[Verified Answer]: Leslie is eager to begin a new position in…

Leslie is eager to begin a new position in her first year of clinical practice as a dental hygienist. Dr. Shepherd has been in practice for 15 years and most staff members have been with him for at least the past 10 years, including Ann, the dental hygienist with whom she will be practicing. Leslie is glad to have someone with experience take to mentor her. A dental assistant takes care of instrument sterilization and tray setups for dental hygienists. As she sat down to her first patient, she noticed the instruments on her instrument cassette were all sickle scalers and she wanted curettes. On closer inspection, however, she discovered that all but one instrument were indeed curettes; they had just been sharpened incorrectly, leaving them with no contour (curvature) at the toe. She excused herself to go into the instrument supply room only to find that all of the curettes had sharp, pointed toes. Going back to the clinical area, she peeked in to ask Ann if the assistant did the sharpening for her (as she glanced at Ann’s tray, she noted the curettes were equally sharpened to a distinct point). Ann answered, “No, I do all the sharpening myself because I am very picky.” Leslie suddenly realizes nothing has ever been said in a work description about who orders new dental hygiene instruments. She had learned in school that dental hygiene practitioners took care of their own instruments. Leslie pondered what she would do to address this situation—especially how to approach it without alienating her new coworkers. Ask a dental hygienist who has been practicing for a year or more to read the scenario. Provide them with a copy of the Code of Ethics as well. Share the responses you have made to answer each question and ask that person to discuss the situation with you. What insights did you have or what did you learn during this discussion