Polishing, all a lie!!??

Did you know that polishing is pretty unnecessary? (unless you have staining). That is so weird to me! Ever since I have been going to the dentist, I have always thought polishing was a necessary and important part of the cleaning. It's good to know the truth. Four words...Holy Air-powder Polish! I think that devilish little machine was invented by Satan himself! I just feel like it's utter chaos! Too much happening at once and too many things to focus on (Don't spray the gingiva, move lips FAR out of the way, make sure not to hit the tongue, avoid all composite and crowns, don't spray towards the gumline, all while holding the HVE) A little overwhelming. And that does not even mention all the SALT... I was a walking potato chip when it was all said and done! Mollee did a really good job though and she was gentle and careful. Then we got to rubber cup polish, which I like much better. We used toothpaste instead of a grit prophy paste because none of us really have staining. I was taught proper polishing technique and motion and I feel pretty comfortable with it! Then after a few swipes of the flouride varnish, that's a wrap!

Practice day!

Hooray for Practice days! Professor Hansen came in today and helped me with my instrumentation. From what I have heard, she is the instrumentation guru so it was great to learn from her! She showed me a great/much easier way to get the correct angulation while scaling the mesial surfaces of posteriors. If I just move over into the 12 o'clock position, getting the mesials was much easier on the mandibular molars and premolars. She said it is legal because it is a surface away from you. Mollee was my partner today and it was fun because we have never been paired up together! First we disclosed and then brushed each others teeth before we practiced our instrumentation. We both did not get too much time to practice, hopefully we will have more time during these upcoming clinic sessions before our Real Patient Day! (Ahh!) We both passed off our OHI and Intraoral camera PE's today. Great day in clinic!

Relaxation in clinic....Is that Legal???

Today Emily was the operator and it was a very relaxing clinic day! I just layed back while she did her thing! Just one question...What the heck is up with my freakin' blood pressure? It's always high in clinic (which I think is mostly due to stress!) but I should probably just go to the doctor just in case because today it was 135/82. Emily did a great job being operator today! Later, we got to practice scaling and pass off our posterior instrumentation PE. I am excited for 2nd year observation tomorrow, I am eager to just watch an entire appointment from start to finish and see what I will actually be doing in the next few semesters. Oh, also, we learned we were counting PFI wrong! No wonder I was getting 40's! I am a loyal brusher/flosser so a PFI in the 40's was ticking me right off! I can't believe how fast this semester is flying by! I have learned SO much in this short time I have been in the program, I can't wait to put it all to good use after LOTS of practice!

All together now!!

Today we mashed up our past PE's into one and did a complete OD. You know what I realized? This all takes a long time! I need to practice even more so I can be quicker because a real pateint will not be as willing as Emily is to sit in my chair for fifty years! Another thing I realized...I forget things quickly. Today was a good reminder that I need to be going over all of my past PE's once in a while and making sure I still have them down (like vitals and extra oral exams). Like I said, Emily was my parter today and she is just a perfect little patient! We also learned the intra-oral camera today which was pretty cool! I can not wait until the day that I just dig in and get to work and don't feel so uncomfortable in the clinician's chair. I feel very inadequate in clinic some days. Today was no exception. I am so glad we have such great professors and instructors and TA's who are always so willing to help me and don't make me feel stupid when I look at them and say "I just really don't get this". I am excited for my 2nd year observation on Thursday so I can see the process of a real patient and implant it in my brain.

Composite or Sealant...that is the question

Today we learned dental screening. I was paired with Karlie N. and she was a great partner! Leigh announced that she wanted to be my partner because she wanted to do the "tornados" for charting my implants! I love all these girls! I learned a lot today about charting as well as looking at different things in the mouth. It was difficult to tell the difference between a composite filling and sealants but thankfully Marilyn was helping us a lot today. I think with a little more practice, the dental charting will not be too bad at all. We finished early and had time to practice anterior scaling. I learned that I need to work on using wrist motion only, Marilyn said I was moving my whole body! What the!! She had to hold my shoulders still while I was doing my working strokes. Thank goodness for her! She gave me lots of much needed one-on-one time today and so I feel much better about it now. I just need to become more brave and get in that gingiva!! Me and Jamie have some practicing to do this weekend, three PE's to pass off Monday (counting the probe). My life will be so much better once I have passed off the probe. Hooray for Fall Break! Which will be spent studying! But I'm not complaining, It's Wednesday and my week is over! Knock on wood I do not get the sickness all of the other girls are getting!

Disclosing Agents and PFI

Today was a fun day, the day we have all been waiting for, disclosing! I was paired up with Leigh today and we had lots of fun. That girl makes me laugh! It was cool getting disclosed and seeing the areas that I need to give more attention during my oral hygiene routine. I think they need make disclosing agents flavored because that was a little nasty tasting there for a second! I now can see the benefit of disclosing patients to create an effective learning experience for them. If it was effective for teaching me how I can improve, it will be even more effective for someone who does not know as much as I do about at-home oral hygiene care. After disclosing, we calculated PFI. (Me and Leigh had almost the exact same score!) I got a little confused on the surfaces to count..was I missing some, was I counting some twice? Does this count as one area or two? I think my calculation was mostly correct, but another demo would not hurt me. After calculating each other's PFI, we brushed each other's teeth using the Modified Stillman's Method. I am excited to do this with a patient and show them the correct method for brushing and flossing.

Eaglesoft TX and Posterior Scaling

I like treatment planning in Eaglesoft. It is very different from treatment planning on Dentrix like I am used to, but it was refreshing doing a non-stressful PE today. I just need to memorize the steps and practice in the wet lab whenever I can to make sure I have it down. We also learned Posterior scaling with our Barnhart today. This is a little tougher than anteriors. Although, I like that it has a toe rather than a tip so I am less scared to go subgingival. I was really getting the hang of it until I tried different areas of the mouth. I do that sometimes, practice and practice in one area of the mouth, finally get it right, and then remember I have other spots in the mouth to master. (Like the dreaded linguals). All in all, I think I did a pretty good job today. I have mastered how to know if I am using the correct end, and I think I have the angulation and adaptation down as well. Prof. Costley says we have lots of practice days coming up, and for that I am very grateful. Me and Jamie practice in my kitchen. The patient lays across four lined up kitchen chairs, while the clinician sits on my computer chair. It works for us...but it is definitely much easier in an actual dental chair with dental light.

Scaling Anteriors!

Today we learned anterior scaling with our Nebraska scaler. I was a little nervous going subgingival with this scaler because it has a sharp tip, but I just need to remember that as long as my adaptation is correct, I won't hurt my patient. I think I have the angulation down and the the working stroke. Jamie was my partner today and we were very excited. We like working on each other because we are less timid and less worried about hurting each other. We need to get over this fear. I feel like my fear of hurting the patient is holding me back a little. I just need to remember to keep a good, strong fulcrum and do everything I have learned and practiced! Also, my modified pen grasp needs work. A crazy little thing happens when I am not paying particular attention to my grasp, my index finger creeps way high up on my instrument. What the heck! What the devil is possessing my finger to do this?? All I know is that it happens ALL the time and I need to stop it! Also, Mr. Pinky finger likes his alone time and does not like connecting to my other fingers. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!