During my first day shadowing Dr. Siegel, we saw five patients. It was a very busy morning especially because Dr. Siegel doesn’t have her assistant this week so she is doing a lot of extra tasks. We definitely got our steps in today juggling the patients. We saw patients of all different ages so it was very cool to see how different ages get different treatments. The most intriguing case for me was an older woman, probably in her 70’s, that came in because she was experiencing some pain caused by her denture. It turns out that she has extremely weak gums that are very sensitive. The denture was a little too long on one side and didn’t fit quite right so it was rubbing against her gum causing the discomfort. Dr. Siegel was able to remove the denture and use a sharp tool to shave down the longer side of the denture. Once she got the shape just right after a few tries, the patient felt instant relief and was so much happier with the denture. It was amazing seeing patients feel more comfortable and confident in such a short time. Also, something that I really enjoyed witnessing was the close relationships Dr. Siegel has with her patients. “That’s what happens when you work at the same practice for 30 years”, she says.
