Last Day of the Year!!!!

Today was the last day of the semester!!! And my roommate canceled on me! Can you belive that! As for today I was able to see two hard patients. One was mentally chanlenging... she drove me off the wall, and sadly I have had so much problems at work with peope like this that I don't have much patience for them... but I managed. I realized that they are really watching everything that you do.... literally. She questioned every move and if it was sanitary. Good thing I get to see her again! Then in the afternoon I had a challenging class 4. I really was able to cement in my mind that with the ultrasonic just keep going over the chunk of calculus and eventually you are able to get it off!

Oh wow!

Today I had a great day! I found a mock board patient and totally had a great light bulb turn on for the ultra sonic! I just found that the addaption became clearer and easier. I felt that going over it a couple of times helped a lot and also turning it off and feeling around with it helped so much! I didn't miss any spots with this technique and you could see the calculus in the x-rays everywhere!

I think I'm on a streak of bad luck

Today my patient in the morning called after her appointment started 15min ago that she was sick and not coming in. At least now I won't get sick from her. I commenced on trying to find another paitient but to no luck! Then in the afternoon my patient didn't come even though I verified yestereday. I was in luck that a family did have an extra child so that I was able to see her, oh and boy was she fun! I learned a lot about controlling children today and not getting annoyed with them. It was a good experience!

?What type of fluoride?

Today we were able to do a lab in the morning and then see a patient in the afternoon. I really like lab days, it's nice being able to practice with others and just see how Im progressing with the others. I loved being able to try all the different types of fluoride, but after I got them all on my teeth I started getting sick to my stomach! Weird! Anyways, its all good now. I thougth it was great how each brand had so many different things about it to taste, to how it spread. That just made it solid in my mind to try many different brands and not be biased.

PE Day!!!

So it is 8:15 and my patient is still not here.... and he is my class 2 so I need his quads.... I call and he thought it was at 1! how in the heck did he get that from 8 or 12:30! We've never had a 1, well anyways, he says that he can come in in the afternoon and ironiclly my patient cancelled for the afternoon, so I was able to do 5 PE's today between my 3 patients! Oh I am so excited! This week has been a luck double cupon day for me!!! Hopefully my luck keeps going!

I finally had some relization when it comes to xrays today! Hopefully my bad luck is over with!

PE Day

Bring on the LA

So, what starts as a bad day, can really turn around at the VA. My patient in the morning was just a class 5, which I finished early so that maybe I could get some perio on my second patient... But there was not an extra one so I went to the dental and was able to do some injections... and to my great suprise there was a full mouth extraction that day for dentures!!! Oh yeah! I got to do 15 injections on one lady! It was awesome to be able to just go through everysingle injection in the mouth! I just have to remember that on the IA to really end over the premolars (even if they don't have them).

Oh Man!!!

So I sure hope that everyone else has those days that no matter how hard you try you completly screw up your x-rays! It didn't help that on one particullarly hard pre-molar shot I open the door and my patient says..."sorry, I moved"... therefore the biggest cone cut! so I probably failed those with my other horrible two! What a boosting self esteem moment! Anyone have any fool proff ways that you can get great bitewings? I need it right now! But he did end up being a class 2 and I think a very challenging one so I am excited for the challenge!

I did not like the sonic scaler today in lab, I felt that the tip did not access the pockets of the teeth very well, extremely loud, and not very effective all around. The Piezo I thought was comparible to the ultra sonic but it was harder to adapt those tips around the tooth for sure. I think I will just stick with the ultra sonic for now!

She Came!!!

I got to finish my class 3 today, but this time she was late an hour and a half, not the hour she was the appointment before! I was getting really scared, but then her son called and told me she was on her way. So I was able to get done a 1A before she arrived, that way not a waste of time! So today I finished my requirments for 1A's and sealants! Oh yeah!
I learned so much today about instrumenting from Prof Hanson, it was wonderful being able to have her sit right there with me and correct all by bad habbits that are becoming more permenent every day... I guess I was doing a lot of wrong fulcrums and strokes, but now it makes so much more sense, deposits are so much easier to get off, and so much less tissue trauma! With her watching me at the VA I just might be able to learn how to correctley scale and maybe not fail the boards! Amazing!

My goal for this session is to go home and review lateral pressure and fulcruming, or at least as much as I can on a typodant!

Just keep scaling!

Today was a stressful day but I can't put my finger on why it was... I did do 2 quads of a class 3 with the most tenacious calculus that I have ever seen! It was amazing that it could get such a great hold onto the tooth! her sister is my mock board so hopefully it's not genetic. I really liked how my instructor came and helped me and gave me some tips. I would really like to see more of that happening, I just don't feel confident in getting off all of the calculus all of the time. I'm sure that will come with more practice and guiding.

A little better luck this time...

My appointment in the morning was a class 2! I finally got some perio!!! So I talked to perry and he said that she could possibly be a mock board patient, so that is nice but at the same time I just don't know if she completley qualifies!!! Oh that scares me so bad! Oh well... no stress. My afternoon was a 1 B teen and it was nice to see that I am so much better and quicker!

My goal for today is to get better at indirect vision, still not comfortable with that one!

Not another one....

So I had a husband and wife come in today.... yep, you guessed it, 1B. I'm over now by 12 quads! What am I going to do for perio! I just cant seem to get anyone! And the thing about these two is that they had ridges of calculus, and it was not all sub gingival! These guide lines seem pretty sketchy to me! ha ha! I did have a great fun time with the linguals, I really like using a toed instrument to just pop it off the middle where a tip is too much!

Little better luck this time...

Today I just could not find a patient for the morning appointment, I don't know about you guys but it seems like no one wants to take those.... I guess I wouldn't want to either, way too early in the morning for me. I had my mom come and save me in the morning, and to my surprise, her lingual bar was much easier to clean then the other, so maybe it has to do with the individual more. It was really rewarding seeing her come back for her six month recall and to see all of the improvements of some of her pockets and bleeding. Not to mention that she was really excited to see all the hard work that she started doing is paying off too! My afternoon pt was older and a challenge for me. She was a complete naturalist, so that meant I got re-educate her about x-rays, thank goodness for digital..., talk her into fluoride, and all the other fun stuff that we do. She was actually really receptive of me, I think it is because I listened to her side, and then said that why don't we do that and try adding a few of mine to it too. It will be fun to see how her perio might increase or decrease by her next recall.

First set of patients

Well, I have officially survived a full day of clinic, no more of this half day stuff. I am not having very good luck to begin with though, I have had both my patients cancel on me... one to mow the lawn....(yeah, thats right!)... and the other for a dentist appointment they forgot about. So I luckily got saved by my cousin and her boyfriend. They both turned out to be 1B's but a person is a person and that is 8 quads that I would of not had before. I did find that lingual bars are a lot harder then I remember them to be. If anyone has any tips of a good way to instrument them I would love to hear.

My goal for this clinic is to organize myself. Last year I learned from a second year to create a basic package of papers for pts so that you don't have to keep grabbing them each one, I think I will try that for a start.

Start of a new clinic

I really thought that after this long of a break for summer I would not even know how to hold a mirror let alone an explorer.... but much to my great excitement I found out that it came much easier to me then expected! I really enjoyed the chance to get use to clinic again with the first week before I had to see a patient. There was so much to do and relearn!

The last day ever but even better....

I PASS!!!!!! So today I saw my little brother and so I was able to pass all of my last requirments and pe's off with him!!! My goal for this great summer vacation is to get my little brother to brush and floss so much more!!!! Yeah SUMMER!!!!!!

Last class 3!

I was really worried today that my patient would not show up! Last time she was schelduled they just forgot. She did show up today and might I add really early! I finished scaling a 1B. I finished my goal and got her mouth scaled in less then an 30 min! Now lets just hope I get faster then that! My class 3 then came in and Julie and I finished her 3 quads since I had an extra for her. I cleaned one quad without her assisting and then the next with her help! Talk about amazing! It would so be great if we could help assist with eachother with our harder paitients! It lets your mind focus on what is to be done and not so much on the little things! Not only that but in return you get to have their suggestions as they help you and then watch how they do things when its thier turn! It improved my scaling by the hundreds!!! It deffinatly was an eye opening day! Today I will admit that my goal is to go home and figure out what is wrong with me! I'm not feeling well today.

WAKE UP!!!!

Today my paitient kept falling asleep on me!!! Therefore shutting his mouth... talk about annoying! I finally got him done! Today was the first day that I felt I actually did some damage with the ultra sonic! I was getting chunks off the back of those linguals!!!! It was textbook!!! I still have a long ways to go with instrumenitng but I am feeling a lot more confident in where I am now. I can't imagine with two more semseters behind my belt and a lot more patients! Its going to be good learning next year. Goal for today is to go watch the scaling movie cause I know Im not so overwhelmed now that it goes all over my head!!!

one more day out of the way.

Today my paitient no showed on me!!! I was lucky to find a friend that I could talk into coming and getting up to an OD done before she had class, then, my luck even got better and my peer pal who needed a cleaning came to clinic to find anesthesia... and found her way in my chair!! I got her done in the normal under an hour!!! Oh my gosh! I'm getting so much faster!!! Good thing I have 4 months to remeber these skills!!! Does this scare anyone else????!!!!
The whole master copy of my schedule thing went well and now I will go and make one for PE's.

OH goodness!!!

Today my patient that has cancelled on me a couple of times I gave a second chance to have her teeth cleaned. Only to find an excuess 30 min before she came in! So to keep her coming pretty much 28 dollars later.... but it got my classifications done and I REALLY had no other way to pass if she cancelled. I did learn to start with the harder quads first... not really to make them see how much better their mouth can feel...but.... so if they cancel on you, you at least have the harder quads counted!!! My goal is to go home and make a list of all quads and xrays.

Thanks grandma!

Today I finished my dad! That was fun driving up here with him and now lunch!!! I wish he had a weekly recall! Today I tried what we talked about in class and did the ultrasonic first and then went through and hand scaled the things I missed. I feel like I still have to go over everything afterwards, I still find a lot of things on the interproximals. Anyone have any suggestions? Oh and my cute little grandma let me borrow her dentures so that I could clean them for her! She is so cute!

Two kids! They were great!

Today I was able to clean 2 childrens teeth. The little one was pretty scared of the chair when they first came in but older sibling made it fun and showed that it was all going to be ok so in the end they could not wait to jump in the chair. Its amazing what psychological tricks you can play! I did notice that their gums took on a different color and consistancy. My goal for this time is to go and find all of my x-ray patients and get their paperwork done and caught up in the books.

Reflections

I couldn't decide what to label today so I thought I would go with cheesie. After all these clinic days its getting hard to come up with new ones. My paitient cancelled on me so I was able to round up my little brother and sister into coming since they did not have class. I was able to use one as my exam and get sealants done on them. It was so much fun to see them and show them all that I'm doing up here and why I am so busy. I found that when I probed one of them did not bleed that bad but then when I scaled they bleed great. Is that because my angle is wrong or what? I watched my adaption really carefully but it still bleed, maybe I was just not pushing hard enough! Ha ha!

That was interesting!

Today I was able to see my class 2. This was a first for many things! You could not even see the lower anteriors from the calculus that was on them! Second he kept falling asleep on me while in his mouth! It was crazy! Funny though they kept responding a little to what I said. I never had a chance to just blow big chunks of calculus off of the teeth! It took 3/4 of my time on just those lower teeth, the maxillary was so fast! My goal for today is to find my lost instruments that just walked away from my cassett!

Um... I thought you said you were perio?

Today I had a friend come into clinic from band. She had root planning from a private office done a year ago and is still paying it off so when I told her that I could do the same for a lot cheaper she set up an appointment for me. I was way excited and figured that I would get class 2, 3 or 5 from her.... only to find out that she has no bone loss!!!! I have contimplated this and can someone please tell me how in the world you can charge for root debridement when there is no root showing?!!!!! Is this a possible thing or is this a way to get lots of money out of a 1B?!!!! Im totally confused!!! luckely I finished her in one class time, I am getting faster but what the heck? Anyways, I was listining to the instructors today and thought that I would set a goal that they mentioned. I want to try and get a 1B done in an hour all together! wouldn't that be wonderful! I think I will try it on my little bro and sis since they will come up from home together cause its not a short drive. I want to announce to everyone that I love my family and how they help me out in clinic!!!!

Wow two in 1 day!

I had a patient at first who just came in for a full mouth set of x-rays! Now I have all my PA's found, just another pt with a full mouth series! So Exctied! Now all I need is 2 more sets of bitewings and I now I can get those!!!! Oh yeah! My other pt I tutor math and luckly hasn't brushed his teeth or seen the dentist in 10 yrs! And can I just say.... Those lower anteriors were amazing! I don't even know if their was real teeth under all that calculus! Well I guess I will find out soon! My goal for clinic is to sharpen my instruments outside so that I can survive this next time!

Another Stress-Free Day!

I really do love being a CA for clinic! You get to learn how things are run, and don't have to worry the night before if your paitient is really going to show up for you or not! This time as CA was a lot better, it wasn't so hard with the getting everything right. My goal for next CA is to get their early and make the new charts so that when they fill out their HHx I can just give them both to their hygienist! Marvoulous idea! Thanks Chealsie!

Oh what do I do now?!!!!

My patient decided to cancell on me 10 min after her appointment started! What the crap!!! And she no showed on me for her first appointment. She called saying that she was sick and asleep and could not wake up in time to call me! The problem is that she is 2 quads of a 2 and I really need her mouth! I might have two other individuals that are 2 or 3 so I might not need her but her OD is already done! I need some advice, do I schedule her again or just forget about her and say I'm booked till the next semester????? HELP!!!!

What?

Today I had my first only spanish speaking pt, and suprisingly I was able to communicate much better then I thought, guess spending the whole summer working with my friends has taught me some spanish. I now wish I didn't goof off with German in high school, maybe I could at least somewhat communicate. She turned out to be a class 3 which Im thrilled about! My requirments are starting to come together!!! I talked to my instructor and it looks like its going to be fun trying to get that A, I feel like I have busted through all these pt and I don't see how it is possible to get a A!!!! Stupid grades!!!!! Goal for this time is to change the way the world thinks on grades.... they don't show anything!!!!

I LOVE MY DAD!!!

Last night my patient cancelled on me. I called home and my dad was choosen to come up. I was just expecting a 1B because he just had his teeth cleaned but much to my suprise he is one of those calculus builders and his mouth was full of it! He was a class 2!!! But that is also sad cause he is my dad and at our normal office he is not a perio pt. He has some really cool restorations that I have never worked on anyone with so this will be a great learning expeirnce. My goal for this appointment is to go home and look what other requirements I need and start to find individuals that meet them and to schedule my time.

Well, that was fun!

Today I finished my exam pt for a 1B, and did pretty well till it came to the STRAIGHT LINGUALS of the bottom anteriors! Didn't miss any spots but those! How frusturating! I went around with my explorer and felt but I still feel like I can't feel calculus! When the instructor pointed it out I eventually felt it but it was still hardly anything, guess in my mind I need to get into the habbit that Im looking for microscopic things. Goal for next clinic is to learn to speak spanish, or at least find someone to help me call my patients! I just can not find anyone for mon mornings at 8! they all like the afternoons!

Running the place

I finished my first CA day, it was great! I loved going around the place and helping out people. I know how crazy it can get and its so nice when someone walks up behind you and just helps you get caught up, not to mention find your mind! I was really worried that I would not be able to do all of the tasks but it was just like I learned it yesterday!

My first 2B!

Oh yeah today I had a patient thats half of their mouth was a 2! Its my first one and Im way excited! She was pretty compliant except she also did not want to have xrays due to the "radiation" that they give you. I was able to explain the importance of them so we would know how to treat her teeth. Next time I get to scale!

Goal for today would be to start calling my very small list of patients!

Do you know what a toothbrush is?

Today I was blessed with seeing a class 4 adult! Oh wow is all I have to say! I was not ready when my probe just kept going, and going, and going! Then 9mm later I finally reached the bottom! I was getting scared that I passed right through that juntion and got the PDL (actually I don't know if that is possible but it sounds pretty painful and interesting!) Oh no it was her real pockets! I got to deal with my first patinet who did not want x-rays due to the radiation, except this reasoning is that it's a conspiracy theory from the government...don't know how that one works but I didn't let them started on that. I explained that we can do digital and that it is less then microwaving your food or sunbathing... and it worked! Now at least before I give her to a second year I get the credit for the x-rays! Except to be honest I'm a little rusty on PA's and digital! Goal for this next time with my patient is to become less rusty and review!

My first child patient

Today I had my first 1A patient. I also passed of my exam on her. I was really nervous at first that I would not be able to comunicate to them and not be scary. When I was a child I had a very scary hygienst and have vowed not to be one for my patients. I found that as long as I let her see and explain the things that were happing she was really good with being compliant. I also noticed that she was the first person who liked to look in the mirror as I was in her mouth, only problem is that when I asked her to turn her head, she always ended up turning it back so that she could see what was happening. All in all I enjoyed doing her mouth more then an adult! HaHa! As for my goal last time, it is harder then I thought to create a list! Any ideas I would love to hear!

Good Thing for mothers!

My patient called and cancelled on me so I had my mom come up and have a sleepover and clean her teeth! It was great fun, and it was really nice to be able to ask her a lot of questions on my adaption and angles. Also she has a really sensitive mouth so it was nice to be able to work on someone that I need to be aware of this while scaling their teeth. I found that manuel scaling work the best, also giving the tooth a rest and not working on it for an extended amount of time. My goal for today is to find a list of people that are close by that can come save me when I have a no show or short cancellation!

My First No Show!!!

Oh yeah, today my patient did not show up! Oh the joys and the stress of it all! Well I went walkign through campus and found a kid that I had meet last weekend and talked him into coming to my chair! Unfortunatly I was not able to get all his quads done but it was great practice! For a 1B he had a lot of calculus so it was wonderful!

My goal for this clinic is to make it a habbit to call my patients the day before the appointment and to get them to show up!!!

That was long!

Today was a friend who was a 1B but I was only able to get to the OHI, those xrays take a lot of extra time! I think that by becoming a little more organized I can cut some of that time out but I still don't know how the 2nd years are so fast! I will get there one day! My goal for today is to think of ways that I can cut time out that is unneccesary!

Oh WOW!

Today I had a Class V patient that would not cooperate! It was horrible, he wouldn't stop getting on his cell but it was work calls so he had to! Luckly my instructor helped me and let me take more time because she saw how bad he was! My goal is to try and find more class 2 or 3 so that Im not looking for them at the end!

First Patient Finished

Today I finished my first 1B paitient! Oh yeah! I had Vinning as my instructor and I learned so much from him, first that once you get an OD you do not have to again even if its a second appointment! Second is that I think I took scaling way to much, there is not that much calculus on a 1B. Also on the blue sheet you only need to mark sub or supra, not BOTH! Oh that makes it so much easier and logical! My goal is to learn where to find patients, so I need to talk to Mrs Cambell.

First Day back!!!

Well all I have to say is that christmas vacation was so nice and Im not ready to be back! But I am so today we learned the gracy's and ultra sonic scaler! Oh yeah! I really enjoyed the ultra sonic scaler but I had a hard time feeling things with it. I liked the comment to go and know where the calculus is, then use explorer to find it. My goal for next time is to go home and advise a way to organize my instruments that works for me!