One Busy Crazy Scary semester left

I am one happy girl. I can not believe that I am done with the 3rd semester and just have one more to go.  Man, how time has just flown by.  I am not looking forward to next semester except for the day that I can say "Adios" to Weber State for forever (unless I go back to get my Masters).  I might be debating that for a long time.  I was happy to finally finish my 1A requirement today and fit two patients in one appointment.  Never thought that day would come but I must be somewhat improving.  I hope that the Christmas gives me enough time to study for Boards but still have a relaxing break from school.

Gross debridement

Grrrrrr Arggggg! I hate having a class II patient in my chair and I didn't get any calculus off.  Really?  I guess I should stop thinking that I am amazing and can get a class II done in one appointment.  Emily is reading this right now and laughing at me.  It is one of those bad days that I hope that I learn from it.

bilateral leukoplakic lesion and Nitrous PE done

I have to say that today was one of the most interesting days I have ever had.  The one piece of advice that I would give to everyone is do not pass off PE's with Prof. Perry especially when you have a first year watching you.  It is the most embarrassing and difficult moment in my life.  I have realized that my mind doesn't think under pressure and I somehow just give up.  At one moment, I was hoping that Prof. Perry would stop quizzing me but he would just get even crazier with the questions.  The other thing that happened that was interesting was the two leukoplakic lesions that I found on the floor of my patient's mouth.  One was 12x12 mm and the other was 12x8 mm.  I never thought that I would see something like that.  My poor patient has already had a biopsy done on her tongue but not in the same area.  I don't think that she really understood the seriousness of the whole situation. I tried calling her after to let her know that I really think that she needs to see a oral surgeon but I don't think that she will listen to me.  I really hope that is benign.  Poor thing really wants to try and take care of her teeth but she really doesn't understand what smoking 1 pack of cigarettes is doing to her mouth and her health.

I received flowers from my patient and it wasn't my husband

I kind of had an interesting day today.  I am actually suprised to say that but it I thought it was going to be bad. My first patient was coming back to get three quads cleaned and would have been a good mockboard patient but she needed her teeth clean so that she could get some teeth pulled.  She had some awesome radiographic calculus that would make everyone jealous.  She was a difficult patient and it was difficult cleaning her teeth with her little boy telling me "no" every time I put a scaler in her mouth.  The older daughter told me that I was lucky that the little 3 year old didn't try to beat me up.  After I was done my patient gave me flowers.  I wasn't expecting that today.  I definitely need to work on trying to get into pockets better.  I don't know why it is so difficult for me to get my Gracey's into 6 mm pockets but somehow I don't get the instrument down far enough. 
My second patient was one of the sweet ladies in the Radiology department.  I am so grateful to her and spending many hours with me.  It pays to just see who from campus can help you out. 

count down: 3 more clinic days!!!!

Herpes breakout and 4 clinic days left

Well it is the story of my life.  My patient didn't show up this morning and when I called her to find out where she was she said that she was staying home because she heard last week that we couldn't see our patient when they have a cold sore. So, it was a fun morning.  I volunteered to take Bitewings for a  walk-in and happy that I did it because the conventional x-rays take for.....ev......er.  Then I had another walk-in ask how he can get his teeth cleaned.  So I was able to get his OD done but my instructor did not have enough time to do an OD check so I have to wait until the next time he comes in.  I am hoping that he has at least 1 quad of a III.  The morning wasn't a complete waste of a morning but I wish that I could have at least got one quad cleaned. 

The afternoon wasn't a waste of a day.  My patient showed up which is pretty exciting and I was able to clean 2 quads of a III.  I probably could have cleaned another quad but I was waiting to pass off some PE's.  I don't know why they have to watch us pass off the Root Debridement PE.  I am doing Root Debridement on almost every patient I see and I am always doing calculus removal.  When they do the OD check they feel for calculus and when they come back there isn't anymore calculus.  It's not just falling off by itself. 

The one thing that I am wondering is when are they going to start pressuring us to go faster.  I don't know if I am going at the right speed or not but if I am not I wish that they would start pushing me now rather than later.  I just have 4 more clinic days until the end of the semester and 24 more PE's to do altogether.  This semester has been going by way too fast.  I am definitely not ready for this semester to be over with because then we are closer to having to be ready for Boards. 

Starts Bad & Ends Bad

I want to put today behind me.  I cannot believe that i can get so flustered so quickly.  I felt like everything I was doing just ended up being wrong and of course someone had to observe me today, really? 
This morning was crazy.  I had my very first Spanish speaking patient.  Luckily she knew more English than i thought but I really do not know how much she really understood from me.  I really talked to her about OHI and periodontal disease but from the look she was giving me, she didn't understand anything that I was saying.  My patient ended up a class II patient with some sweet board calculus. I was kind of excited to save her for Mockboards.  I checked her lower right quad and it has a beautiful amount of calculus for me to use for mockboards.  It took me for forever to get x-rays, OD, and waiting for an 1 quad scale check and just finished 1 quad.  Grrrr Arrrrrrg.  I wish that I could get a class II done with x-rays in 1 appointment.  I cannot believe I couldn't get it done today. Then I found out the dentist wants to pull 2 teeth from the lower right quad because my patient is having pain and there was considerable mobility with the teeth.  This is my life when it comes to dental hygiene.  Oh, and then I used my patient as my Eagle Soft patient and all of my notes disappeared.  Gone, adios, au revior, sayounara.  It took me forever to do and I had the privilege of being able to do it again.  Remember to hit "done" instead of "save as" when adding notes in Eagle Soft.  I don't think that I will forget that for next semester. 
My afternoon patient was my wonderful husband.  I am grateful because I was able to clean his teeth, do x-rays, and do the nasty caries risk PE on him plus 2 other lame PE's.  Where it went bad is the diagnodent really didn't work, I had to do the caries risk assessment PE, and I had a buttload of paperwork to finish.  (by the way, buttload is a measurement. It is 126 gallons.)  That is how much paperwork I felt like I had.  I didn't get out until 5 and only had 5 minute lunch.  I am just grateful that I do not have to do this again until next Thursday.  Hopefully, I can get more PE's done next Thursday.  I still have 26 PE's to do. 

Thank you to everyone that stayed around today and helped me with cleaning my unit, helping me with my PE's, and helping me with Eagle Soft.  I think that I would have left school and not returned if it wasn't for all of you!

A big fat Fail on my first Mockboards

I am happy to have my first Mockboard done but sad that it didn't go well.  I wasn't going to get nervous or mad but I am sad that it didn't go better.  I only missed 5 spots but I didn't do well on my probing, occlusion classification, and out of the 5 spots missed 3 spots were supragingival calculus.  I hate that I had more supra calculus than subgingival calculus.  That should not have happened.  Dr. Hanson said that she didn't think that I was able to get that calculus off and was really suprised that I did so well.  It sounds bad but I took it as a compliment.  My patient had enough calculus on just 3 teeth, so Dr. Hanson only tested me on 4 teeth. I did realize that I need to focus on the mesials of all teeth.  I don't know why I struggle with mesials but I do.  I am really going to work on my lateral pressure and hope that I can do better next time. 
I am definitely not going to wait to do x-rays the day of boards.  I could not believe that I was a few minutes late because I couldn't get the PA on time.  That was the most stressful thing and it didn't get any better.  I barely got my patient done before the end time and really need to improve on getting my patient done at least 15 minutes early to feel comfortable.  I didn't know if the clock by me would say the same thing as the one at the front desk.  Thank you Kathy for the mockboard patient and helping me at least get a 62% on it.  Next mockboard is in January and I am hoping for a similar patient.  3 months.....yes I am counting.

I hate no shows

I cannot believe how many people just don't show up for their appointments.  Seriously, it has to happen again.  I called and scheduled her two days before and to top it all off after I called her to tell her she was late she told me that she didn't have the money and would need help.  Those better be Class IV teeth or Beautifully Board qualifying teeth for me to pay to clean your teeth.  So, I found a patient and had him come in to find out that he had his knees replaced and I had to get a physicians consult. I have to admit that I was really grateful to Mr. Salamon.  He helped me with the consult and kept bugging the physician to get the consult signed. I had my patient come in at 9:30 and waited 1 hour to work on him because of premedication and then cleaned him in 20 minutes.  That was the fastest I had ever cleaned 4 quads.  I don't think that I could do it again if I wanted to. I was pretty lucky because Mr. Salamon and Professor Alexander both let me go over till 11:20.  I am grateful that I was able to finish him so that he didn't have to go home and wait to get his teeth cleaned after all of that.  I learned that if you put your mind to it you can get a patient in your chair and get things done if you put your mind to it and have some help.  
My afternoon patient was pretty easy. She was just a 1B but man was she a talker.  I could not get anything done.  It seemed like she wanted to talk for hours.  I was hoping to get her done earlier so I could feel more comfortable with booking 2 1B patients in the morning or afternoon.  Just knowing that I could do a few more patients would make me feel better about one day being a dental hygienist. Am I ever going to get fast enough to be able to get a patient done in hour?  Or will I always be this slow?

3 Quads of class II, 1 Quad of class III, and 4 Quads of Class V Exam

Today was the day that I needed to hurry and get my exams done.  I didn't think that I was going to get to that many done but I was happy to get some of my exams done.  With my first patient I was having difficulties with the staining on the anterior teeth and also the probing.  I was getting different measurements than Professor Alexander.  I think that probing is the most difficult thing for me because I feel like I am doing it right but always wonder if I am or not. 
My second patient had the strongest tongue, lips, and whatever else that was pushing out my instruments.  Every time I would try to put my mirror in his mouth he would push it out and tell me that he couldn't control it.  He would close his mouth while I was cleaning and it made it difficult to scale.  I could not believe that someone's lips could be so strong.  I used all the muscles I had to clean his teeth.  Then to top it all off he fell asleep and i had to continually tell him to wake up so that I could see inside his mouth.  I asked Dr. Hanson if there was anything that I cuold do and she told me that it is something that I will have to learn to do because there are many people that are a lot like him.  I really hope that I do not see that many in my career.  I don't think that I could handle that all day long. 
I was happy that I was able to do 2 sets of bitewings on both patients because I was afraid to do them.  I did not feel comfortable after being gone so long but they turned out perfect.

Stuck walking around looking for patients

My first patient was the same fromt he week before and again she is late.  Really? I never went though all of this during my first year.  I was able to clean her teeth and get the subgingival calculus.  She also had a lot of healing for the week before which was fun to show her.  I was able to show her where the calculus was removed and the tissues had started to heal and where it wasn't healing because of the calculus was still there.  I think that was the best education tool that I have had.  She really didn't understand that she had an infection in her mouth and that she could control it by flossing and brushing her teeth more often.  Then in the middle of the cleaning, I found out that my next patient was cancelling on me.  Does she not understand that it would be nice to get the phone call the night before.  So I was stuck walking around campus trying to find patients, calling my old patients, and calling whoever I could to get a afternoon patient.  Luckily, I have wonderful neighbors who will do anything for me and I was able to clean the sweetest little 5 year olds teeth.  It sucks that I dedicated a whole appointment to a 5 year old but I was happy to have someone in my chair. 

Easiest and yet most difficult day at WSU

My first patient was the best patient to have come in.  He didn't have much calculus and never had a cavity in his life.  I couldn't believe how well his gums and teeth looked seeing how he never flosses his teeth.  It was difficult to explain to him the importance of flossing when his gums and teeth looked good.  I tried explaining to him that he does want to floss though because he never knows when it might get bad for him.  Hopefully, he will start to floss at least once a week.   This patient was perfect for me. I was able to practice more of my explorer skills and get more comfortable with my explorer after the long break. 
My second patient was a little more difficult.  she decided not to show up on time and I had to call her after she was 30 minutest late.  She finally showed up at 1:20 and I was able to get everything done or so I thought.  After Professor Perry did a scale check he told me that I basically did a debridement but left everything that was subgingival.  I was going to have bring my patient back again. It was the hardes thing for me to hear.  I didn't want to have to bring a class II patient back because I would need that time for a class III of IV patient.  I couldn't believe that I didn't get subgingival.  My patient was also in a lot of pain.  She had so much infection in her mouth that anything that I did hurt her and I was going to have to do it all over again next week. 

Another unproductive day at the VA

I was really nervous for my first patient.  I didn't know what I was going to do with an 83 year old Professor Bossenberger showed me how to do it and really helped me get the plaque off of his teeth in a more effecient and quicker way. but he was a great patient.  He had a lot of recession on the anterior teeth that made it difficult to clean.  I had to use my gracey's, first of all because the VA has horrible instruments and because it had the best shank to clean the anterior teeth. 
My second patient was the best patient that I could have wished for.  I struggled with her x-rays but was so excited to have her. She was the perfect BOARD patient.  I could get some Board experience on this patient.  She had the calculus, bone levels, and no restorations.  I couldn't believe it and then the bad news came in the middle of the appointment.  She had to leave to pick up her daughter and wouldn't be able to have her teeth cleaned.  I think that was the hardest thing for me.  I had done so much and couldn't get anything completed. I can't believe that someone else gets to clean her teeth after I did everything else.

first day back at WSU

I felt so scattered brained today it was ridiculous.  My first patient was a class II patient and wasn't too difficult except for the fact that I couldn't remember what I was supposed to be doing. Like where the professor and I am supposed to sign.  I really focused on the anterior teeth and learned from Prof. Perry a better way of getting off really thick calculus from the anterior teeth.  He said to get underneath with the sickle scaler and use a tooth on the other side as a base to pry off the calculus.  Kind of like a prybar.  You want to pull off the calculus instead of going from underneath and pulling up.  It was so much easier than what I was doing. My second patient was a little more difficult.  She was a class V patient but she took me a long time to do.  She had a lot of plaque on her teeth and staining due to the coffee and teas that she was drinking.  I really did not want to bust out my ultrasonic but it was the one thing that would get off the stain.  I have a lot to improve on when it comes to the ultrasonic.  I really need to try and make the ultrasonic my friend. 

First VA day

Today was my first day back doing what dental hygienist do.  I thought that everything was going to come back to me and it was going to be a piece of cake.  However, I struggled with my first day back and feel like I am so far behind everyone else.  My patient needed a pano, PA's, and premedication.  It took me forever to get through all of that plus having to do a new chart and probing depths.  Of course, he had to leave early for a game to add to my day. All I wanted to do today was be able to clean some teeth.  It isn't looking good for me so far.

Jabbed, Tears, and possibly a Pass

I don't know how a day can go from being a total disaster to be the best day. On my first quad of my class 2 patient I stuck myself with my instrument when it slipped and I grasped it. I can't believe that I did it. Just an FYI...if you have instrument that is slipping in your hands, just let it go. At the clinic they have plenty of instruments to use that you can borrow one of theirs to use. Luckily, I had a great patient that was great to work with and was so nice to me. He really helped me out and was very understanding. I couldn't have asked for a better class 2 patient. I really don't know how fast I got him done but I was able to clean his teeth with only 2 miss spots. I think that I passed everything off but I don't know. Hopefully, I will know tomorrow. I am so happy to have a break from this. I am so happy for summer.

craziest clinic day....

I was so excited for today because I had an easy class 1B patient and I was going to pass off 2 PE's get all of my radiology requirements done. It was going to make Wednesday so easy, but nothing can go my way and if Wednesday turns out to be a bad day, I don't think that I am going to pass. It seemed like I everything that could go bad was going bad. The Pano machine wasn't working correctly and I had to have my patient bend her knees just to get it right. Then a woman that I didn't schedule came in and wanted her teeth clean. I never scheduled her and was wondering how she knew that I was there at 8 am without telling her that. I didn't do well on my PE's and felt stressed going into them. I am praying that everything goes right on Wednesday since Monday was so bad. I need four quads of a class II, bitewings, 3 PE's completed. I really liked working on this patient. I thought that I worked on just using my exploratory stroke until I found calculus and then used my working stroke. I didn't have any missed areas. YAY! silky smooth teeth. I have learned to love my explorer and I am hoping that I can use it correctly on Wednesday. Crossing my fingers for Wednesday.

Class 2 that took forever

I had the most difficult day today but I have learned to love my explorer, thanks to instructor Hafen. I can't express how grateful I am to instructor Hafen. She really helped me out with finding the calculus and didn't make me feel like I was a total idiot working the explorer. I didn't feel stressed like I do with others. It was really nice, plus she helped me pass off 4 PE's. Thank you Instructor Hafen. I feel more comfortable with a real class II patient. I now know that I need to look for the calculus around the furcations on the premolars and reach further into the col and imagine where the calculus is before trying to remove the calculus. I thought that today was the best learning experience that I have ever had. I really need more days like that but the reason why it was so good is because I had Instructor Hafen all to myself for the majority of the time. I feel bad for the other girls. I need 4 more quads of a class II and I have all of my requirements done. YAY!

Sealant Pt

I had my last sealant patient and kid patient today and I need lots of practice. I could not get the sealant material to stay on the tooth even though I had the suction, mirror and sealant in his mouth with only two hands to hold it all. The tongue and saliva were wiggling around and I could not seal tooth number 30. After several tries I had someone else do it and I sealed tooth number 3 without any problems. Really? I could not believe how long it took me. I was hoping to do a few PE's but I barely got done before we had to have the patient out of the clinic. Only one more Monday clinic and then I am done. I cannot wait. I love working on patients but I don't like Monday's at all. Hopefully next year will be better.

BLAH BLAH BLAH

I found me a talker who is a class 2. It took me 1 hour and 15 min to get through his HHX due to the amount of meds my patient was on and the fact that I heard twenty different stories and jokes while trying to ask him questions. It was so fun that he started talking while I he had the x-rays in his mouth. I wish that I could get some class 2 quads done so that I can feel better. I need to clean some class 2 teeth dang it and pass off 5 PE's. I can't do it without getting through all the boring stuff first.

Maybe I will be graduating in 2012

Today was a difficult day. I had my first class 2 patient and I feel like I don't know what I am doing. Luckily I got the OD done but I am a little upset that I didn't know that the patient needed local anesthesia until I started a quad and almost finished a whole quad. Well hopefully she shows up on the 7th because she is my class 2 exam patient. I really wanted to pass off PE's but I didn't see much of my instructor to pass off PE's. Mondays are not fun at all! I don't have enough time to do anything. I am never going to pass my first year. I might as well get used to being a first year for a while.

Thanks Second Year....

I loved working on a second year. It was so nice having them tell me what I am doing wrong and what I am doing right. I felt that she gave me confidence and I feel that I might be able to be a dental hygienist. I really look up to this second year because she seems to have a great knowledge of this and it was really helpful to get some of her tips and tricks. I think that all first year students should work on a second years students mouth so that the second year can help the first year students. I really think that this was one of the best experiences I have had in clinic and it was great to have it be an exam also. Hopefully I will pass.

It doesn't hurt to ask your fellow classmates for a pt

It was definitely difficult to find a patient after going on a week cruise for spring break, but I am grateful for my classmates that are willing to help me out and find a patient for me. Today was difficult for me because it was the first time I had to deal with medications. I forgot that you have to find the book page, the side effect, and whether or not the patient is displaying those side effects. Then being flustered, I forgot to fill out all of the Health history correct. It took my at least 30 min. to do my health history which cuts a lot of my time therefore, I barely got the patient done. I had to beg to not have my patient come back for a second appointment. My patient left too late and if I would have done the health history faster I would have got my patient out earlier. I really hope that it never happens again.

Grateful for Family

I learned an important lesson today. Sometimes patients will just not show up and there isn't anything that you can do about it... Unless your at school and have to have a patient so that you don't fail. I waited 30 minutes for my patient to show and when he didn't, I had to call my brother-in-law to come in and help me out. I am so grateful for family that will drop everything that they are doing to come and help me out. I am so excited that I was able to pass off my sharpening PE while I was waiting for him to show and I was able to complete all 4 quads. Right now, I am done with my 1A's, 1B's (except for an exam), class 3, and all I need is 8 quads of a class 2. I hope I can find those last 8 quads soon. I also have 8 days left and 11 PE's to pass off. Hopefully, I can get them all done or I will be a first year again.

Who knew a tongue could be so strong?

I really thought that I could get two kids done today and that it would be a piece of cake. I set a goal to have their x-rays done in 10 min., OD in 10 min, cleaning in 10 min, sealants in 25 min, and OHI in 5 min. I had everything ready for both kids and I felt like I knew what I was doing. Instead it took me 45 min. to get a x-ray in my patient's mouth to finally stay, 15 min for OD because he kept flipping on his side trying to sleep, 10 min for cleaning (I accomplished one goal), and 50 min for sealants. I never thought a kids tongue could be stronger than my arms and the four different objects that were holding it down. I realized today that I don't want to work in pediatrics. However, the kid told me that he would rather be sitting in my chair than in school, so I might have accomplished something.

One patient in a day

My goal today was to be able to get a patient done in one appointment with x-rays and it finally happened. I can't believe that it has taken me so long but it finally happened today. I also made it a goal to pass off two PE's today to seeing how I have 15 that I have to do between now and April 14th. It feels so nice to get it done. Meagan really helped me out. She told me to really focus on the mandibular anterior teeth and the posterior molars, then focus on feeling for calculus, and then polishing her teeth to remove the plaque. I made it and I was trying to fly through it. I did miss four spots and so I am really going to have to pay more attention to it. I really focused on not spending so much time on removing debris from my scalers and just getting it done. Now I just have one more 1B left and I am done with them.

Second kid and I am too slow

I was hoping to get my patient done today and have enough time to get some PE's done but I am too slow. Kids that are 9 yrs old really need to have size 1 films when taking BWX's because size 2 do not fit their little mouths. I really want to be able to get two kids done in one appointment. Hopefully, the next appointment I can get two kids done and sealants because I know how to take kids x-rays, do the OD, and polish their teeth. I think that the only thing that will slow me down is doing their sealants because you have to keep the tooth dry. I wish that I had an assistant in clinic. I declared my patient an exam today so I hope that I did well. wish that they could tell us what we did wrong and help us out after we are done. Two exams down and two more to go.

Whoa, I am done with my class III

I am finally done with my class III patient. After four appointments and many, many, many hours of trying to clean his teeth, I am done! It was difficult. There was one area that I tried to get the calculus off and I just couldn't get the lateral pressure that was needed. Instructor Hensley really helped me out and showed me how she would get it off. She explained that sometimes to find out if calculus is really calculus you have to scale until the root surface is smooth and if it doesn't get smooth than it is tooth structure. She also showed me two ultrasonic tips that would have been helpful to have had when I first started with my patient. She also showed me a how to get more lateral pressure to help with getting the calculus off. I also realized that I have not been keeping my instrument parallel with the tooth and I really have to work on that. It makes such a difference. Also, I need to work on using the tip of my instrument more than the heel.

First Kid patient, what do I do?

I think that this was one of the most confusing and challenging days because I did not know what to expect. I think that children are the most difficult to have to work on because they want to move all the time and their tongues want to be in the most difficult places and the worst time. I really liked some of the things that Instructor Caldwell was doing when we were trying to take my patients x-rays. She told my patient to breathe through her nose to help with gagging and to look up toward the ceiling so that we could get the film in her mouth. She also made it fun for her by saying things like the tube was going to kiss her on the cheek and that he vest was a superhero blanket so that my patient could be a superhero. She made it fun for my patient. I learned that kids will let you know if they don't like the polish paste and spitting is whenever they want and you just have to be ready. I definitely need to work with more kids so that it becomes more natural for me.

Finally....A break!

Today was such a nice break. I enjoyed not having to find a patient to come in and having to come in a little later than normal. It was nice to learn about the three PE's that we have to pass off but I don't know if I am really ready to pass them off because I don't remember how to do some of them. Hopefully, I will be able to practice a little bit so that I will get more comfortable with it. Megan said that she has a grandfather that has a full mouth denture that she will be able to share with me in April and I will have to find two people to do the diagnodent on and blood glucose test on. Hopefully, I can find them soon.

One day I might be a dental hygienist??

This was the most frustrating day I have ever had. I can't believe I only got one quad done. It was a class III quad, but still I was hoping to be able to get the last two quads done like I did previously. I couldn't believe how tenacious the calculus was and it was not easy to determine. It felt like tooth structure. I knew it was there because it was on the x-ray but I thought that it was going to be easier than it was. I think the reason I wasn't able to get both quads clean was because I didn't begin scaling with the ultrasonic. I think that it would have removed more off it I would have used that first. I also think that it would help if my patient would have been numbed but he refused anesthesia so I was afraid to use too much pressure because it would hurt him. I really wished that I could distinguish between tooth structure, calculus, tooth abnormalities, etc. I also wish that I could have had more one-on-one time with the instruments to make sure that I am using them correctly. I think that it would have helped me more. I guess I will have to complete my patient in two weeks and hopefully I can get him completed.

Goals for Session:
1. Complete all four quads in 40 minutes
2. Complete OD in 30 min

Session Review:
I really wanted to be able to complete everything so that I had time to take x-rays but I barely completed my patient. Today was my first exam patient and I hope that I passed. I took too long to scale and that will hurt me but hopefully I didn't lose points on anything else. It took me an hour to complete 4 quads which is an improvement from my first appointment but I need to remember my goal while working on my next few patients. I was not able to get the OD completely done in 30 minutes so if I could shave off some time there and on my scaling, I might be able to take x-rays and do everything else in one appointment.

Goals for Session:
1. Complete two quads with few missed areas
2. Get familiar with the Gracey's
3. Maintain Adaption

Session Review:
Today I learned that I was causing tissue trauma with my instruments because I had the wrong idea about maintaining adaption. I can't believe that with the explorer I was pulling the gingiva from the tooth and causing tissue trauma all this time. I love Wednesdays and being able to have more one on one time with the instructors. I like learning from the TA's but I really liked working with Professor Hanson and Instructor Hafen. Professor Hanson showed me how to insert my instruments to clean the teeth and really helped me figure out how much lateral pressure I need to insert to get calculus off. All I know is that I need to get more hand strength because some of that calculus was very difficult. She also showed me some extraoral fulcruming that I can use to help with difficult areas to reach. Instructor Hafen showed me how to use my ultrasonic scaler in deep pockets. I learned that sometimes you have to use a different angle. I just hope that I can remember the things that they have taught me so that I can use it to improve how I clean teeth. I was really excited today to use my Gracey's for the first time. They are really nice to use once you realize how to use them. I really like how easy they are to use and it is amazing how much plaque they pick up out of 9 mm pockets. Hopefully next week I can pass off some PE's that have to do with the Gracey's after the experience I had today.

Goals for Session:
1. Complete patient in one session, excluding x-rays because patient refuses them
2. Work on adaption

Session Review:
I have never wanted to cry as much as I did after this experience. I felt like I didn't know what I was doing and the worst part was that I thought it would be better since I didn't know my patient but it just made it worst. I am happy that it is over and I just hope that I passed. I finally had a patient completed in one appointment but I had the most missed areas than my other patients. I need to remember that I am trying to get plaque off and calculus. Plaque is just as bad as calculus and it likes to hide in the embrasures and can be 3mm down if there is a 3mm pocket. I also was told to work on my mandibular teeth and then move to the maxillary teeth. The mandibular linguals are more difficult than maxillary so I need to use my strength on the mandibular linguals. My adaption is still not very good and I feel like I still don't use my instruments correctly. I really wish that I could have an instructor with me to tell me what I am doing wrong.

Goals for session:
1. Improve on my OHI and using the books and other items to help give my patient a visual of what I am trying to explain
2. Complete OD in 35 min.
3. Improve on my x-rays
Session Review:
I think that today was the hardest day for me. It didn't start out good when I fell at work in the morning and my knee was turning black and blue from the fall and my arm hurt from falling on it. I wasn't able to get past the OD. My patient was a class III and was really difficult to probe. I tried getting around my patient's calculus but I wasn't getting the same probe depths as Professor Costley. She was getting 9's and 8's and my highest was a 6. I really need to work on my probing with those that are not class 1B's. I really wanted to work on my x-rays because my x-rays haven't been turning out the best. Meagan gave me good advice and told me to try and visualize where the teeth and the x-ray tube are parallel and line it up. It made more sense and it really helped with me. I just hope that I can do it on my own. I do need to work on my gingiva descriptions and knowing what is what. My patient's gingiva looked normal but I guess that I missed what blunted gingiva looked like and so on.

Goals for Session:
1. Complete OD, OHI, Full mouth Scale, RC/TB, and Fluoride tx.
2. Complete OD in 35 min.
3. Maintain Adaption
4. Use other scalers and get familiar with more than just Barnhart and SN135

Session Review: Another Patient done but it took me way past when I was supposed to be complete. I learned so much today that I wasn't prepared for. I was forced to use my ultrasonic which I really hate using and I learned that I should start on the mandibular teeth and then work on the maxillary. Actually I promised Instructor Vining that I would always work on Mandibular first because it is usually the hardest and the maxillary teeth can be completed quickly. He really helped me work on using my ultrasonic, especially around areas that are bleeding while I scaled and especially on crowns. I am going to have to give up my hatred towards the ultrasonic and force it to be my best friend. I really did help with removing some of the debris that I couldn't get with my hand scaler. Also, I learned that I can't be so negative about myself. I need to learn to be confident and make it so nobody knows that it is my first year. It is my goal for my next few appointments. I need to not say "I'm sorry", "I am horrible at this", "I can't work with that ultrasonic", and the list goes on. I also will make it a goal next time to use my ultrasonic just to get used to it and continue working on adapting with my instruments. I was successful on some teeth to keep my instrument adapted but sometimes I just couldn't see and took it off the tooth. I need to remember that I can have my patient move their head to help me see.

Two patients complete

Goals for session:
1. Complete all three quads in 45 minutes
2. Pass off PE's

Session Review: I don't know how someone can fail so miserably at their goals. All I had to do was scale three quads and then I would have been done but I forgot which quad I scaled the week before and rescaled it and then took 95 minutes. So it took me longer than it did the first time. I really wish that the dental hygiene instincts will finally kick in. I did learn a lot today. It is really nice having so many people there to help on Wednesdays. I learned that I am horrible with my ultrasonic and I need to practice with it more. I also learned that I am horrible at keeping my instrument adapted to the tooth and that I don't need to remove my instrument off of someones tooth. I also was able to feel some calculus clicks with Professor Costley and she gave me some good advice with the anterior teeth. Sometimes you can remove it from the facial side and not just the lingual. Instructor Hafen reminded me several times that I need to use my air to find calculus. Air is my best friend and needs to be utilized more often. Although it took me 95 minutes to clean my patients teeth, I did learn a lot from the experience and hopefully it will just get easier and easier for me.

Seriously....I need to get faster

Goals for session
1. Complete OD in 25 min.
2. Complete 2 Quads

Session Review: I did not complete any of my goals during this experience however I did improve on my OD time. It felt a lot smoother but I need to get more confident in myself. Probing is what really drags me down and I need to improve still on my indirect vision. It seems like my indirect vision is what really hurts me while probing. I am really going to work on improving my indirect vision so that I can achieve my goal of doing my OD in 25 min. I also was not able to get two quads scaled but I was able to learn some things from Instructor Hafen. She taught me how to feel for Calculus and how to scale the distal portion of the second mandibular molars. She had me go from the lingual side to the facial which helped with my lateral pressure. I was able to get more pressure and did not struggle as much. She also found some Calculus and was able to help me feel it with my explorer. However, I am still confused as to what is Calculus and what is the tooth structure, but it is somewhat making more sense to me.

I am feeling scared for this semester

Goals for session:
1. Complete FMX, OD, and OHI in one session. Must be quick and precise with x-rays.
2. Limit my retakes to 3

Session Review: I struggled with my patient today. I was only able to complete the x-rays. I took a FMX and struggled through the whole thing. I thought that I was getting though them quickly but ran into some issues. The scan-x film where not completely sealed and created some issues for me. Need to remember before I seat the patient in to check and make sure all of the Scan-x films are completely sealed. I also had to take 7 retakes which I was unhappy with myself about. I did not fail but it is difficult to have that many mistakes. Instructor Vining gave me some good tips about placing my x-rays and where to stand when I do it so that I can see better in the patients mouth. Luckily, I had a patient that was great to work with and was okay with getting several x-rays taken. If I continue to go so slowly and not get much done in a day I might have some difficulties toward the end of the semester. I really need to get more organized and really do a better job of using my time wisely. Instructor Vining also gave me good advice on what I should get done before my patient arrives to speed me up. Hopefully, in the next few visits I will be able to improve.

1st Patient for the Semester

Goals for session:
1. Complete a class 2 that I started last semester.
2. Try to stay organized and remember everything that I learned

Session review: Saw a class 2 client that I needed to complete. After completing the OD check and doing the OHI, I began scaling and forgot that I needed to have the instructor check my first quad. I need to remember that right now I don't know what Calculus looks or feels like so I need to have a scale check after the first quad. I took way too long to scale perfectly clean teeth. It took me 85 minutes with no errors. I really want to improve on that I make sure that I cut my time possibly in half on my next patient. I need to be more confident in myself and just get the paper work done as soon as possible. It took me way too long to do my paper work. It also took me a long time to get cleaned up. Hopefully with the next patient I can do a better job.