Getting Them To Clean Is Like Pulling Teeth

(I am a dentistry student. I have a patient who has severe problems with personal hygiene. She was assigned to me in my first year of practice because of faculty misjudgment. Her BO is so bad I have to work with a facial mask sprayed with disinfectant spray. Before Christmas, I give my patient a dental cleaning, removing year’s’ worth or tartar plaque, and accidentally get some blood on her shirt. She also seems to have gotten some liquid paper in her hair. She comes back after Christmas, a month after the last appointment, with the same amount of plaque in her mouth.)

Me: “Excuse me, but how much time do you usually take to brush your teeth?”

Patient: “Uh… half an hour.” *blank stare*

Me: “Uh. Do you mean maybe, half a minute?”

Patient: “Yes, yes. That.” *blank stare*

Me: “Oh.”

(And right after that, I notice the stain I gave her, still on her shirt, as well as the liquid paper in her hair.)