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Dentist
Reaches Goal of "Serving Mankind"
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Billie
Holbrook, D.M.D. went into medical dentistry
as a way to "serve mankind," but she didn't
take the most direct or traditional route.
Her thoughts about medicine started back
when she was hospitalized after she had
been serving in the Peace Corps.
"I
was working in the Andes. I was at 14,000
feet and my legs started to get numb. I
came back to the United States to have surgery."
Congenital problems with blood vessels that
were malformed around her spinal cord developed
into an aneurysm from the altitude in the
Andes. After surgery, she did not regain
use of her legs. During rehabilitation for
her paralysis, Holbrook decided that medicine
was a way for her to make her professional
mark, to serve "�in an expression of appreciation
of what people had done for me."
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| More
than two decades later, Holbrook achieved
her mission. For the past 15 years, she has
practiced in her own thriving dentistry practice
in Tucson, Arizona. She also serves on the
Southern Arizona Dental Society and has been
a delegate for the state dental association.
She continues her volunteer spirit by mentoring
young girls in a program called "Expanding
Your Horizons" sponsored by the University
of Arizona. |
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It
took some time and exploration before she
earned this level of success. She first applied
to several medical and nursing schools, but
was rejected due to her disability. Her dentist
was the head of a dental hygiene program,
and suggested she apply. She did, and became
a dental hygienist where she worked for eight
years. Then, on April Fools Day in 1979, she
came to work to find that the office had burned
down. This turned out to be the turning point
she needed to apply for dental school.
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| She
was accepted at The University of Oregon (now
Oregon Health Sciences University), and moved
from Arizona to Oregon to become a dentist.
She picked Oregon "mainly because it was a
small school and the classes were smaller�[and]
I wanted to go to Oregon and it seemed like
kind of an adventure�" |
| In
dental school, Holbrook worked very closely
with the facilities staff to problem solve
and work out accommodations. In biology lab
they designed a table on wheels at an appropriate
height for her. She would wheel the table
around from lab station to station or students
and professors brought the lab materials to
her. When working with a cadaver, Holbrook
found the gurneys to be too tall for her to
see into the torso. At first, the facilities
staff placed a mirror overhead for her to
see, but this was confusing because the mirror
reversed her view of the body. Then, they
provided her with a tall bar stool on wheels,
and fellow students would help her wheel around. |
| When
Holbrook worked in clinical settings in dental
school, she was unable to use the foot pedal
that most dentists use to control the rheostat,
the device used to drill teeth. Holbrook placed
the foot pedal on her patient's chest and
instructed them on how to use it. She would
tell the patient to push the foot pedal at
her command and when to stop. Patients often
reported that they felt a heightened sense
of control and comfort in handling the instruments
in this way. The facilities staff also built
ramps for her to lean her wheelchair on to
use the foot-pedal controlled sinks. |
| Technology
has come a long way since Holbrook graduated
from dental school and bought her own practice.
Holbrook chose the practice mainly because
the operatories (the dentist chair area) were
large enough for her to maneuver around in
her wheelchair. Infrared controls have replaced
foot-pedals in her sinks. Until this year,
she has not been able to get into her X-ray
lab, so all of her patient's X-rays were scanned
into her computer where she viewed them on
screen. This also allowed her to get closer
to the films rather than having to hold them
up to the X-ray viewer. |
| She
uses no foot-controlled instruments anymore.
She uses a hand-controlled rheostat for drilling.
This device was custom made for her by A-dec,
inc. (Click here to
learn more about A-dec.) The hand controls
look like a little watchband that she holds
between her fingers along with the mirror
used to view her patients' teeth. She also
uses an infrared remote control to operate
her inter-oral camera, and a hand-controlled
lave in her denture lab. Some technology she
uses has added advantages for her staff, such
as the voice recognition computer that the
hygienist also uses to record charts, instead
of having to write them down. New technology
is sometimes developed that she can't use
right away. There is sometimes a delay in
getting new equipment adapted to suit her
needs. |
| Her
patients
usually know ahead of time that she uses a
wheelchair through referrals or through the
receptionist when they make the initial appointment.
Some have asked about how sanitary her hands
are if she has to put them on her wheels all
the time, but she explains that she sets up
in one place and doesn't touch them, and if
she has to move, she re-gloves. Other than
that, it has really been a non-issue. "I haven't
found any reaction," she says. |
| She
finds that her colleagues have been accepting
as well, feeling sometimes that being a woman
causes more discrimination. She chooses her
staff carefully, ensuring that they are comfortable
with her and are willing to help when needed.
Her dental assistants have been trained to
give her information she can't observe for
herself. For example, they observe the fit
of dentures from a standing position and describe
to her the necessary information, and then
she makes the adjustments herself. |
| Coming
almost full circle from her Peace Corps days,
Holbrook continues to use her abilities to
serve others by volunteering to provide dental
care for HIV/AIDS patients, and talking to
students in her children's school. She says
that sometimes people don't bother to ask
her what she does because they assume she
is unemployed. "I think they respect me more
when they find out I'm a dentist. It's a good
thing." |
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