaw to feel for anything that is not within normal limits.

Intraorally we need to be able be able to assess the hard and soft tissue. We need to

document any finding that are not within normal limits. We also are able to evaluate our

patients and assign them a case type. This helps us to know what level of care this patient

needs.

A patients health history also needs to be evaluated. Certain medical conditions and

medications can have an impact on how we treat our patients, so it is incredibly important that

we update and review health history without patients at every single appointment.
 In conclusion, being able to evaluate our patients helps us formulate a treatment plan

for them that is customized to their needs. By evaluating our patients we are ensuring that the

best possible care is being provided.