Case Study: Alcoholism
Name: Josh D.
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Race: Caccasion
Weight: 170 lbs
Physical Assessment- Josh complains of headaches, nausea and stomach ache. His breath smells strongly of alcohol and looks very tired. He has many bruises on his arms.
Mental Assessment: Josh is currently stressed about not having a place to live and not having a job. He feels useless and believes alcohol helps him hide his emotions.
Social Assessment- Josh states that he is living on his friends couch since he lost his job 6 months ago. His parents kicked him out of their house and is now trying to find another job and somewhere to live. He started drinking heavily a month before he lost his job. He explains that he drinks usually daily with his buddies until he passes out due to having a hard time sleeping at night. He believes he does not have a drinking problem.
Medical Assessment- Pre-hypertension. Insomnia.
Dental History- Josh has a fracture on tooth #8, attrition across all anterior incisor edges, and two suspicious areas.
E/O-I/O- Josh has a alcohol on his breath, coated tongue, gingival bleeding and ulcerations on his buccal mucosa.
Communication- Questioning Josh will be done in a non-judgmental manner and aided by using the standardized questionnaire such as CAGE or CUGE.
C: Have you ever felt the need to cut down your drinking?
U: Have you ever been under the influence of alcohol in a situation where it
increased your chances of getting hurt?
G: Have you ever felt guilty about your drinking?
E: Have you ever taken a drink (eye-opener) first thing in the morning?
We can then recommend a 12 step program for Josh if alcohol intake is not reduced or alcoholic anonymous meetings near his currently living area.
Appointment Planning- Appointment should be mid afternoon. The appointment should be kept short about 20 minutes. Recall intervals every 2-3 months.
Client Positioning- Modified to patient comfort.
DH Procedure- Need to avoid using alcohol based mouth rinses such as Listerine.
Safety Precautions- Josh is not experiencing mood alterations to treatment, but if he was, we would need to consult his primary doctor and have them prescribe only the minimal amount of medication without any refills to complete the dental procedure.
OHI- Saliva substitutes, alcohol free mouth rinse, bass brushing method, "C"-shaped flossing method, caries risk management, and education.
Personal Reflection: Alcoholism has strongly influenced my life since I was a young girl. My father is a recovering alcoholic of 12 years now. I have seen the good and the bad side effects of how alcohol can affect a person and a family as a whole. My father has taught me a lot about the recovering process now that I am an adult and had to experience this with an old boyfriend. My father currently mentors, organizes Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meetings and is involved with helping others. My father has over come the addiction and is very successful man with an amazing family. I look up to him as my hero and hope to be as successful as he is someday in my future.
Additional Information:
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Race: Caccasion
Weight: 170 lbs
Physical Assessment- Josh complains of headaches, nausea and stomach ache. His breath smells strongly of alcohol and looks very tired. He has many bruises on his arms.
Mental Assessment: Josh is currently stressed about not having a place to live and not having a job. He feels useless and believes alcohol helps him hide his emotions.
Social Assessment- Josh states that he is living on his friends couch since he lost his job 6 months ago. His parents kicked him out of their house and is now trying to find another job and somewhere to live. He started drinking heavily a month before he lost his job. He explains that he drinks usually daily with his buddies until he passes out due to having a hard time sleeping at night. He believes he does not have a drinking problem.
Medical Assessment- Pre-hypertension. Insomnia.
Dental History- Josh has a fracture on tooth #8, attrition across all anterior incisor edges, and two suspicious areas.
E/O-I/O- Josh has a alcohol on his breath, coated tongue, gingival bleeding and ulcerations on his buccal mucosa.
Communication- Questioning Josh will be done in a non-judgmental manner and aided by using the standardized questionnaire such as CAGE or CUGE.
C: Have you ever felt the need to cut down your drinking?
U: Have you ever been under the influence of alcohol in a situation where it
increased your chances of getting hurt?
G: Have you ever felt guilty about your drinking?
E: Have you ever taken a drink (eye-opener) first thing in the morning?
We can then recommend a 12 step program for Josh if alcohol intake is not reduced or alcoholic anonymous meetings near his currently living area.
Appointment Planning- Appointment should be mid afternoon. The appointment should be kept short about 20 minutes. Recall intervals every 2-3 months.
Client Positioning- Modified to patient comfort.
DH Procedure- Need to avoid using alcohol based mouth rinses such as Listerine.
Safety Precautions- Josh is not experiencing mood alterations to treatment, but if he was, we would need to consult his primary doctor and have them prescribe only the minimal amount of medication without any refills to complete the dental procedure.
OHI- Saliva substitutes, alcohol free mouth rinse, bass brushing method, "C"-shaped flossing method, caries risk management, and education.
Personal Reflection: Alcoholism has strongly influenced my life since I was a young girl. My father is a recovering alcoholic of 12 years now. I have seen the good and the bad side effects of how alcohol can affect a person and a family as a whole. My father has taught me a lot about the recovering process now that I am an adult and had to experience this with an old boyfriend. My father currently mentors, organizes Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meetings and is involved with helping others. My father has over come the addiction and is very successful man with an amazing family. I look up to him as my hero and hope to be as successful as he is someday in my future.
Additional Information:
Pictures from: Google imaging.com
Video from: Youtube.com
Journal Article : EBSCOhost.com
Video from: Youtube.com
Journal Article : EBSCOhost.com