Good learning experience

Today was my second appointment with my special needs patient, and they brought her denture this time! I was able to pass off my PE, no sweat! Last time, I only got the health history done and the pano (see post on 3/7/11). I did the OD and took some PA's and she was a class III! I was so happy because I need a class III patient. She only has two quads to do, but it's a good start to my requirement! Well today, I got through the whole OD and OHI, took the PA's, and then we were out of time again. I really was hoping to get done today but everything takes a little longer with this patient that usual. But she is so sweet! I feel so lucky to be her dental hygiene provider. She is patient and funny. She even made me a hat out of yarn. It is a good experience working with a patient with a mental disability. Now I have a little better understanding of how to handle similar situations in the future and in my career. One more appointment to scale and then I will be done with this patient. Today I learned that if a patient has sever xerostomia (as my patient does), don't do the disclosing agent. There is not enough saliva to move it around and it just got all over her lips. I will skip that part next time. My goal for my next clinic session is to RELAX. I noticed that My whole body gets pretty tense in clinic. I need to relax my shoulders and be confident in my abilities.