Today was a great day. I had a class IV. I finished 3 quads and gave her 8 different injections. I am so glad I finished her. She had a lot of supragingival calculus too. It was so fun that I put down my ultrasonic and just handscaled for fun :) Sick huh?

My "AHA" Moment

Today was the best day!!! My Class 3 came in and I got to do my own injections -MSA, ASA, IA & a mental. It was scary but I'm glad I did it. My pt was a big guy, missing his molars -and had excessive hyperlipidemia of the buccal mucosa and a wide tongue. Everytime I located my landmark and went to put the needle in his cheek would seep back over the landmark and his tongue was covering it from the other side. I looked at Jen with pleading eyes and I was ready to give up but she wouldn't offer to take over. When I was finished I went into the instructor's pod and I said "couldn't you tell I was about to give up?" and Jen said "Yes, couldn't you tell that I wasn't going to let you.." (Her sense of humor kills me!) I scaled 3 quads and only missed one tiny spot!! I felt like for the first time I was looking for specific instruments to use and I actually saw the black calculus coming off with my hand scaling!! Yay!! It's coming... I really might be able to do this someday :)

Yeah a mock board patient

Just the word mock and board have struck fear in me since the moment I began dental hygiene. I wouldn't even read the qualifications that were sent out in my summer packet because it seemed like the impossible!

However, it happened, and oh yes - I too have a mock board patient!! I feel SO LUCKY! Other than the fact that I had to spend my whole clinic time screening and didn't get any credit for tx since I couldn't scale anywhere in his mouth. It was worth the trade though :)

Overall, it was a very unproductive day. My afternoon patient ended up being a class IV, only counting as a class III and I only finished 1 quad. Her calculus was so deep that on the lingual of #8, Instructor Wold completely buried a Gracey. HOLY &^%$!! It made me nauseous just watching.

I feel better about patient tx and yet I know my downfall is that I need to go deeper with both my ultrasonic and hand instrumenting. I worry so much about damaging root surfaces or tissue trauma that I think it holds me back. This is what I really need to work on.

Half my day was a give-away. I had a patient who had had surgery 2 weeks ago on his vertebrae. After waiting until 9:20 to find out his Dr. office wouldn't let him be treated I just polished and gave him fluoride -bummer!

My afternoon pt was a Class 2, but not board material. I finished her so that was good plus got 3 more referrals from talking to the patients. I used the ultrasonic, focusing on what we just learned in the classroom and it helped me a lot. I feel like I am instrumenting correctly - FINALLY!! :)

Sept 19, 2008

It was a good clinic day. I finished a 1B and 2 today from start to finish. I even had x-rays on the class 2 and he had a learning disability. It went better than I thought. I love Bossenberger!! She is so helpful and willing to do anything to make clinic better, and I learn so much from watching them. I think that having Kami and Alexander work with us on instruments in class on Monday was also a great benefit. I used the SN135 for both patients for the majority of the appt. instead of relying completely on the montana jack. I think it is clicking. The instrument positions and correct way to use them are making more sense!!

9-9-08

I am starting to feel lucky -both patients showed up!! Yay. Both are Class 2 patients. I am struggling with taking xrays --go figure and I panic about how much I have to do and how fast time goes by. That's why I try to do digital xrays whenever possible. I DO NOT HAVE TIME to process conventional!!!

I am not very satisfied either with how long I am taking. I want to go faster but I feel pretty slow. I just couldn't get my 2nd patients calculus off and I don't know whether it's me or him.... I worry a lot about their comfort and I try to be gentle and then when the instructors help they use so much pressure that my instrumentation probably feels more like a tickle....:)

My patients will love me because I am so gentle......I won't pass boards, but I'll make friends :)

I feel like today I learned so much. Instructor Vining sat with me while I hand scaled and gave me great pointers. He detailed a system to work through the mouth when scaling. Always following this will make me more efficient and help so I don't miss spots. He also told me to learn to be efficient with one instrument. Once I achieve this then I can start switching and it will be a lot easier to accommodate different instruments. Great advice, I would have given anything to have this kind of help earlier in the semester!!

YES!! PE'S ARE FINISHED!!

wHOOHOO....

I finished my pe's for the first year today. Most of my thoughts were negative and I really felt like this may come to be the impossible task. But have faith! I did it. My appointment went well today, my class 2 and I didn't miss any spots, or Angie was just being nice. Either way my self esteem was in dire need at this point. I entertained the thought of coke and rum but oh wait, I don't have the time to stop and have a drink!!! WELCOME TO MY LIFE!! Today I can smile though!!!

My plan of attack for today will be to scale and polish my class 2 pt. I have completed her OD so it should be easily accomplished with the exception that she wants to be anesthetized....HMmm, maybe I could convince her I am gentle. I will give the instructor a heads up so they are prepared to do this for me and hopefully this will complete my class 2 requirements. I am pretty sure I can't air powder polish her due to her recession so I will just scale, polish, and fluoride and hopefully have a positive experience today. :)

Clinic has been more than stressful as of late. I think we are all trying so hard to finish up requirements, PE's and classifications that we are all stressed and it's contagious. I can even feel it from the instructors because they are wanted everywhere!

As much as I planned and was prepared to have all classifications met, due to MANY no shows it hasn't worked out that way at all and now I am one of the scrambling ones. I think it will work out and be okay if everything goes smoothly though. So here's my plan. Be prepared, I have prethought through the appt and I know what I am going to do at each appt and what PE's need to be passed off. I learn something new or relearn something I thought I knew at every appt. Last week it was Vining reminding me that an MOD would be a restoration that goes OVER the mesial and the distal margin of the occlusal surface. I was just a little unsure and if it went to the mesial I would mark it as an MO. It actually has to go past the margin of the cusp. I still need to work on scaling technique, maybe I just shouldn't be afraid to ask....

I feel much better today. I scaled my 1b, used her as my test, and did 3 sealants and passed off 3 PE's. Yes!! I was able to reach all my goals for the day. Tamara was a TA in our clinic and was a great help she watched me scale and told me to try my montana jack which was better than my SN 135 that I was trying to use. I was able to get interproximal deeper and it was smaller so it was even better on the anteriors. She said I was doing really well. Yeah!!

I had my patient today that I had planned on being a class 5 and actually turned out to be a class 2.

I only got through her OD, which I wasn't happy about but we did xrays and found an 11 mm pocket so there's not a lot I can do about it now. I am going to review my clock positions and make sure I'm not making it harder on myself than it needs to be I notice that I still stay at 8 oclock most of the time. I made a timeline, and stuck to it for about an hour. Then it all went to hell.

I am just not pleased with my clinic today.


I had big plans on a 1B and I didn't finish her. I did get a pano though. I am running really late and my goal is to set a timeline for myself for Wed to see if things go smooother....

I had a few goals today, only one of which got met! I wanted to do xrays and pass off 2 PE's along with completing a 1B. I completed the 1B.

I have something to say about working on family members....IT SUCKS :)

My sister is the perfect example of a BABY. She about got herself stabbed in the buccal mucosa more than once because she wasn't smart enough to sit still when she experienced a zing (or 2). I did learn something though. If a patient is sensitive, a plastic probe is worth a try (she still whined) and dry their teeth with gauze before air drying because they are probably sensitive to the cold air as well. She has exhausted all my patience and now I am starving.

I completed a new patient today, it was a 1B but that is still good. I tried to go faster it's still so tough though. I start out my exam feeling stress and it takes me until I get to into scaling to calm down. Every day gets a little better though I just hope I am improving.....I still really need to work on my technique for hand scaling. I still feel it's pretty inadequate!

Yes! My class 3 patient showed up!! I was able to finish the UL & LL quads and it was really hard I thought I would be able to finish her at this appt because I ultrasoniced (i don't know if that's proper grammar) the mandibular teeth at her last appt but it was harder then I expected. Prof. McConaughy really helped me through it though and is very patient. It would be so ideal to have instructors 2 or 3 to one instead of 5-6 or 7 or 8. I am still unsure about the hand scaling on the posteriors but I am feeling more confident on anterior scaling and ultrasonics. From talking with the other girls in our class I know most of us feel like we need a lot of improvement so maybe this is normal?!

ME & MY BOYFRIEND!

MY FAMILY!!

This is my cute little family on vacation in Las Vegas!! I have an awesome husband, who is also my best friend! Two teenagers that keep me on an emotional rollercoaster :). Just kidding they are great kids! My daughter Kennedy is getting ready to turn 16, and my son, Zach is 14. My baby Jennessa is 9 -I can't believe it.

This is why I never assume!

Okay, MY MISTAKE. I had a little 4 year old boy today, cute as ever. I had totally thought this day would be a piece of cake and I would have extra time...I had 3 PE's set up to pass off, xrays planned and I would even finish clinic early. HA! First of all, he spoke only some English, liked biting his teeth together (unannounced) and LOVED sticking his tongue out continuously..... Secondly, X-rays were impossible and I spent forever in the x-ray lab trying to take digitals, conventional, anything but no! That little tongue pushed everything out! I even had Prof. Costley try to help and she couldn't get him to keep the film in either. So I moved on to trying to clean his teeth. That tongue again - it was so curious and everytime I put an instrument in his mouth he had to check it out and follow it everywhere with his tongue. So I did some OHI with him and I was trying to teach him how to brush his whole tooth and not just the surfaces that were lucky enough to get caught in the fast sweep of the bristles on 2 swipes. I tried to explain "small circles". He preceded to put the toothbrush in the center of his mouth and make big circles with it (it didn't connect with any tooth surfaces).. Finally, while trying to pass off my diagnodent PE he fell asleep in my chair. I GIVE UP!! I feel like I totally wasted a clinic and we all know every day really counts!

Yes!! I had a class 3 today. Exciting but VERY intimidating. I basically only had enough time to debride the remaining mandibular teeth. I have never seen a mouth so diseased. I felt bad for the lady but at least I was able to clean a lot of calculus and plaque subgingivally. The plaque that is beneath the gingiva was black. Yes, I know we read about it, it's just a lot different seeing it. I hope she comes back so I can finish her. It was a very different experience from a 1B and it was interesting to see how the calculus comes off the teeth when there is so much of it.

I finished my 1B patient from last month and made an interesting finding. During her extraoral exam I noticed a small bruise on the back of her neck, which I thought might be a hickey :) (she's 18 years old) I asked her about it. I said there's a bruise on the back of your neck did you fall? And she kind of hesitated and then said "yah". I didn't think anything more of it other than that is a weird place to fall and leave a mark. So then, she was getting ready to walk out and as I stepped out behind her I saw another bruise on the other side of her neck. The bruise was the size of the middle fingertip and not as heavily bruised as the smaller mark on the left side. I said Hey, you have another bruise on the other side of your neck did you know that? She said no, so I said do you know how it might have happened and she said no I can't think of anything but it doesn't really hurt. To me it looked like she had been grabbed by the back of the neck. The size of the bruises were fingertip size and the spacing would have been appropriate as well. I wished that I would have noticed the other bruise earlier on because maybe I could have questioned her a little further. Just a note to everyone else, remember that we need to be aware of the other areas besides just the oral cavity. You never know what you might see.....

Today we had a lab for clinic and it was so nice not to be stressed out on a Wed. morning. I feel like I learned a lot, especially watching the use of the ultrasonic again now that I have been using it on patients. I also found out that our perio models actually have calculus we can pick off! I am going to take home instruments and practice. I feel okay with the anterior teeth it's the posterior that I am not sure which instrument I want to use so I could use some help on that....

Today I finished my 1B, passed off my ultrasonic and explorer PE. It was an easy day and I finished early. I feel like a klutz though when I am trying to use the ultrasonic. There has to be a better way. The good thing is that I didn't miss anything on my scale check. That is a positive!

Today I feel like I learned a little more about scaling. Costley told me to keep my middle and ring finger together and use both as fulcrums. My problem is I am not placing enough pressure on my fulcrum finger so this really helped! I have to remember to do this. My patient today was 7 years old and already had brown stain on his permanent teeth that I was able to get off!! It went well.

My patient today was so patient - thank goodness!! His teeth weren't in the best shape but I'm not sure what class he will be- selfishly enough I'm hoping for at least a 2! We did full mouth xrays one of my big fears -plus four bitewings . I got through it (it took me about 45 minutes :) but I got through it!!! Onward and upward he has a lot of scaling whoowee!!! I hope he doesn't cancel. I did work on trying to stay focused while I was probing and doing the intraoral check and I explored the occlusal surfaces at the same time I charted restorations (probably what your supposed to do but I have always done it as 2 separate steps. I think it saved time.....

I had my first 1A today. The mixed dentition is a little difficult. I have a hard time telling the difference between sealants and composites too. She was 9 and actually had quite a lot of calculus on her anterior lower linguals. I was able to get it all off without missing any!! My goal is to keep studying and reviewing my clinic manual so I get a little faster.

I finished a 1B today. The fact that I didn't have xrays helped. I felt like it went okay but I was really running out of time. I need to work on my own personal confidence level. I am still unsure about scaling.

Today went well. I had a 1B patient and I wasn't nauseous last night thinking about clinic today! I was able to get through scaling 1 quad. So I definitely wasn't speedy but I accomplished something. I have remembered to use Instructor Vining's technique on the anterior linguals, drying and flaking off the calculus. Works like a charm! I am grateful that he was our instructor today, his patience and kindness towards us is amazing..... I will keep practicing and keep working on choosing the correct instrument. It's still difficult.

UUUgghhhh!



This is so extremely stressful! I made it though- I did okay except I need to be not so afraid when I am probing because I missed a 4. I will try to do better. I did practice on my typodont before clinic but I need tons of practice. I was able to get through a whole brand new appt w/x-rays and scale 2 quads. My x-rays did turn out pretty good too. I will still work on studying instruments and what one to use where.....

I feel inept! I wish we could go through a couple full runs before we actually had patients because I don't even really know how to scale!! Instructor Vining did give me great help though - remember: on 1B's start with their anterior lingual that is the part that will take the most time and dry the teeth and the calculus will flake off, the enamel won't. Work from the 12 o'clock position, do everything you can then switch to 8. I think I will take my typodont home and practice the correct instrument for the correct area!

Jan. 7, 2007

First day back for spring semester comes with a lot of apprehension and nerves. I wish we had more practice time before taking patients because I just don't feel ready. Everyone feels the same way though so that's some consolation. Angie said to wet the mirror with water when using it with the ultrasonic scaler and then we will be able to see with it when we're using it for indirect vision. Also, use the chin fulcrum with children, it makes it a lot easier. I am going to focus on a positive, I can do it attitude so I can get through this semester!!