{12 quads, 3 sets of xrays, sealants}

What a day!  It was a very productive day today!  I was really concerned about not having any kids yet this semester, so I checked the resource list and...sure enough there were twin girls that were on the list. Perfect!  I called their mom up on Monday morning for my Tuesday morning appt., and it ended up working out!  I was able to do BWX and sealants on both of them.  I let a couple other students do sealants on them for their requirements since I was done with them.  They were really good kids with really good home care.

My afternoon pt. was the mom of the two kids Olivia saw.  She was a super easy 1B.  I was able to do BWX and get a few PAs too.  Awesome!  Her cleaning went super quick, and I was able to get her done pretty early.  I love that!  She was a really nice lady who takes really good care of her teeth.  She hadn't been in for 5 years for a cleaning, but you really couldn't even tell.

Overall, very productive day!

What I learned today: Make sure the interproximal of the mand. ant. are spotless!  I always seem to miss a tiny piece right under the contact of at least one of those teeth!

{Mockboards}

Well....Mockboard #1 is over!  What a relief!  It really wasn't as bad as I had envisioned, but I still did worse than I wanted to.  I'm not too upset about it though, because it has just taught me what it is I need to pay better attention to.  I am honestly so grateful for the Mockboard experience.  I couldn't imagine going in on the day of boards not having any clue how it will go.  I don't really have much more to say about it....just that I learned that I need to get ALL the supra. off (hehe).  I don't know what I was thinking by not paying better attention to that.  DUH!

{What a day...}

My morning started off great.  I had a NP in who turned out to be a super simple 1B.  Sometimes it's refreshing to have somebody in your chair who doesn't have extensive scaling to be done.  She was super sweet, and I got her finished up early...even with Eaglesoft down and having to do conventional films.  (BTW....why does Eaglesoft ALWAYS have a problem???)  I decided that on this pt. I didn't want to use my Ultrasonic, because I need to better my hand instrumenting skills.  I was also able to do the Infection Control (pointless PE, in my opinion), and do a sealant (PE) on Olivia's pt.  Overall....successful morning.

In the afternoon, I had a Class II pt. I saw a couple weeks ago in to finish her last two quads.  Last time I saw her I was completely rushed and under a lot of pressure (from the person who was translating for her) so I unfortunately missed more spots than I would like to admit.  So, my goal for today was to try and increase my speed, but still be thorough and efficient.  I went through both quads, and back over missed areas from last time.  I was feeling pretty confident in myself, and thought that I did pretty well.  Nope!  I missed about the same amount of spots as last time.  I was super discouraged and feeling pretty bad about myself.  I almost started crying, which is not like me.  So, Lis told me to use my Triple Bend US tip and go back over those areas, because I hadn't gone subgingival or interproximal enough.  I then went back over with my graceys, and felt like I did a pretty good job, which I did.  There were still a couple areas that I had to go back over again.  I was also feeling pressure because the girl who brought my pt. was pressuring me again to get her done.  I had to keep explaining to her why it was taking so long.  After she left I was feeling very defeated.  I was feeling inadequate, and like maybe I really don't know what I'm doing.  Lis came over and told me that I did a good job, she was just a super hard Class II with a lot of heavy, tenacious subgingival calc.  (I'm sure she was just trying to make me feel better).  She was THE hardest Class II pt. I've seen yet.  I better not pick somebody like that for boards, or else I will probably fail.  I really feel like I learned a lot today, and I have been trying to stay positive about it. So, a goal of mine is to make sure I am going interproximal, and subgingival enough.  That is a no-brainer, but it's obviously something I need to work on.

{Class 2 crazy!}

On Tuesday in the morning, I had my mockboard pt. come in so I could clean two quads.  I ended up cleaning his maxilla, and taking 5 PAs.  I missed a couple spots.  One of the spots I missed was on the mesial of 5.  It was in that concavity of the root surface that Prof. Alexander taught about in class.  So, she showed me how much you have to angle the tip of your instrument in and go up and down.  It was a good learning experience to go back and remove that small deposit.  Overall, the appointment went well, and I was able to get him done early and not have to rush so much to chart and clean up.

In the afternoon, I had a NP that came in and she was 100% spanish speaking.  Luckily, she brought her friend in who helped with translation.  Her HHX was super easy, so that made it nice.  I got 4 BWX, and determined she's a Class 2 as well.  The bad part...all 4 wisdom teeth.  Ugh!  I HATE wisdom teeth when they have perio.  It is SO hard for me to scale those teeth for some reason.  I was able to clean 2 quads, but by the end they were in a hurry to leave.  Because of the added stress, I wasn't as thorough as I'd wanted to be and ended up missing more spots than I'd like to admit.  Prof. Perry just told me to write them down and I could go over them next time.  Her calculus was a lot more tenacious than I was anticipating, and I hate having people look over my shoulder wanting me to hurry up.  Next time I am feeling like that, I just need to take a deep breath, and just get in there and go to town.  I have her coming back in a couple weeks to finish her up.

On Thursday at the VA, my morning pt. was such a nice man.  He forgot to premed, so that pushed us back about 40 minutes.  As I was cleaning his teeth, he was telling me how gentle I was being.  He told me that this was the first cleaning he had that he actually enjoyed.  It made me feel so good.  My goal from the beginning has been to be the gentle, kind hygienist.  I've never wanted to be the one with a heavy hand.  There is no reason that a cleaning should hurt if they don't have swollen, inflamed, infected tissues.  I was happy to know that I wasn't hurting him, but I was being effective.  I taught him how to use some OHI aides, and he seemed very interested and engaged with my instructions.  This appt. made me feel like I am doing something right.  It was such a great experience.

Then in the afternoon, I had a fairly young guy come in.  This appt. was pretty interesting.  He is extremely sensitive to eugenol, and anything with mint flavoring.  So, he doesn't brush with tp usually.  He brushes with baking soda, or just water.  You know what that means....plaque!  I hate scaling plaque.  Since I couldn't polish him because of our prophy paste being mint flavored, the ultrasonic came to the rescue.  Luckily, he didn't have much calculus at all.  He also had 4 aphthous ulcers all over his mouth.  It was really hard to maneuver around those and be conscious of all four the whole time.  I just felt really bad for the poor guy.  He had used a Burt's Bees tp that morning, which apparently contains some eugenol or mint, because he gets those aphthous ulcers all over when he has an allergic reaction.  It was good for me in the fact that I had to be very careful in where I retracted his lips out, etc.

On Friday we had our first LA lab!  We did the PSA, MSA, ASA, and the greater palatine injections.  My partner was Laken!  I was super nervous for it, but it was so much fun!  We had Prof. Perry as our instructor which made it so nice.  He is so calming.  He also explains everything SO well.  I can always understand things when he explains them.  It was a lot of fun actually.  It was a good experience for me because I got a positive aspiration.  It was good to know what you are supposed to do at the board exam if that happens.

Senior year has been SO busy, but I absolutely love it.  It's been so great to see my skills improve every clinic session.  I'm really starting to feel a lot more comfortable with everything, and what is expected of me.

{Week 3}

Clinic was really good today.  In the morning, I saw a very nice lady who was a Class V.  She had very light calculus, and really good home care.  It's really nice to see somebody like that.  They really care about their health, and take very good care of themselves.  I was able to get 4 BWX as well, and finished a little early.  I was thinking back today about how I used to have to see a Class V or 1B twice.  It's really great to see that I am learning and improving.  My goal is to continue to get faster with these classifications, so that hopefully I can see 2 in one session soon. 

In the afternoon, I brought back my afternoon pt. from last week.  He only wanted me to clean 2 quads today, and finish the fourth in a couple weeks, because of money issues.  I was really hoping to get him all done.  I hate that he will be taking up another clinic session, but that's okay.  Last time I cleaned his UR quad, and was able to see how much his tissues have improved.  They were so much less red and edematous, and were starting to get pink and tighten up around the teeth.  I love seeing that what I'm doing is making a difference.  He was saying how much better they were feeling, and how when he brushes they don't bleed that much.  It was a good experience to work in two qauds. today and get off all that calculus.  It was crazy how much calc. he had!  Today while I was using the Ultrasonic, Prof. Perry helped me to slow down my movements. He told me that you don't have to move it back and forth really fast to have constant movement.  He showed me that by just moving it slowly, and trying to detect calculus, it is still constant movement.  He is such a great instructor. I also really tried to utilize my explorer to detect calculus today, and am feeling more confident with it. 

Overall, today was a great experience. 

{Here we go...}

Last Tuesday was our official first day back in clinic seeing patients.  I'll be honest....I was super nervous about it.  I kept thinking about it all weekend, and trying to remember how to do everything.  I feel like I forgot just about everything over the summer.

I brought in a pt. off of the resource list.  I only ended up getting an OD and BWX on him, but he is my mockboard!  Yay!  I couldn't believe it!  Now, hopefully he follows through so I don't have to worry about trying to scrounge somebody up for that.  I was feeling down on myself for only getting through an OD, but then I thought about how lucky I was to get a mockboard pt. on my first day.  I probably could have scaled at least one quad, but he is already going to have to come back twice, so I just got him out of there a little early.

My afternoon pt. was somebody that I did an OD on last semester.  Prof. Perry still wanted me to do probing and see if I could do some x-rays.  He was a Class 2 at his last appt., but we didn't have any x-rays then because he couldn't pay for them.  When Perry saw the x-rays and the amount of radiographic calculus, he told me he would be a perfect board patient.  It made me kind of sad though, because we can't ethically keep a pt's tx on hold for that long.  So, hopefully I will find somebody just as perfect when it comes to board time.  My pt. was extremely sensitive while probing.  I actually had to put topical on to try and help with the pain.  So, he decided on LA for scaling.  I ended up doing the UR quad.  I could have done more, but he was pretty tired by then.  I have him scheduled to come back on Tuesday to hopefully finish him up.  Since he has to be numb in his last three quads, two of which are the lower ones, I don't know how that will go.  We shall see.  I really enjoyed doing his cleaning.  I used the Ultrasonic, and got SO much calculus off with it.  I loved that!  It was so neat when I was done and went through with my explorer and felt how smooth it was.  I really realized how much I love the Ultrasonic.  I think it's because I know how to use it now.  I hated using it last semester because I didn't know how to use it properly.  It's a wonderful tool!  I'm really excited to see what his tissues look like when he comes back in.

I also had the VA on Thursday, and had quite the experience with my morning pt.  She was a 1B, but insisted on being numb in all four quads because she is so sensitive.  So, needless to say, the appt. took WAY longer than it needed to.  It was a good learning experience for me though.  My afternoon pt. was a sweet older man who was a Class 2.  That went great!  So far I have been enjoying the VA.  It's a good feeling to help out those veterans.  I just hope I can start getting some Class 3s under my belt!  I'm about there with my Class 2s, and I don't think I'll have a problem getting Class 5s either.

So far I'm really enjoying Senior year.  I love how much clinic we have.  It makes me excited to know that with each clinic session, I am getting faster and gaining more knowledge.  I also love all the senior instructors.  They are so great to work with, and so helpful.

{First week of senior year}

It sounds so weird to say that I'm a senior.  I'm in my second year.  I made it through my first year.  I NEVER thought that I'd be able to say that.  I have a feeling this year will FLY by!

So, I have clinic here at WSU on Tuesdays.  This week, we were able to get kind of reoriented with clinic, package up our new instruments and make some set ups, go over emergency procedures, pass off our sharpening PE while being able to sharpen up my VERY dull instruments from first year, and be able to practice exploring and probing on each other.  Overall it was a pretty relaxed day, and was a good way to start off the year.  I am excited to be in senior clinic, and think that the instructors are going to be really great.

Today, I went up to the VA in SLC.  The first half of the day was an orientation with TONS of information, making me feel completely overwhelmed and confused.  Then, we saw our first patients of the semester in the afternoon.  I was able to see a very nice man who was 3 quads of a class V.  It was good to be able to get back in there and work with the ultrasonic on a TON of calculus on the LA, as well as get off a TON of plaque and food debris.  I love to be able to look back after I'm done cleaning them up and see what a difference I made.  Such a great feeling!  I still feel very lost and confused on how the charting/notes go on the computer, etc.  I know that will come with time and will be second nature.

I really like the instructors up there, and feel like they are really there to help us.  The clinic is very nice and a lot bigger than I had pictured.  It feels good to be able to work with these great veterans, and provide them a service that they so deserve.  So, overall, today was a good experience.

{In the nick of time!}

On Wednesday I was able to finish up all of my requirements! I came in early to see if I could do my peer calculus PE, and take a few PAs for Midtown. I was able to get both things done by about 9:45, so it worked out great! I had my Class 3 come in that afternoon. She had to have all 3 quads numb. I passed off my US #2, Area Specific, and intraoral camera PEs! It was a very tiring day, but very productive and a great learning experience for me! Those perio. patients are a lot of work!! I can't believe our first year is over! It's been great, but also very stressful! It's gone by so so fast!!!

{1B, pano, BWX}

Today was great!  I had a girl come in that works with my hubby, who is so so cute.  I wasn't sure what classification she would be, so I was a little nervous going into it being that I needed to get her completely done today.  I felt really bad though, because she was very very sensitive, and kept jumping while I was probing, and a little while I was scaling.  She had a TON of buildup on her lower lingual anteriors with a lingual bar which was a BEAST to get clean.  It was a good experience for me though!  I took 4 BWX with one retake, and a pano (which I didn't mess up this time) :) I got her done without missing any spots!  Yay!  I love that!  Then, I was CA.  Kill me.  I HATE being CA!  It makes for the longest day ever!!!  Then, we welcomed the new class of students, which was fun!  We watched our hilarious movie we made, and I laughed my butt off!  I can't believe we are now the seniors!  Crazy!!!  I got to thinking today how I'm SO glad I'm not just getting into the program!  Well, only ONE more day of clinic!  Yahoooooo!  I have to finish the last 3 quads of my Class III, and pass off 3 PEs.  I hope I can do it!!!

{Class III}

Yay! A Class III....finally!!!!  I was starting to get VERY worried, but low and behold...4 quads!  Today I noticed that my OD (probing) and x-rays seemed to take FOREVER!  Luckily I didn't have any retakes, which I think might be the first time ever, besides when I've done them on kids.  I just wanted to make sure that I got those probing depths as accurate as I could.  There were a few times when I would get a 4, but then I just did that slight movement into the col, and BAM...it turned into a 7!  It's crazy how easy it is to get inaccurate probing depths.  My pt. needed to be numb, so I was able to scale her LL quad, and missed 2 spots, so not terrible!  I do love when the pt. is numb, because you can just go to town!  I absolutely love to see the difference after cleaning all the supra calc. off of the lower linguals.  It's amazing how much better they look!  I love this profession!  I love knowing I am making a difference in somebody's health!  My pt. was pretty quiet, but didn't speak much English.  She had her teenage daughter with her, which did help a little when I needed to clarify something.  I'm not sure if I got across what I was trying to teach, when it came to OHI.  One bad thing....my first tissue trauma.  Ugh.  I think I did it when I was using my anterior gracey, and didn't have the right side.  Oops.  It wasn't that bad, but I still feel really bad!  Well, my pt. will be back next Wednesday, and I will have to finish her up then.  It shouldn't be too bad though, because her calculus really wasn't very tenacious at all.  I'm just SO relieved I got that Class III!  I really didn't want to leave clinic with an Incomplete.

{Pano., BG, Class V}

Well, today was a good day!  I had my sister in yet again...such a good sport!  I did a conventional pano., and blood glucose testing today.  She had to be out of the clinic by 8:30, so that she could get to class on time.  Well, I'm a dummy and took her first pano wrong.  I didn't tighten down the knob where you velcro the cassette to.  Duh!  So, Mr. Soloman and Inst. Demmings helped me out SO much by getting the unite reset up, and then developing the pano. for me so that I could hurry and do the BG testing.  Phew!  It was a little stressful there for a minute, but we got her done and out of there only 5 mins. late.  Then, I had my Class V pt. come in after her that I saw last Monday. Such a nice man!!!  I was able to pass off my Ultrasonic 1 PE, and got some great tips from Inst. Demmings.  I have never really had much direction with that, so it was nice to have her watch me for a minute.  I was able to get my pt. done without missing any spots, and walked out by 10:00.  It was so nice to get done early, and have a lot of time to chart and clean up.  I was finally able to organize the drawer in my unit that holds all the supplies.  It has always been a huge disaster and never ever stocked.  So, I organized that puppy and stocked it full!  Well, my potential Class III comes in on Wednesday, and I am really really hoping that she is still a III!  I don't really know what I'm going to do if she isn't.

{Good, but crazy!}

I seem to be having a lot of crazy days lately!  This morning I had to be CA.  Can I just say how long your day is when you have to be the dang CA.  Talk about worst thing ever!  Today was really good though.  I felt productive, and I really enjoyed it.  That might be because I saw my cute little nephew, and my sweet hubby.  This was my nephew's first dental visit, so of course he was a little nervous and apprehensive.  Well, he did great!  He is such a cutie!  I was able to do bwx on him even.  He struggled a little bit with it, but was such a champ!  His cleaning went great.  Towards the end he said, "I'm tired of holding my mouth open".  Haha!  SO funny!  I'm sure all of our patients want to say that to us!  After I finished up on him, I moved onto my hubby, and it went great.  I was able to do my last sealant, pass of my removable appliance PE (he has a nightguard), and do my selective polishing PE.  I scaled his last two quads, and had him out the door.  It was a great day!  I really don't like doubling up my appointments that much though, because I feel so rushed.  I will only have to do that one more time.  Monday I am seeing my sister to pass of the BG PE, and take a pano.  Then, I will be finishing my pt. from last Monday and getting a couple more PEs passed off on him.  I will NOT put off PEs next year like I did this year.  It sucks!!  I think I found my Class 3!  She came in when I was CA, and was a 3 two years ago.  I'm praying she still is.  If not, I really don't know what I'm going to do!

{Crazy day!}

What a day!  I brought my sister up to let me do a sealant and a pano. on her, but didn't have anybody else scheduled.  So, at about 8:30, the CA asked if I wanted to see a pt. that just walked in wanting an appt.  Of course I did!  I was kicking myself for not scheduling anybody else with her.  He ended up being a Class V who has been coming for a long time.  He was so nice and very complimentary.  I think he was just happy that somebody was going to see him.  The last time he was in, he had a cold sore so they had to turn him away.  He just decided that he was going to come up to the school and check if anybody could just fit him in.  I started his OD at about 9:30, didn't do any xrays, and scaled two quads by 10:30.  I really wanted to finish him up, but you can only do so much in an hour!  I was worried he would be annoyed that he would have to come to back to finish, but he was so nice about it.  He didn't mind at all, and kept telling me that I did a great job!  It feels good to hear that every once in awhile!  On my sister, I was able to pass off the diagnodent, air/powder polish, and sealant PEs, but no pano., because the room was just booked up all morning, and my sister had to get to class by 9:30.  So, she is just going to come back next Monday, which is when I'm having my pt. today come back also.  So, now I just need to get a Class III!  I'm really really nervous!!!

{Class II}

Today I finished my Class II!  Yay!  It feels good to have that one out of the way when I feel like everyone else has already seen one if not two!  I passed off my Ant./Univ. #2 on him also.  I felt like today was a good experience for me.  I set a goal to finish his last three quads in an hour and a half.  Well, it ended up taking me about an hour and 45 minutes, but I tried to be really thorough in my exploring, and the dude has wisdom teeth.  Those things are murder!  I missed about 4 spots, which isn't great, but I always learn so much when I miss spots.  The poor guy was bleeding SO much!  I had a pile of bloody gauze, and I had to rinse him out every couple of minutes because I couldn't see what I was doing at all.  He was a great patient, and started falling asleep on me towards the end.  haha!   I'd rather have a pt. fall asleep and have to put in a bite block, than jumping all over the place!  Now I just need to get all the rest of my PEs busted out and get that Class III!  Our first year will be over SO soon, and I honestly can't believe how fast it has gone by.  Pretty soon it will be us all stressed out for boards and on our way to graduating.  Crazy!

{1B, 1A}

I was not excited to start school up again after a nice, long, relaxing spring break.  Not excited at ALL...to say the least.  I do enjoy clinic though, so it was nice to not have a long, boring day of lecture to start the week off.  Today I brought in the 1B that I saw two weeks ago, finished him up, passed off two PEs and missed zero spots.  Yahoo!  Then, my friend brought in her little boy who is 4.  He was the CUTEST little thing ever.  He just sat there like a little angel, mouth wide open, and sat still.  How did I get so lucky?!  I got him all finished and out of clinic by 10:20.  It was a great day in clinic, and I felt like I got a lot accomplished.  I can't believe there are only 7 more clinic days.  I still haven't found a Class III, and I'm getting extremely nervous about that...but what can I do?!  Just pray and hope I guess!  I'm excited to see my Class II on Wednesday, and hopefully finish up his last 3 quads.  I'm really starting to enjoy hygiene now that I feel like I'm getting better.  I feel like I learn something new at each clinic session, and it makes me so excited to know that what I am doing is helping to improve somebody's health.  But, I'm still REALLY excited for a nice, long break here in about 4 weeks!  I just hope that all of my skills don't go completely down the drain by the time August rolls around!

{Class II}

Today I saw a really nice man who was screened by a senior recently as a Class II.  It was crazy how it worked out...one of the girls was CA and was saying how she was worried because a pt. called the clinic to confirm his son's and wife's appt, but also said he had an appt.  So, I told her that I needed a pt., so if nobody else had him scheduled, I would see him.  I got lucky, because he was a Class II!  I was pretty stressed because I didn't think he would be able to speak any English.  Well, we were able to communicate just fine.  His English was broken, but he could understand most of what I was telling him.  He was so sweet, and was falling asleep while I was probing!  Most people with perio. are jumping all over the place! So, I was able to get through his OD, but was waiting for my turn in radiology, because it was way backed up.  Inst. Hafen just told me to start scaling because we had an hour, and I could just stop and go get xrays when it was available.  So, I pulled out the Ultrasonic (which I'm now in love with) and started on his LR quad.  Then, I hand scaled the really sub areas.  When they came to get me for radiology, I was in a zone and couldn't stop.  So, as soon as I was done scaling, I hurried and got those xrays going.  When I had my scale check, I did miss a few spots, but I was kind of expecting that.  He was the first pt. that I had to go really sub. on.  It was such a good learning experience for me, and even though I missed spots, I really enjoyed the experience.  I got a lot of good tips from Inst. Hafen and felt like I was actually doing some good for this patient!  I'm finally starting to really love clinic and not dread it!  It seems silly to dread something that I've wanted to do forever, but it's because I haven't felt really comfortable this whole semester.  I kind of felt like I didn't really know what I was doing.  I still have a long way to go, but I think it's amazing how much improvement I've made since seeing my first pt.  Yay for Spring Break!!!

{1B, and FMX}

What a day!  So, I had a little emergency on Saturday night.  I had my Class 2 pt. sched. this morning, so I called to confirm on Saturday night.  He gave me some story about how he needs to have his whole mouth cleaned this week so that he can get his lingual bar cemented.  He then told me that he won't be able to come back to see me.  Aaaaah!  So, long story short, I was able to find somebody on Saturday night.  He came in this morning, and was a 1B.  I couldn't do any x-rays though because his last set was in June.  Well, my goal coming into clinic was to finish the pt. if he ended up being a 1B.  I only got 2 quads done.  I got pretty down on myself, but even my instructor told me he was a tricky 1B because of his subgingival, interproximal calculus.  I missed a few spots, but it was a good experience for me to be able to remove that sub calculus.  Then, right at the end of clinic, Mr. Salomon came in wondering if somebody needed an FMX because a lady had just called wanted to get in.  So, I volunteered!  I called her and she said she would be here by 1:30.  By 1:45 she still wasn't here, but said she was just getting onto Hwy. 89.  By 2:45, she was finally here.  Phew!  I was getting really frustrated, because I have a TON of tests to study for.  She had a lot of teeth missing, so I only got to do 10 PAs, and 2 BWX.  So, now I only have to do 3 more PAs, and I'm done!  Yahoo!  At least I'm almost done with one of my requirements!

{Two in one!}

Wow!  Crazy day!  I finished up my Class V, and finished a 1A pt. as well.  I was pretty nervous, because I didn't know what to expect, or even know if I could finish both.  I did two quads on my Class V, and didn't miss any spots.  I got her out a little before 2:00, which is when my 1A was coming in.  So, I hurried and cleaned my unit and got all set up again, and brought my pt. back.  She was so cute and such a good patient.  I did her x-rays--2 BWX with one retake :(  Radiology was really busy when I went in there, and so it took me awhile to be able to finally run my retake through.  Oh well, no biggie.  Then, I went to town with scaling.  She had a lot of buildup on her lower anteriors, so that took me some time.  It came off super easy, but there was a lot of it.  I didn't miss anything on her either.  Yahoo!  So, I was able to get her all done, checked, polished, flossed, and fluoride by  3:40.  I was definitely cutting it close, but I'm glad I got those done!  It felt good to see that I have improved and that my skills are coming along.  Now, I just really need to get my butt in gear and pass off some PEs!  I am SO behind on those.

{Class V}

My patient today was my mother in law, who I love so much!  She is such a sweetheart, and such a great patient.  I was able to finish up four quads in under an hour, which is quite an improvement for me.  I had a lot of fun working on her!  I did make a few goals....first was to really watch for her recession (she has a lot), and be really gentle around those areas--check!, second was to not apply so much lateral pressure when it's just plaque I'm trying to get off (why do I do that?)-check!.  The last one came from my hubby who was in a couple weeks ago.  He told me that when I would blow the air on his lower linguals, it made his teeth a lot more sensitive than when the instructor did it.  I was so happy he told me that, because I had NO clue!  So, I really concentrated on not blasting her head off with my air!  It's just little things like that, that I wanted to focus on today.  I think it really made a difference in the experience for my patient, and also in the way I felt after clinic.  I don't need to use so much force on easy patients!  Duh!  :)  We did have a couple little hiccups this morning...#1-I didn't get to clinic until 8:00, and #2-my patient's chart is nowhere to be found.  Awesome.  I had to fill out a temp. chart for her.  Hopefully it turns up!

{Waste of a day}

Today I had my Class V pt. scheduled to come back, so I could finish her last two quads. and pass off a couple PEs.  Well, she decided not to show up, and I couldn't get a hold of her.  Well, Heidi's pt. also didn't show, so we decided we would do sealants and panos. on eachother, so that it wasn't completely a waste.  So, Heidi did two sealants on me, and as soon as she was done, her pt. showed. 45 minutes late.  So, we weren't able to do anything else, but it was okay.  I ended up helping Candice out with charting, etc. because she had a pretty complicated OD.  It ended up being okay, except that I'm starting to really feel the pressure.  I really really hope that I will be able to get all of my min. requirements done at least.  I find it really dumb that by getting everything done that is asked of us, we only get a B.  Really?  Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it.  So, hopefully I can find a pt. for Monday and get right back on track.

{Lab Day}

Clinic was so relaxed today.  I loved it!  We just had a lab day and went over the removable appliance PE, diagnodent, and blood glucose testing.  No biggie.  It made me think about last semester and how easy it was, but boy did we stress out over dumb little things.  Well, tomorrow is the UDA in SLC and it should be pretty fun, because I get to hang out with some pretty awesome girls all day!  Well...until NEXT Wednesday (yahoo for President's Day)!!

{FMX}

So, last night I called to confirm that my patient was coming for this morning since he is my Class II and I didn't want to be left hanging.  He tells me that he was going to call me in the morning because he had to work....hmmm....well that definitely would have been too late.  Ugh!  Some people! :)  So, my sweet hubby jumped in at the last minute and filled up my spot.  He was my patient last semester, and just had BWX and an OD.  Well, I definitely had high hopes for this appt.  I wanted to do a FMX, pass of anterior instrumentation, universal instrumentation, possibly do a sealant, AND scale all four quads.  Well, that definitely DID NOT happen.  I took him back right away to do the FMX with Schick since I absolutely hate that sensor.  I thought I would rather torture my husband instead of some random stranger....rude, I know.  I thought I would take like 30 minutes TOPS.  Well, I was very very wrong!  For some reason, I was just not with it today.  It took me FOREVER!  He had a hard time with the sensor because he doesn't have a big giant mouth and it was very uncomfortable.  Guess who had to retake FIVE PAs.?! That's right....that would be me.  I was super annoyed and getting very frazzled, but trying to stay put together in front of my hubby and Instructor Vining.  Well, Vining came in and helped me a ton.  So, after about an hour and 15 mins., the FMX was finally done.  So, I rushed as fast as a I could to clean up and start scaling.  I ended up only getting two quads done, and was really pushing the time at that.  He had some really fine sheet calculus that I missed on the LA, but did much better and didn't miss any spots on the left side.  Instructor Vining is so good about giving us tips and tricks and making it easier on us.  I feel like he is such a good teacher and doesn't make you feel like an idiot.  So, yes he will have to come back a third time, but at least then I will be able to get a few PE's passed off on him without the pressure of going over on time.  All in all....not my best day.  But at least I had a very understanding patient today that made me feel better!  I really need to work on my technique with Schick and speeding up my scaling.  This program is definitely a roller coaster ride!  One day you're up, then next you are way down.

{Class V}

Today I saw a Class V patient.  She has been coming to the clinic for about 10 years and loves it.  She was one of the sweetest ladies ever!  She was very concerned with her periodontal health and it showed.  She takes really good care of her teeth.  The last time she was in, which was about a year ago, she had some areas with 4 and 5 mm pockets.  This time, she had no 5s, and one 4.  Some of the 5s had gone down to a 3.  I was amazed to see that!  We are all taught that can happen, but to actually see it and know it is because of the pt's home care, was really cool to see!  I was able to get through her OD (no xrays) and scale 2 quads.  My goal was to be able to get at least one quad done, but I was very pleased to get 2 done.  She really didn't have much calculus, so it wasn't very hard to do.  Inst. Caldwell told me that I could have finished her.  I know I should have just pushed myself a little more to get her all the way done.  But, I still feel really good about doing an OD and finishing some quads.  I've never been able to do that yet.  YAY for improving!!!

{Finally....some calculus!!}

Haha!  I'm such a nerd!  But the only people that I've actually scaled have been 1Bs and have like zero calculus.  I brought back my patient from last Monday and was determined to finish all four quads.  He did have some moderate supra calculus, so I was excited to use my Ultrasonic.  Well, I feel really awkward using it.  It's definitely very different to use it in a patient's mouth and worry about the suction and all the water spraying all over their face!  He was so so nice and very understanding.  I used the ultrasonic on my first quad, then brought out the hand instruments.  I didn't miss any spots there, so I was feeling pretty confident.  Well, I used the ultrasonic one more time on the lower anteriors because he did have a little bit of staining, and it did a good job to get that off.  I decided that I would just use my hand instruments for the rest of it, and it went pretty good.  In the UL quad., he had a lot of calculus, especially on #14 and #15.  It was really fun to see the calculus fly off and know that my instrumenting was making that happen.  I got all giddy and smiley inside my mask.  I'm a weirdo, I know!  Up to this point, I just feel like I'm a deplaquer!  It was really good for me to work in that area and actually have to get deposit off, because that is the area that I am most weak.  When Instructor Vining came over, he found a few spots that I missed, but gave me some really great tips on a better instrument to use, etc.  I've been using my 204S for pretty much all of the posteriors, because I really hate the Barnhart.  Well, I did notice today that I had a really hard time accessing the most posterior teeth using that instrument.  He told me to use my Nevi in the areas that I missed, and it made a world of difference. I love having instructors that give you good advice and really help you out.  Overall, today was great and I felt my confidence start to regain a little.  My patient was so nice and so patient.  I hope my good attitude continues on Wednesday!  I have a Class V pt. coming in that has been seen multiple times in our clinic.  But, I can't find her chart anywhere!!  Well, hopefully it turns up and I don't have to start from scratch.  I don't think the patient will appreciate that very much!

{One more down...}

Hallelujah!  I was able to scale today!  I finished up my friend who came in for me on the first day of the semester.  It went pretty well, actually.  She is pregnant and therefore very uncomfortable, so it made it a little challenging.  She was most comfortable laying on her side, so there were times when my posture was bad, and I can definitely feel it.  She hasn't had a cleaning in a few years, but takes good care of her teeth.  The only challenge I found was that she had two lingual bars.  Gah!  I do not like those!  I did want to pass of PEs, but I decided it would be best to get her out as soon as I could because of how uncomfortable she was.  She was a great patient though and such a trooper! I scaled four quads this time, missed one spot and cut my scaling time by 15 minutes.  It felt good to actually feel like I'm improving.  I do still struggle with certain quads and feel very awkward when I try and instrument them, but I know those skills will come with time.  Today the instructors switched pods and we had Instructor Caldwell.  I just love her!  She is so helpful and sweet!

{ODs Galore}

Pretty much all I've done this past month is ODs.  Seriously.  I've only cleaned 4 quads.  Maybe I'll get to actually clean teeth one of these days.

Today I saw a really nice guy who I didn't know.  He was a 1B, and I got through 4 BWX (2 retakes) gah!, OD, and OHI.  I was SO hoping to be able to scale at least one quad, but no such luck.  I feel bad because he came up in December and just had a screening by my peer pal, had to come back today, and then a third time to finish him up.  He's coming next Monday for me to finish him.  I am determined to finish him!  He does have a few areas of moderate calculus, so I should be able to use my Ultrasonic!  Overall, today was pretty good.  I've been too hard on myself the past couple of weeks, and just need to relax and realize I'm learning, and all of these skills take time!

On Wednesday I'm seeing my friend Ashley who was my first pt. of the semester.  I need to scale all four quads and I better do it!  I'm hoping this appt. goes smoother than the last time she was in.  Last time I felt all flustered and forgot how to do just about everything.  I think I've improved a little since then, hopefully!

Now I need to study for another test. Boooooo!

{Class V}

Today I had my mother in law come in. She is so sweet to come up for me! We only got through an OD, but she is a Class V! I got kind of down on myself today, because I feel like I take SO long to do my OD. I was pretty off today though because I've been having some pretty bad back pain and had a hard time concentrating and moving quickly. I am getting really worried about getting all of the requirements done. I really need to work harder on my time, and X-rays! I feel like I always have to do retakes. How come I suck it up now, but could take perfect X-rays as an assistant?! Grr!! I just need to have a better attitude and not expect so much from myself so soon. One good thing is that I passed off my instrument sharpening PE! 2 down, a million to go! Adios!!

{Class II?}

I was pretty nervous for today.  It was my first day of seeing somebody I don't know yet, and he was a NP.  Well, I got to clinic early and got all set up, and by 8:00, he wasn't there yet.  So, by 8:10, I went up front, and he was just getting done checked in.  Phew!  So, I brought him back and did HHX and asked him if he wanted x-rays today.  I told him the price, and he said he didn't bring any money with him today.  Aaaah!  So, I told him that we would at least do the part of the appointment that doesn't cost anything.  I figured he was most likely a 1B because he is young, and I wouldn't be lucky enough to get anything more than that.  Well, as I was doing his exam, I noticed his extremely swollen, and red gums and heavy plaque and calculus.  Wow!  I haven't seen that yet!  He had hardly any dental charting, which was SO nice and no lesions.  Loved that!  So, I started probing, and had to stop after doing about 4 teeth because I couldn't read the probe because of the amount of plaque.  So, I stopped and did a little OHI with toothbrushing.  That helped a little.  As I was going, I could definitely feel lots of buildup subgingivally, and was getting a lot of 4 mm pockets.  I felt bad because it was definitely painful for him.  He kept wincing and jumping.  Well, after that got done, I decided I was going to need some x-rays to classify him, so I offered to pay for them.  He agreed, and I went and got all set up.  When I came back in to get him, he told me that his work just called him and needed him to come in as soon as possible.  Ugh!  So, Instructor Demmings was so great and came right over and did the OD check as fast as she could.  She was really great about helping me to identify things that I wasn't quite sure about.  She also was great about educating the pt. and reiterating everything that I told him.  So, Inst. Demmings told me that she thinks that he is most likely a Class II, and will have to be numb for his scaling because of how sensitive he is.  She let the pt. know that he will need at least two more appointments.  And I get to use the Ultrasonic!  So, overall, it was a good day!  I just hope he will come back and be cooperative with the information I gave him today.  I also hopes he brings money next time!

{Samantha is finished!}

So, last night I called my class V pt. that I had scheduled to get her list of meds. to save some time at the appt.  Well, after she gave me all her meds., she then asked if she should r/s because she felt like she was coming down with a cold.  She said she had a Dr. appt., but just thought it would be better to r/s.  So, I found a day in a couple of weeks and got her sched.  So, I called my sister, and she saved the day!  She was able to come up and let me get her finished up.  So, going into it, my goal was to complete her by getting all four quads, sel pol, floss, and fluoride.  She really didn't have much build up at all, so it was a very easy cleaning.  It was good for me to be able to practice my instrumenting without having to navigate deep pockets and tons of calculus.  I did miss a few spots, all in the lower anterior.  For some reason, I didn't dry her teeth off to check for more calculus, and because of that, I missed them.  It was a good learning experience though.  I feel like the times when we do make mistakes and miss deposit, is when we learn the most!  Professor Costley was so nice and very helpful.  I was also able to pass off my exploring #1 PE.  Yahoo!

All in all, today was great!  It felt good to actually remove some calculus and get one patient under my belt!

{Will I ever get to scale???}

Well, today did go much smoother than Monday.  First off, I got to see my cute little sister!  Yay for that!  She was fun and kept me entertained the whole time!  Like when I was doing her extraoral exam, she kept laughing because her neck is ticklish.  Haha!  Anyway...my goal for today was to time myself with probing, so I have a baseline on knowing how to speed up, to be more thourough with my dental charting/intraoral exam, and to get one quad. scaled.  Well, I did time myself, and I was lucky enough to have Karen, the TA, chart for me!  Wow, what a difference it makes when somebody is charting for you!  It took me 15 minutes, which I know isn't great, but it's better than when I first started out.  When I was passing off my probing PE last semester, it took me 9 minutes to probe one quad with the instructor charting for me!  Haha!  I guess I have come a long way!  But unfortunately, I didn't get to scale.  I was more thorough on her intra/dental charting, so that is good.  There was only one or two spots that I didn't record redness.  I did 4 BWX and 1 PA using ScanX with one retake.  Because I had to wait for approval on my retake, that put me behind.  I did her OD and OHI, then sent her on her way.  She is coming back on February 8th.  My goal for then is to scale all 4 quads.  I would just like to speed up and actually be able to remove some calculus!!!  I definitely like Wednesday clinic WAY more because there is a lot of extra help!

{Ashley}

Today my good friend Ashley came in and let me play hygienist on her. What a good sport!  It didn't go as well as I was hoping, but I know I will just get better with time.  I was only able to get through an OD on her.  I got discouraged, because I didn't have to do x-rays because she is pregnant and I STILL didn't get to scaling.  My goal is to get all four quads done next time.  She is coming back for me on Feb. 1st, so hopefully I will have sped up a little by then. On a good note, I got to use my new loupes and LOVED them!  My cute sister is coming in on Wednesday and I'm way excited for that!  Hopefully that goes better!  I just need to get all the bugs and kinks out and get all this crazy stuff down!  Peace out!

{Back to School}

Well, today was our first clinic session being back from the break.  It wasn't too bad...pretty relaxed actually.  We learned how to use the Ultrasonic scaler and the Graceys.  I really think I will like the Ultrasonic.  It will be so so nice!  I got to practice using my loupes, and I think they are fabulous!  I can't believe what a difference they make!  I'm getting pretty excited/nervous for next week and seeing patients from here on out.  I just feel like I still have so much to learn and so much that I need to remember.  I just hope it all comes quickly and that I don't struggle a ton.  Well, here's to one of the last "easy" clinic days ever!  Peace out!