Kids Kids Kids...

Needless to say my 8:00 a.m. patient was a no show..surprise surprise... 

Luckily there was a family that showed up that thought they had an appointment for their 2 kids but they weren't on the schedule! So I was able to see one of the children. This afternoon I saw 2 kids as well...

I love kids, adore them. Working on them isn't my favorite thing to do though :-) 

I was able to get a lot done today. My last sealant experience was completed today as well! 

Wahoo! It was a very productive day!

Ooopss!!!

Today was a long day! I had my 8:00 a.m. patient cancel at the last minute last night, and I was scrambling to find a pt to fill my chair this morning! I sent our office work study employee named Oliver an email asking him if he would come in this morning, never heard from him! SO my dear friend McKinlei gave me a patient who was excited to get in and came right at 8:00...well then Oliver shows up at 8:10 and he had just ran here really fast! So, I have 2 patients at the same time. Luckily our office manager said he could clock in and help out until I am ready for him. Needless to say I was able to get bite wings and full mouth cleanings on both patients! It was a LONG morning! :-)

Periodontal Files

Today was a pretty fun day in clinic! I was able to see a new patient and finish up another patient. Both of them were mild perio and had some tenacious calculus. I was able to get through the first patient pretty easy and didn't miss much of anything. But in the afternoon my patient had a piece of calculus that was stuck on the distal of the pre-molar #21! My instructor actually sat down with me and helped me get it off. My new favorite tools are the periodontal files, those things rock!!

No Show's suck...

Today I was supposed to see my class 3 patient who was ALSO going to be my mockboard patient on October 16th! We confirmed her appt on friday and then this morning at 8:35 (her appt was at 8:00) I concluded that she probably wasn't going to show up! She wasn't answering my calls either!! GGRR I was so frustrated because if I cannot depend on her for a cleaning, how am I supposed to plan on her for mockboards, which is way more important!!? Anyway, my amazing husband came in so that I would have someone in the chair, and I needed a 1B so it worked out! I got him done really fast and it went well! I actually got a hold of my morning no show patient and she apologized and said that her husband was supposed to call and let us know that she wouldn't be able to make it this morning..which he didn't! But, she is planning on coming in for mock boards, so that is a relief!!

Calculus on the margin of a crown!

I swear I may never get the hang of feeling calculus on the margin of crowns! Sometimes I wonder if I know what I am doing! Today I saw a patient that was a class 3 and she was hard! I didn't miss more than 2 spots on the entire mouth, but the spots I missed were right on the margin of her crowns! Hopefully I figure that out sooner rather than later! 

First day back in Weber State Clinic...

Today was rough! First off, my 8:00 a.m. patient canceled on me the night before, so I was scrambling to find a new one, which luckily i did :-) THEN my 12:30 p.m. patient was a no-show!! I scrambled to find a new patient last minute and LUCKILY a very nice guy came right in! My morning patient was a class 3, she hasn't been to the dentist in 10 years! I did a Full mouth series on her, plus 4 bite wings. She was actually mock board worthy, which is a HUGE relief! I didn't get to cleaning today due to the check for boards, but I am pretty excited that I have her! 

My afternoon gentleman was very nice and came in right away. I was so happy! He was a class 2 and a smoker. The calculus wasn't too tenacious, but due to the smoking his tissues were very tight and made it hard. I still got 2 quads done and he is coming back in for the last two quads in a couple weeks! 

Overall today was a great day!!

Senior Year has begun...

Last year the senior students told us that we would LOVE senior year this year. 

I AGREE 100% 

This year is so much fun! I feel like we have less book work and more clinic time. 

The VA has been a lot of fun and a really challenging experience. 

I am excited to see what is in store for us this year!

Last Day of Clinic

Our last day of clinic was this week, and it was bitter sweet! I had a really easy patient, I just did 4 sealants and the air/powder polisher PE. I didn't think I would learn much on the last day, but of course I did. I got another lesson on sharpening and was able to sharpen all of my instruments! I don't know how I got through my last few patients, my instruments were dull :) I am excited to go into next year, but also nervous because now the pressure is on! Goodbye year one of Dental Hygiene, hello summer time!

Class 2...say what?!

Today was a great learning experience. I had a class 2, and being the end of the semester, I guess I felt like I knew what I was doing! Ha ha ha..I used my ultrasonic and got in there really well and then just decided to get a scale check, what the heck! I failed to glance at my patients x-rays sitting right there, which would have showed me his radiographic calculus, thus prompting me to MAKE SURE I got everything. Sure enough, I missed 4 spots. Whoops! That was a good learning experience :) I did get the next side done and only missed one small area, so needless to say, I improved :) I also got 2 PE's done, as well as before and after pictures of my patient's sheet calculus! It was awesome!!

Class 1A...not too shabby..

I saw a 1A patient and it was so easy. My cute little girl only had her 20 baby teeth, so I was able to get 2 bitewings done, and she did a great job! I have only seen one kid back at the beginning of the semester so I was interested to see how I did today. It was mostly deplaquing, but she has some tartar on her upper mandibular molars, buccal side. I loved that I didn't have to do an OD check before I could scale, that made things go so smooth! My instructors gave me really good feedback and I feel like I accomplished a lot today!

Difficult patient and difficult day...

Today in clinic was a good day as well as a hard day! My patient has some mental and physical disabilities. I wanted to be patient and get her cleaned up really well. I did her whole right side and i missed only 2 spots, it was mostly de-plaquing anyway, which was hard too because I don't want to just scrape plaque all day. I was able to get good oral hygiene instructions and I feel like she is really trying. I am thankful for these experiences because it helps me become a better clinician.

My Class 3 Patient!

Wow...I don't think I really understood the amount of calculus that a person could accumulate in their mouth..until I saw my class 3 patient. I have yet to see a more intense patient. I had so much fun doing this, but it was also such a great learning experience. I used my swivel ultrabend ultrasonic and it removed a lot of calculus, but then I went in with my slim tip and I got even more off! It was such a great experience and I learned a lot. 

Just another day in clinic...

Today was a great day in clinic! I saw a good friend who was a classification of 1B, so generally healthy! I made a goal that I wasn't going to need any re-takes, I was going to pace myself and not rush. I was able to get 4BW conventional done with no retakes! Then I had the opportunity to scale her entire mouth without having one scale check in between, (Instructors were really busy) and I finished her in 1 hour and I didn't miss any spots! I also had time to do the diagnodent PE as well :) I feel like it was a very productive day! 

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!

Today was the first day that I have had a cancelation last minute! My 8:00 am patient canceled at 7:00 this morning! Good thing my husband was able to come in to get finished up! I knew I was saving him for a good reason. :-) He is a class 1B and today we did 2 quads. I finished him in 30 minutes...which left me with a lot of extra time to catch up on blogging and helping others in clinic get done and cleaned up. I learned that I am getting faster at class 1B patients, and I wish I would have known I was going to see my husband today because I would have scheduled a child to come in after! But, everyone has had cancelations, and today it was my turn I guess :) It was still a great day!

Class 1A, 1B, 2, 3, 5..what??

We have different classification in school, based on our requirements, than you would classify in a private practice. Class 1A is a child with mixed dentition or just primary teeth. I still need two of these patients and they seem to be the hardest to find! My goal this semester is to try and get my 1A's done in two appointments. I have 1/3 done, and I hope to find 2 more that I can do in one day! 

Class 2 and 3 Periodontal Patients!

Today was a great day in clinic! I was able to pass off a couple PE's which makes me feel like I am getting a lot done. I set a goal to get both of my quadrants done today. I had one quad of a class 3 and one quad of a class 2. I started with the class 3 and decided once I felt like I got all of the calculus off, I would just be confident and move on to the class 2. I got both quadrants done in an hour and a half with zero missed spots! I felt like I did a really good job! The semester is coming to the half way point, but I still feel like I don't know what I am doing 100%, sometimes I wonder how I will be a hygienist in the field! :) 

My Class II patient..what a day!

Today I saw a class II patient that had a couple 8mm, 7mm, 6mm and 5mm pockets! I made a goal that today I was going to get 4 vertical BW, an an entire OD done with one quad of scaling. After probing I was really nervous because I have only ever scaled a 1B patient before. I did my best to make sure my probe depths were correct, but I was hitting calculus so a few were off. I re-probed after I cleaned him and it felt a lot better. I used my ultrasonic and I was nervous at first, putting this instrument down such a deep pocket! After awhile I got the hang of it! I missed a spot on the distal of #32, a wisdom tooth!! But out of 16 teeth I only missed 3 spots! The best part about it was that one quad classified as a class III :) Wahoo!!!!

Clinic was great!

Today was a really great day in clinic! I saw my really good friend who was also my first patient last semester! My goal today was to get all 3 quads done on my patient and pass off my peer calculus removal PE. I feel like today was very productive! I finished 3 quads in 1 hour!!!! I was so excited! I had a great scale check and I feel more confident every day! I placed 2 sealants on Kierstin's patient and I performed a "scale check" on her patient! Today was very productive and I enjoyed it!

I had a goal to see a 1A in one appointment. Prior to the appointment I tried to get as much done as I possibly could. I had the treatment plan printed off and ready to sign, as well as the health history for the mom to sign. I set up my xray room first so that i could take him back right after I got his HHX done. Pt was really nice and very cooperative. I was able to get it finished in one appt and I didn't have any errors. I am starting to feel more confident!

My Clinical Experience!

I have been seeing patients in clinic for about 2 weeks and it has been a blast! I set a goal to get 2 PE's done today, I made sure that i practiced them before I passed them off and it went great! I saw a 1B today and did the entire left side of the mouth. Pt was very cooperative and gave me confidence that I was a good hygienist! I feel like I did a good job with my time management, I finished the whole side within 1 hour, which gives me confidence that I can finish a whole mouth in 3 hours soon!

The first clinic before the rest of the semester!

Today was our last clinic session before we start seeing patients! Monday is the day! I am very excited and I hope that I remember everything that I have to do! I am seeing a friend, so I don't know if that will make it easier or more stressful! Today we learned how to use the ultrasonic and the gracey scalers! I am so excited to be able to use the ultrasonic! I love it! :)