Technically, since the research involved surveying of subjects whose responses were recorded so that the human subjects could not be "identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects" and didn't fall under the category of "[I]f subject's responses became known outside the research could they place the subject at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subject’s financial standing or employability?" (http://www.scu.edu/provost/research/Human-Subjects.cfm) my interviews were applicable to being an exempt review. But before each interview with the dentists I still started off by saying the following: "I am conducting a research project regarding technology in the dental field for a class I am taking this quarter and your contribution would be very appreciated. There are a total of 16 questions and will take 5-15 minutes of your time. As a pre-dental student, I appreciate and understand the time your are taking out of your busy day, so thank you, and of course, anonymity will remain in force". For the latter question directed towards my family and friends, I made them aware that I am taking a class that requires a research presentation and I research technology in the dental field. I added that "their answer will be greatly appreciated but they are not required to answer if they decide, if so, any name used or discussion will be used as a pseudonym." All answers were written down my hand with pen and paper and the data was computed in Excel on my computer. My first survey with a dentist took a lot longer because I wrote the responses on paper with pen but for the following surveys I typed the responses on my computer for easy computing and it was much more efficient. Since I have shadowed the dentists and made it aware to the one's I have seen for checkups or interned, it was very easy for me to reach the dentists around my home area. Also, because both my parents see different dentists and have a friendly relationship with them, they were aware of me being interested in not only dentistry for my project, but also as a career choice.
I'm relating this project to my own experiences in the sense that I've shadowed and interned at different dental practices and clinics and noticed how there is different technology in almost every office I've seen. One clinic that stood out to me that I'll call "SJGH", was designated for low income households and families that could not afford private practice dental visits. At that clinic, the technology was limited to x-ray films, the view box (light box where films were put on to read), and film developers. This was different than the other practice where I shadowed a dentist who owned more advanced x-ray technology that was digital. There, they would take an x-ray by putting a sensory in your mouth (image seen above), and an x-ray is taken by an "intraoral radiograph machine" and within minutes the x-ray pops up on a computer. (see image below)
Thanks for sharing. This was a very interesting article that you shared and I loved reading every bit of it. Have a great day and a wonderful upcoming new year.
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