Class III

Today was my first experience with a patient who needs Local Anesthesia. It is kind of nice working on someone who is completely numb! I was able to get a lot of time with my ultrasonic today and I am feeling very comfortable with it now! I am so relived to have my requirements met for a class III patient!! I missed quite a few spots but I think that is to be expected this semester with class III's. I can not believe there is only one clinic day left! On Wednesday I will finish the patient I worked on today (she has one quad of a class II that still needs cleaned) and then finish my last 1B patient. I am really starting to get more comfortable scaling. There is still plenty of things I need to work on, but there have been some light bulbs click on these last few clinic sessions. I'm starting to feel more comfortable with patients and in my abilities. I would like to get better at feeling calculus with my explorer. I still sometimes have a difficult time feeling the calculus even after a scale check and the instructor is showing me where it's at. I would like to practice exploring and perfecting my fulcrums and grip over the summer. Overall it was a good day and I learned a lot about cleaning a periodontally involved patient! My goal for my last clinic session is to finish...and get one more sealant! That's all I have left! Big thanks to all the girls who have helped me so much this semester with getting x-rays and everything! Love you girls!

Another Longggg day.

Today was so productive! I needed an extra clinic session because of all of my bad luck with patients no-showing. For the morning clinic, I had my husband come in so I could take a full mouth set of PA's on him. It was my first FMX of the semester so I was a little worried, but I did pretty good! My first few PA's were missing the apicies, so I called in Instructor Caldwell and she gave me some great tips. I just love her! She also helped me identify the radiopaque blob at the apicies of one of my husband's premolars, a condensing osteitis! I also did a sealant on Skyler and was able to pass of my diagnodent, air powder polisher, and sealant PE on him! After that, my sister came in for some bitewings and a pano. She was pregnant when I cleaned her teeth at the beginning of the semester so I brought her back in so I could take them now. I also did a sealant on her too. Great morning! Then for afternoon clinic I had a 1B patient who was just a sweetheart. She was really nice and she was a god learning experience because she had a dreaded lingual bar! I got A LOT of practice with the ultrasonic and I feel so much better about it! I think I finally got it down! I learned a lot about instrumenting on anteriors. My goal for next time is to not miss any spots on the anteriors, that seems to be my trouble spot lately!

Longggg Day

Today I was able to complete my two quads of my special needs class III patient. It would have been easier for me I think if I would have polished first, and then scaled because there was so much plaque build up. It also would have been easier to use the ultrasonic a lot but my patient didn't handle that too well. I was able to give the patient and caregiver lots of good oral hygiene instruction and advised that it would be best if she is seen every 3 months. I am glad her mouth is all clean now. After clinic, I had CA for afternoon clinic session, and then it was the Welcome Event for the new junior class. It is so crazy to think that we are going to be seniors! Time really does fly!! So today was a long day and I am exhausted, but it was a good day. CA went really well and I did most things by myself today. My goal is to get more practice with my ultrasonic and my graceys on my next class III patient and to get quicker at scaling. I would like to read the clinic manual time goals and try and get as close to them as I can. ONLY 3 clinic sessions left!!?? I can't believe it!

1A's

Today was my first time seeing two patients in one clinic session. They were two little girls, ages 3 and 5. They both had never been to the dentist before so they were a little nervous, but they were both so good! I took them for a ride in the chair, then showed then how the chair lays back and turns into a "bed", let them shoot a little air and water out of the air/water syringe, and let them hold the saliva ejector (Mr. Thirsty). Everything went surprisingly well! I was able to get x-rays on the 5 year old and both of them let me and the instructor really get in there and look at their teeth. The mother also wanted some x-rays taken so I took a quick set of bitewings on her too! I learned today a lot about how long a child can sit in the chair before they are just totally done. After bitewings, OD, brushing/flossing, and exploring, the 5 year old was DONE. She was still really good, she just got very wiggly and tired. It was a good experience today. I was able to get some requirements taken care of and I really think the girls wont be scared next time they go to the dentist because they were both so good! My goal for next time is to get e little quicker at charting. Granted, I had two charts to do today. But it seems like I usually am still one of the last people out of clinic every time.

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.

I can't handle the stress...

Yep, another cancellation, 30 minutes before clinic starts! I know that everything usually works out in the end, but when I hear my patient say "I won't be able to make it today" my heart completely sinks and my mind starts racing! Today I was so lucky. There was an on-call name on the list and he was happy to come and was here right on time! I am so grateful. Today was my first set of bitewings using conventional film. I was a little scared because if you have to take retakes on conventional film it takes FOREVER to take the x-rays, develop, mount, get them checked by an instructor, retake, develop again, get them checked again. Well, I only needed 1 retake which I guess is not too bad. But it does take a lot of time on conventional films. I really hope the office I work for has digital x-ray devices! Overall, things went good today. I finished the OD and one quad, and he will be coming back the last day of clinic to get finished. I learned today from Instructor Hafen to really make sure I adapt, adapt, adapt! Also, she helped me a lot with using an exploratory stroke first, then using the lateral pressure if I feel something. My goal for my next clinc session is to continue using the ultrasonic and getting more comfortable with it.

Dang stack!

I learned a lot today. You would think by now that fulcruming and "keeping my stack together" would be second nature by now. Nope. My fulcrum is almost always too weak and my stack is anything but together. Prof. Costley really helped me today with anterior instrumentation and emphasised the importance of my stack when working on the anteriors. It helped me a ton! She also showed me an extra-oral fulcrum that I think will really help me once I get a little more practice with it. Something else that should be second nature by now is my posture. My back usually hurts after clinic so that is a big sign that I need to pay more attention to my posture if I do not want to drastically shorten my career. Overall, today went good. I did miss more spots of calculus that I had hoped for, but hey, it was my first true class II and I learned a lot today. My goal for the next clinic session is to revert back to the basics a little and really pay attention to some of the things I have somewhat thrown out the window (posture, correct grasp, fulcrum).