Floss Anyone?

I NEED TO BE DONE WITH SCHOOL!!!!!!!

2011-04-10T20:22:00.003-07:00

Clinical Exam

2011-03-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

I felt very prepared for today. I felt like I had studied the clinical guide and had a reliable patient. I was wrong! It was a good thing that I was so prepared because my patient was 40 minutes late!!! I got her checked in about 5minutes before my deadline! I have never been so panicked and pissed off in my whole life!
So I got her back in my chair and started working on her and found that she was bleeding like a stuck pig! I asked if she had been using the mouth rinse I had given her back in January and she looked at me like a deer in the headlights. Yea, she was caught. So since she did not do this her tissues were completely unprepared for today. I caused so much damage to them it was ridiculous! For every tissue trauma error there is 6 points deducted, then if you have 5 or more you have to do 40 hours of remediation before you are allowed to retake this exam. So great, I am pretty sure that I failed. I will be checking for results 5 times a day every day until I get them.

Anesthesia

2011-03-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

Today was the Anesthesia Board. I was extremely nervous. I failed my mock boards with flying colors, so I felt unprepared. Dayna and I spent so much time studying for this written exam. We had heard that it was extremely hard and the most failed of all the exams. I honestly felt pretty prepared for this one.

So it began with the written, you have to pass the written before you are allowed to take the clinical. The test was a little tricky but I finished and felt pretty good about it. When I got my envelope Dayna and I went outside to open them. We both screamed so loud that I bet China could hear us. We both passed! We were sooo excited! Now on to clinical.

My poor husband was my clinical patient. He was such a good sport. I gave my first injection, PSA, and I knew that it was perfect. Then the IA came and I didn't feel good about it at all. The examiners came back and said that they wanted to see the IA on the other side before they made a judgement. (A little information on the IA, it numbs half your lower lip and half of your tongue. Poor Kaleb was about to have his entire tongue numbed!) So I proceeded and it felt good. I was still super anxious about it considering that I failed my mock board.

All my worrying was for nothing though, I PASSED! I was so relieved after this, now on to clinicals tomorrow. At least I can numb my own patient :)

National Board Results Are IN!!!!

2011-03-07T13:17:00.000-08:00

I PASSED!!!!!! Thank the heavens above, I don't ever have to take that test again!

Give Kids A Smile

2011-02-26T17:28:00.000-08:00

O.K. today was surprisingly fun! I was taking x-rays on kids all day, I know it sounds bad but I bet it was the best place to be today. There were 4 of us in there and we pumped the kids out. We were done super fast and even though it took hours it went by super fast. We had a good time together. :)

National Board

2011-02-21T19:51:00.000-08:00

Again, I can't say much about this test. It was a long day though. I had a hard time sitting there for hours taking this test. I feel that at the end I just had to click finish because I couldn't hold still anymore. I hope I passed.

Children's School

2011-02-18T19:43:00.000-08:00

There is honestly nothing I love doing more than going to my son's school and helping out. Today I was able to put together a presentation for them about seeing the dentist and taking care of their teeth. I had help from some of my classmates too. They did most of the presenting, I made the cute little handouts ;) It was fun to see Kasem interacting with his friends until he spotted me, then he just wanted to hang on my leg. Honestly I kind of enjoy that, it is nice to know that they need you sometimes.

I am soooo sick of studying!

2011-02-14T19:26:00.000-08:00

Right now I feel extremely overwhelmed and slightly crazy! All I do anymore is go to school and study. I am neglecting my family and friends and I can't take it anymore! My husband is getting baptized soon and I have to fit in planning for that. I don't know why this seems so impossible for me but it is. It is a good thing that I have such a supportive family and understanding husband right now or I would need to be in an insane asylum.

Process of Care

2011-02-11T15:36:00.000-08:00

I can't say much about this because I don't want to give anything away for those of you who have not taken this exam yet. So this is all I have to say ....... THAT WAS THE DUMBEST TEST I HAVE EVER TAKEN!!!!

Day at the Capitol

2011-02-10T17:17:00.000-08:00

Today was excellent! I was completely starstruck! My research group went down to the state capitol to present our research on Virtual Reality Anesthesia to senators and house representatives during their session. It was so cool to discuss our ideas with highly educated people that responded with detailed questions. It was also super cool to see other research projects conducted by other students in different departments. All of the projects were outstanding and required a lot of hard work. I almost felt unworthy to be presenting with them.

First Sealant Day!

2011-02-04T16:01:00.000-08:00

I have been dreading this day! I do not like kids, I feel all sorts of awkward around them.

The day started out with setting up for something that we were all clueless about so we just got out all the instruments we had. We had no idea how many kids we were seeing, if they all needed sealants, and if they needed x-rays. This was all just very new.

When the kids came things just sorted themselves out. We took x-rays, cleaned their teeth, marked decay and placed sealants when needed. It actually went pretty smooth. We ended up having a lot of fun and the kids were super well behaved. We lucked out, I heard some screaming kids on the other end of the clinic.

First mock board of the semester

2011-01-27T18:29:00.000-08:00

Today we had our second mock board. It went a ton smoother than the first one and I somewhat felt like I knew what I was doing. My patient was super sweet, it helped my confidence out to have him there. I sure hope that real boards are somewhat lke this. We found out that we don't have to do an intra and extraoral exam on board day, that is a relief! However, there is a test that is supposably replacing the intra and extra oral exam on a computer that we have to take. I hope it is easy, I am sort of worried about it.

Board Patient!!!!

2011-01-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

Last night I recieved an e-mail from our clinic manager stating that my 8 o'clock patient had called him and cancelled her appointment. Just as a side not it was the same patient that called me at a ridiculous hour over the holiday break. So anyway I had a backup plan, I had my cousin call a spanish speaking patient for me and the pt agreed to come in. Turns out she speaks English too ( sorry Whit!) and she qualifies for my boards!! That is a huge relief for me. I hadn't startd stressing out about it too much yet but it is nice to know that I won't have to.
My afternoon patient was a no show today so I was able to get my oldest son out of school for some play time at Mom's work. We had a ton of fun making balloons out of gloves and squirting water in the suckie straws. Overall a great clinic day!

UUUUH not sure what to say

2011-01-13T19:00:00.000-08:00

Today I had a very interesting day. I had prospective class 4 patients coming in. The wife in the morning and the husband in the afternoon. I knew the wife was a little feisty from phone conversations in the past, so I felt somewhat prepared to face her. When she came in I could tell that she had a bad attitude about being there and I tried to remain as professional as possible. She questioned everything I did, then I got out the blood pressure cuff, she could not believe that she had to have her BP checked at a dental appointment. I explained to her that it is a school and we like to have our bases covered before we begin treatment. When I took her BP it was extremely high, I retook it 2 times and it showed no signs of coming down. I discussed this with my professor and we decided that the best action to take would be to dismiss the patient and refer her to a doctor. When the patient heard this she started getting upset, she pushed her way up, grabbed her coat and left, yelling the whole way out. I was totally shocked at the behavior and summed it up to having another crazy patient.

I then called her husband to apologize for the situation and see if he was still coming in. He said that he would be there and showed extreme concern for his wife, she had not called him yet. When he came into he clinic he was the sweetest thing I had ever talked to. He was polite and understanding. He then apologized for his wife's behavior and continued to explain to me the horrifying past that she has had with medical and dental doctors, she had not been to a doctor of any kind in over 10 years. She was horrified to come in and was then horrified even worse when she found out that she had high BP and had to see another Dr. She was just having a hard time taking everything in. After this conversation I felt horrible! I only hope that I didn't add to her hatred. I felt that I handled the situation as professionally as possible.

People are CRAZY!!!

2010-12-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

I wasn't aware that over my Christmas break I would have to deal with crazy patients! I had been asleep for a while when my phone rang....it was a patient wanting to schedule an appointment at 2:30 IN THE MORNING! I was baffled. I just asked her if I could call her back when the sun comes up.
So about 5 hours later, at 7 IN THE MORNING, I received another phone call from her. I didn't answer. I don't have to wake up 'till 7:45 to get my kid on the bus and I wasn't about to deal with her. So she left a message telling me that she is going to be in Ogden today and would appreciate it if I could get her in this morning!!!! She is crazy!!!!!!! So, Miss ------, if you read my blog I will call you when I wake up, if you call me again at an awful hour I will ignore your calls for the rest of time.

2010-12-03T23:50:00.000-08:00

Today I was stoked out of my mind because I was about to screen 2 patients that haven't had their teeth cleaned in at least 15 YEARS!!! They didn't show....what is with people!!! I made the appointment last night and they wanted to get in really bad. WTF!!! Then later on in the day I received a phone call stating "This is -----, I missed my appointment today, oops! I would like to reschedule. Call me as soon as possible I really want to come in." Ya freakin right! What a joke! Unfortunately I will end up taking the risk on them again because they are potential class 4s. Patients that come to a school need to realize that our grades depend on them showing up. I tell every single one of my patients this when I make the appointment. If they don't make it and they are not seriously injured I will do everything in my power to make sure the me nor any of my peers gets screwed over by them not showing up again. If they aren't going to show all they need to do is tell me and they are off the hook, no biggie! sigh, what to do?

2010-12-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

Today was my last day at the VA for the semester. It was a perfect ending. I was able to see 2 patients in the morning and completely finish them which included making entirely new perio charts for both! I didn't think that I could possibly do that! It had a ton to do with Megan, she knew how to help me without me having to say a word. She was AMAZING! Then in the afternoon I was able to see a boy that didn't arrive untill 2:30! This boy was 22 and had a heartwarming story. He got married and had a baby boy, 1 month after the boy was born he left for Iraq. He was gone for 2 years! He showed me pictures of his son and talked non stop about him and his wife. It was beyond cute. Then at the end of his appointment he informed me that his wife is expecting again! He was such a proud papa it was very sweet.
I normally hate the VA it is usually a place of despair and all around gloominess but days like today make it worth it.

One More Clinic Session

2010-11-30T13:54:00.000-08:00

So we are down to the end...finally! I have one more clinic session at the VA this Thursday and then I'm done for the semester. I feel so burnt out and sick of dental hygiene. I hope that when I'm actually working I will enjoy what I do because right now I can't honestly say I'm enjoying it. Today I saw 2 easy adult patients in the morning and then a kid in the afternoon. I am NOT good with kids. I like them and the kid I saw today was super cute, I just don't know what to say to them. It's always an awkward appointment when there is a minor involved. Oh well, hopefully a few nice weeks off between semesters will help my attitude improve slightly.

2010-10-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

My favorite part of an appointment is definitely getting to know the patient. For example, today I got to meet an incredible woman that lives in AFRICA and flys home to Utah once every 2 years for a month. She spends her time working with women to make reusable shopping bags. She is creating jobs for them and teaching them to take care of themselves. She has been all over the world and has worked as a nurse for 20 years. She had an amazing story and an even more amazing heart!
Another example: same day. I met a man that only cares about himself and no one else. He told me that while he was in MY chair that I am to act as his SERVANT and accommodate to his every need. His needs were not needs at all they were wants and all I wanted to do was scream!!!!!

2010-10-12T23:10:00.000-07:00

Today was mockboards! I was super nervous and excited at the same time! I started by being the student examiner this morning and I am so glad I did. I think that it helped me get the feel of the system before I had to be the clinician.
I wanted to KILL my patient though. So if it's not bad enough that we only have a certain amount of time to finish the quad my patient felt e need to prove to me how popular he is! He brought his phone into clinic and it rang about 5 times!!! He answered it every time and talked forever!!!!! I was ready to grab the stupid thing and put it in the sink! The good news is that I passed with flying colors! Now I need to start praying that I do as well during the real thing.

2010-10-07T23:07:00.000-07:00

Today I was CA at the VA. I loved it!!! If I could be there for all my CA days I would be a happy camper. I felt like I was actually doing what a clinic assistant should be doing... helping the clinicians. I got to help a lot with perio charting and suctioning. I also got to relax and help keep patients entertained while they were waiting for exams. I still hate having to be a CA butthis was much better than last years crap!

Mockboard Patient!!

2010-09-28T11:04:00.000-07:00

I have been super stressed about finding a mockboard patient! Everyone that is around me seems to have found their mockboard and there board and I'm still stuck on mockboard!
I had a patient off the referral list come in today that hadn't had his teeth cleaned in 10 years. I was super excited to see what he would be like. I got in his mouth for probing and realized that my probe was not going all the way down without avoiding calculus on numerous sites. I wasn't planing on it but it was a nice surprise, I thought he qualified for mockboards for sure. I went and retrieved my professor and we said a little prayer ;). She dove in and agreed! She even said that he would make a nice board patient but I couldn't morally keep him that long because there was a ton of pus coming out of numerous pockets. Anyway, I am super duper relieved!

WOW! VA

2010-09-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

So my favorite aspect of this profession is getting to know my patients. Today I spent the day at the VA Hospital. It is my first day of actually seeing patients down there. It was frustrating to say the least. All the instruments were dull and weird. There were numerous instruments that were made into a completely different kind of instrument during sharpening.
The only thing that kept me from getting up and leaving was this extremely sweet man that was in my chair. He was so patient with me and had quite a story to share with me. He had experienced a lot in his lifetime, things that I couldn't even imagine going through. It was one of the most heartwarming experiences I have had in my life.
I think that I am going to love going down there every other week; but only to meet the patients, the rest was downright frustrating!

I wish I spoke Spanish!!!

2010-09-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

Last night my lovely eight in the morning patient canceled on me around six o'clock!!! All I had available to me was a big long list of Spanish speaking women; what was I supposed to do with that?! Well I had no other option and I couldn't get a hold of my friend that does speak Spanish so I decided to take it in my own hands. NOT GOOD!
I got on Google translator and had a nice little script that I could say to my patients when I called them all prepared in Spanish. I thought it would be fool proof but I was very wrong. Why couldn't they just stick to the script. I would ask a question that was supposed to have a yes or no answer and they would talk for sentences! Whoa! I bombed that one. Long story short I sounded like an idiot and Kaleb had a great time listening to it.
I finally got a hold of my friend and she called and smoothed everything over for me. I owe her big time. She found a replacement patient for me and everything went well. I was slightly embarrassed when I had to meet her though. Fortunately the appointment went well and I was even able to claim her as an exam. I don't think I will be trying Spanish again anytime soon, from now on I will have a list of English speaking patients handy for myself.

Off to a good start!

2010-08-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day back in clinic where I saw patients. It went fairly smooth. I have to admit that I was extremely nervous; I felt like I had forgot everything over the summer. However, I think that hygiene skills are comparable to riding a bike, once I got that scaler in my hand and saw the calculus bridge on the lower anteriors I was ready to go! My morning started off with a bang! I got to apply arestin into a 6mm pocket that only 4 months ago was a 4mm pocket! My patient was super sweet about it, he was really concerned and seemed to understand the problem. That is a rare find.
My afterneen was sooo smooth. I saw an easy patient that I saw last semester. She was still applying the techniques that I taught her back in March and it showed! It was really fun to be able to follow up with her.

I'M DONE!!!!!!

2010-04-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day in clinic!!!! YAY!!! I met all my requirements and then some. My patient was my class three and I only had one quad to finish. It was a great way to end the semester, it couldn't have gone any better :).

So since today was my last clinic day I feel like I need to reflect a little bit. At the first of the school year I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I didn't know that I would be so stressed that my brain would turn to goo or that I would find myself crying hysterically in my professor's office! This year has for sure brought a whole new side of me out, and my poor classmates have seen it all.

I have accomplished a lot in clinic as well. I wish I could say that all my clinical skills just came naturally, but I can't. I have worked so extremely hard to get where I am today. I would have never thought that I could see a patient and clean their teeth in one appointment a few months ago. Now that is a breeze to accomplish. I hope that next year goes as well (now I just have to trim it down to 40 mins.). I have learned so much this year, it is incredible. I have had a wonderful faculty that has made me work hard and they have helped me be the best I can be. I'm sure that next year is going to be even more intense than this year was and, believe it or not, I'm looking forward to the challenge. Just think, in a year from now I will be a Registered Dental Hygienist!

Horrible class 2

2010-04-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

So I pretty much have all my requirements done at this point. Today I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere because of that. I let Burke take a full mouth on my patient so he got those requirements done. Then I had an hour to do an OD and scale 4 quads. I did it! Whew times 10! This patient had some tough calculus! Even my instructor had a very hard time getting it off! But nevertheless we got it off and sent the patient out the door with a clean bloody mouth :).

1B Exam (my last one!)

2010-04-05T17:31:00.000-07:00

Today I saw a super easy 1B. She was a 16 year old girl and just had plaque, no calculus. So of course I claimed her as an exam. This was the easiest cleaning ever! I also got a sealant done on her.

Class 3 pt.!!!! again

2010-03-31T17:29:00.000-07:00

Today my class 3 came in for his second appointment. It went well. We lost his chart so I started his appointment an hour late! I did get 2 quads done and his next appointment I get to do a sealant.

Class 3 pt.!!!!

2010-03-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

Today I got to see my class 3 patient! YAY! The only problem is that he had to leave super early. :( So I got x-rays done and his OD done and that's all. No quads :(. So his next appointment I will be able to dive into scaling.

Super fun and busy day!

2010-03-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

Today I saw a patient that needed 2 quads finished. I was able to whip her out in about 45 minutes! Then my sweet grandma came in and I got to clean her removable appliance. One more PE down and I only have around 10 to go!

Class 2 exam

2010-03-10T17:17:00.000-08:00

Today I got lucky and got a class 2 patient in my chair. So my exam is done! The only prob;em is that I couldn't finish him in one appointment and he couldn't come back. So Professor Costley was nice enough to let me come into afternoon clinic and finish him. It was stressful, by the time I got a chair I only had a half hour to work on my patient! Well I did it! and I passed my exam. :) It made for a very long day.

Class 5 :(

2010-03-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

I am so sick of getting class 5's when I only need 3 more quads of a class 2! They are so close to being the same thing. It's stupid! So anyway it was a good day in clinic for me today. My patient had TONZ of sub and supra calculus. I didn't miss a single area. I got it all off on my first try. It took a while but I was able to finish him up in one appointment.

Repeat 1B patient

2010-02-24T11:34:00.000-08:00

Today I had my patient from the 25th of January come back in to finish her cleaning. It was fun because I found a lesion in her mouth. So I pulled out the fantastic intraoral camera and took some pictures (I got to pass of the PE for it too, YAY!!!). The cleaning itself was really difficult for me. Just by looking at the patient you wouldn't be able to tell how much calculus she had but when I dried the teeth off there was a thin white chalky film all around her teeth! It was a calculus hell! So it was very time consuming. I got it though and she walked out that door 100% calculus free! I also have to add how excited I was that from her first appointment with me to today I saw a 40% increase in her plaque free areas! She was really implementing what I had taught her from her first appointment and we were seeing dramatic results. She had almost no areas of gingivitis and her breath was much better as well! She made a huge improvement!

A "Learning Experience."

2010-02-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

Today I saw a 1B patient. I was expecting it to be super easy. She didn't have deep pockets and, to the naked eye, I couldn't see much calculus. I was way wrong. My patient had calculus everywhere! It wasn't thick but it was a nice thin layer all over her teeth. It made it super hard. I ended up missing 7 spots in her entire mouth which wasn't too bad considering the circumstance. I was still disappointed though. It was a humbling experience for me. I can't expect my patient to be an easy cleaning just because they are in an "easy" class. So I'm super tired and can't wait to go home.

Exam 1B Pt.

2010-02-22T11:30:00.000-08:00

Today I saw a 1B patient. While I was doing his oral diagnosis I noticed that he had minimal calculus that came off easily. Ding ding ding ding ding! Exam patient! It was a great cleaning and it went quickly. I even had to take x-rays and they turned out perfect the first time around. Everything just seemed to go really well today and I was able to finish him up. Here's the best part,........ I didn't miss a single bit of calculus in his entire mouth. He definitely had some too so it wasn't like there was just never any there to get off. So today was a pat myself on the back day! (We all deserve one of those sometimes, don't we?)

Lab Day

2010-02-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

Today was a lab day in clinic, which means that we leaned a new skill instead of treating patients. So we learned how to clean removable appliances, such as dentures, and we learned how to check blood glucose levels, and to use the diagnodent. It was fun to just chill out in clinic. I have never done the glucose checking or the diagnodent before so I learned a ton!

My Sweet Dad

2010-02-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

Today my dad came back in for his final cleaning appointment. It was so easy. He has all crowns so it was just a matter of whipping out my ultrasonic and taking it around the margins. It went without a hitch! I only wish he could have been a true class 2 patient so I could have declared him as an exam. But he has been taking care of his teeth well enough that he is just a maintenance class (class 5). Oh well I'm sure I'll find an exam pt. sometime.

Thank Heaven for a Good Family!

2010-02-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

I had 2 patients cancel on me today, 2!!! I was so panicked that I was going to fail for the day. So I made a single phone call to my cousin and he had his wonderful wife bring in their 2 adorable boys! They saved my butt! The boys were so cute. The youngest one just held on to the slow speed suction the whole time. As long as that was in his mouth he was happy and let me work around it. It was so cute! It was a lot of fun and to make it even better I am now done with my children patient requirements. Which is a big thing checked off my list!

Perfect Appointment!

2010-02-03T11:18:00.000-08:00

Today I saw my spanish speaker's son. I am pleased to report that he spoke fluent English. :) It was just a relaxed and fun appointment. I easily got him finished. He was a 1B and barely had any calculus at all. It was just a super easy appointment.

Spanish Speaking with a huge hitch!

2010-02-01T11:12:00.000-08:00

Today I had my Spanish speaking 1B patient come back. I tried to be so prepared for today, so I wrote out a few questions, such as "how many times a week do you brush," to be translated into Spanish for me by Mr. Solomon, to help get me through my oral hygiene instructions. Well Mr. Solomon was too busy to help this morning so I panicked and called Miriam (a girl in the other clinic session). She was such a sweetheart and she emailed me the spanish translations to my questions. Only after all this effort did I realize that Jeff, my clinic instructor, speaks Spanish! So I had a translator for the whole appointment. The cleaning went well and she got finished (Whew!!). So today was a good learning experience for me.

Class 2 exam pt.

2010-01-27T11:07:00.000-08:00

Today was a pretty good day for me. I had one of Todd's friends come in. He was such a trooper! Everything was very slow today; between the availability of the x-ray room and the professors, it was hard to get anything done. My patient ended up being a true class 2 patient and I'm super excited about that. So I declared him as an exam. I only got one quadrant scaled today but it went pretty well. I only missed a few spots. I hope the rest of his mouth goes as well.

A forgetful day

2010-01-25T16:38:00.000-08:00

Today I had a patient come in that I got off the recall list. That is really scary for me. The last time I did that my patient "no showed." This time started off way better though with my patient actually making her appointment. :) She was so sweet and it's a good thing too! The appointment was going really well and I was zipping right through things. When I did my OD I thought I was done so I told my instructor that I needed my OD check. I waited at least 15-20 minutes for him to get to me. He sat down and gave me a weird look and asked where my probe readings were. CRAP!!! I forgot to probe! Who does that? Stupid me. So after wasting all that time I got nice and behind. I didn't even get to scaling this patient. Next time when she comes in, though, we wont have to do all the tedious stuff; we can just dive into scaling. I need to get a lot faster with my appointments. I don't know how I am ever going to finish a patient in an hour. I hear that is just progressively happens, but it's not happening fast enough for me.

1A Exam

2010-01-20T09:43:00.000-08:00

Today started out stressful. My patient canceled and I hadn't found a new one so I used my adorable 4 year old son. He did great! I was able to use him as an exam patient so that is a huge thing off my chest. We took x rays and cleaned all his teeth. It really went smoothly. I need to work on taking x rays on kids though. Kids just stress me out and I don't know how to get them to do what I need them to. Charlotte helped me a ton, so next time I will see if I can copy what she did.

2010-01-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

Today was a very productive day for me. I had my baby Kasem come in and I was able to finish my 1A requirement. Yay! Then I saw my hubbie Kaleb. He turned out to be fairly useful today. He was a class 5 which is great because for some freakin reason I can't find class 2/5s! I am seeing only 3s and 4s! Then I was also able to pass off blood glucose and the spit PE off on him. I think that those had to be specific to him. I am not great with blood that isn't in the mouth and spit that is outside of the mouth so it had to be done on someone that I love.

I thought missionaries were on my side!

2010-01-13T11:42:00.000-08:00

Today I was supposed to have a missionary come in to be my patient. I had tried calling him a few times but all attempts were unsuccessful. I figured that he was probably just not allowed to answer his phone or something and he would still show up. So I went to clinic and got set up and sat and waited. it was finally 15 minutes past his appointment time and my professor came over and told me to get him called. So I called the number I had for him and another missionary answered. He told me that my patient had been transferred to IDAHO!!! Ok no big deal I'm sure he will still be coming in, he's just a little late. So I called the number that missionary b gave me and sure as shooting my patient had been transferred and he was not going to show up for his appointment. He wanted to reschedule! Ya right! I told him he would be put back on the waiting list. So there I was with no patient and I was either going to have to fail for the day or start hoofing it around campus to find a patient, we call it the walk of shame =(. But I got lucky. There was a woman that was in the Midtown clinic with her son that wanted a cleaning! So I accepted. Then I found out that she only speaks Spanish! I freaked out. How was I supposed to communicate with her? It turned out to be a hassle I didn't even get to scaling her today and it was due to a huge language barrier. It was really hard. But I survived and I got credit for the day.

Class 1B/2

2010-01-11T14:43:00.000-08:00

Today I had a good friend come in. He has already been in so I basically got to start scaling right away. It was so much fun! He was a trooper. He was a mixed class 1B and 2 so I got to see some variation in pocket depths. There was an area where there was a pretty good chunk of calculus under the gingiva and I BURNISHED it! I was mortified. Luckily Jeff caught it and was able to get it off. At my patient's next appointment in 3 months I have to take a PA of the area to make sure we got all of it off. I hope I don't do that again but I'm sure I will. Other than that things went well today. I was able to complete his cleaning so he doesn't have to come back untill his recall.

First Patient of the Semester!

2010-01-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

Finally that long Christmas break is over! I'm so happy to be back in clinic! Today I had my dad come in and the appointment went well. He had to be premedicated, which we caught before he came in (whew!). I took 4 vertical bite wings on him and finished up his OHI. I ended by scaling 2 quadrants. I didn't have any errors which was great. This was a perfect way to start the semester.

Real Patient Day!!

2009-11-23T19:44:00.000-08:00

Poor Todd! He was my first patient today and he was such a trooper! Everything went really well, except my charting (what's new?). I was super nervous last night, I didn't sleep at all. I kept going through the process of the appointment in my mind. But it was a waste I did fine! My probing was spot on and my x rays turned out good too. It was a great day! I had tonz of fun!

Mock patient day #4

2009-11-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day for me. I was the operator but it was totally low stress. I got done almost an hour and a half early! It was so easy today. We didn't have to probe so that cut down on my time. We only scaled two quads and then applied fluoride. I had so explain the etiology of periodontal disease which is starting to feel like second nature. And the best part is ..... MY CHARTING WAS PERFECT!!!!! That's a first!

Mock Patient Day #3

2009-11-16T16:23:00.000-08:00

Today was another one of those lucky days when I got to sit back, relax and open wide! It seems like this week's mock appointment is a lot easier than last week's. I'm super excited to have my turn as the operator on Wednesday!

Mock Patient Day #2

2009-11-11T16:47:00.000-08:00

Today was my chance to act like a dental hygienist! It was so exciting. Everything went really smooth, I was pleasantly surprised. I feel like I have improved a lot in my instrumenting, especially my probing. I was slow, but I blame it on my forgetting my numbers before I wrote them down. I was kind of frustrated with charting but I hope that gets better with time. Kailene was a great patient and we had a lot of fun! I am getting really excited about my real patient coming in on the 23rd! Where did the time go?

Mock Patient Day #1

2009-11-09T16:12:00.000-08:00

Today was our first mock patient day. I was lucky enough to be the patient today. Kaliene did great she knew how to do everything. My job was to sit back and open my mouth. That's all! I thoroughly enjoyed today. It was also nice to see how my appointment should go before hand. Is that cheating?

Instrument Sharpening

2009-11-04T16:21:00.000-08:00

Today we learned how to sharpen our instruments. It was awful. I can't stand the sound and I'm super worried that I am going to ruin my instruments. They weren't cheap! I think that when Miriam opens her sharpening business I will be the first one in line!

Sealants

2009-11-02T14:54:00.000-08:00

Today in clinic we learned how to apply sealants and gel/foam fluoride. K I had so much fun! I was partnered up with KaDee and we were laughing so hard I could have peed my pants. Everything was review today, I have placed sealants and applied fluoride for the last 5 years and KaDee had done it a few times as well. So It made it an awesome day it was just super chill. I also passed off my selective polishing PE which I wasn't worried about at all. It went great! P.S. NEVER ask for the chocolate gel fluoride! YUCK!!!

Ouch! Yuck! Bleh!

2009-10-28T17:26:00.000-07:00

Today we learned how to use the air powder polisher and it was awful! I liked using it on my partner because it was really cool to see the plaque just blast off her teeth but I hated it being used on me! It hurt so bad! It got my gums, tongue and face. It felt like a whole bunch of needles poking me. It literally is a sand blaster! And the sand is not really sand it's salt so it makes it hurt so much worse!!!! It could have been used in ancient torture chamber's for all I know! Plus it tastes sooooooo bad. It's like filling a cup up with one part water and four parts salt. It was supposably mint flavored but I didn't detect event the smallest little morsel of mint, just salt. Bleh! But I caught on to how to use it pretty quick. I have experience with using the HVE so I didn't have to struggle with that. We also did selective polishing today which was so nice. I felt like I was back at work where I really want to be! Overall today was so much fun we were able to laugh at eachother every time we goofed up and sandblasted eachothers face's. We also passed off a very stressful PE today, dental screening. I don't know why i was so worried about it. I did fine.

Ultrasonic Scaler

2009-10-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know what the heck I'm talking about this is a blue boa suction ;)

Today we learned how to use the ultrasonic scaler. Well I have actually been doing this for the last 3 years (SHHHHH! don't tell anybody!) So I have already had tonz of practice. The good thing was is that I haven't been doing it completly wrong in the past, I saw a few things that were wrong and was able to correct them with ease. We also used our blue boas today for the first time. I was really excited to use these and was completly dissappointed. They were awful! I guess I'll get used to it though. We got to pass off two PE's off today and that is always great. I have an awful PE due on Wednesday though! I'm not looking forward to it AT ALL!!!!

Felling Good!

2009-10-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

I haven't had time to blog lately so I guess I'll get caught up on the last week! Last week went really well I am feeling pretty comfortable in clinic. I have passed off my 2 scaling PE's and I feel really good about them. Today we practiced having a patient in our chair so we are getting the feel for the flow of a clinic day. I'm not perfect with all my charting but I am getting better each time. In radiology I'm feeling pretty good too. I have a test in there today after clinic is over and I'm not nervous at all! I can't believe how much I have improved in radiology. I used to always cone cut and overlap teeth in every single x-ray I took. Now that is a rare occurrence for me! I have learned to used aiming devices and I love them! I will always use them from now on!

WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME!!!!!

2009-10-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

Today was a really fun day except one embarrassing factor! Today we used a disclosing agent in our mouth to detect plaque and we looked for and identified gingivitis. Well the instructor of course has to do a demo in front of the whole class. Guess who was the guinea pig? ME! I have now been the demo student twice and I don't like it! Today was especially great because my mouth was all purple and pink. She also found areas of gingivitis in front of the whole class! It was all good though!

Universal Scaler & X-Rays

2009-10-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

This isn't mine! But mine were just as pretty today (don't ask to see tomorrow's I can't guarentee this will ever happen again)!

Today I learned how to use a universal scaler. It was ok. I cut my partner's gums in abut 3 places but she wasn't fully aware so hopefully she's not sore tonight! It was a little awkward. I also found out that this whole time I have had an improper grasp on my instruments. WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME!!!! Anyway Professor Costly showed me what I was doing wrong and it made a huge difference! I am so glad she is in my pod right now I feel like it is the perfect time to have her over my shoulder; she is a great clinician. I also had an almost perfect day in radiology! I took 22 x-rays and I only had to retake 2 and even the 2 that I had to retake would have been good enough for examination had there been an actual patient. So I am seeing a lot of inprovement in radiology. I was so bad just about 2 weeks ago. I'm sure I'll still have a bad day every now and then but who cares today was great!!

I GOT TO SCALE!!!!!

2009-10-05T17:21:00.000-07:00

Finally we were able to scale today! I loved it! I wasn't perfect at it but was far from being overly frustrated. We practiced on our fake teeth first and I sucked really bad but then when I was in my partner's mouth it all came together nicely and she only left with a couple sites of bleeding gums! She did an excellent job on me too! Way to go Kathy! I am super excited that we are moving along so fast in clinic. I passed off my probing PE today. It wasn't perfect but it's over with. I think that I am worst at probing. I can handle everything else but I really need to practice probing a lot more than I have been!

Nice RELAXING Day!

2009-09-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

I needed today. In clinic we just went through all of our instruments. We sorted and sterilized them. It was just really laid back; no probing, no exploring just passing off PE's and hanging out!
It was great! After the last two clinic sessions we all needed a day like today.

Exploring The Unknown!

2009-09-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

Today in clinic we learned how to explore subgingivally. It was scary at first; I was not doing well on my typodont! But then I got my pod partner in my chair and I did great. When I got to see a real person it all kinda clicked! So I feel like I can still be a hygienist today! My pod partner did great to. Neither of us bled too much. :) I also have to add that I practiced probing over the weekend (I have a wonderful husband)! I feel much more comfortable now. I just need to have confidence in myself when I lose that I lose everything; especially my head! I also got to catch up a little on my PE's. I'm still a little behind where I want to be but I'm far from being in trouble.

Kim

A bad day!

2009-09-23T19:26:00.001-07:00

Ya so I felt like this little dude today (My son Kasem)!

K so I had to follow up on my earlier post with an even gloomier one. I had the worst day in school today! I had a hard time in clinic as previously noted so then I went to radiology feeling a little depressed and it showed! I took around 20 x-rays in total today and out of that 20 I had like 5 that were actually usable! They weren't even perfect they were just "usable"! I am really starting to wonder what I have got myself into! I really am hoping I can pull this off but as of today it can only get better because this was about as bad as it gets! I forgot to mention that the last week has been cram packed with tests! I have passed all of them but have not gotten as good of scores as I was hoping for. And to top it off I get to go home to a husband-less house today. Since he has been working nights I haven't been able to see him very much and that's a big deal for me, I can't function without him. Life is hard! Well oh well! I guess I'll just have to study, practice a lot more and learn to adjust.

OMG PROBING!

2009-09-23T10:15:00.001-07:00

Today we finally started probing on each other. I was so extremely nervous! My poor pod partner! I was killing her. She said ow a lot. I got the hang of it towards the end but it took me a while. I felt retarded, I couldn't get my angle right to see the measurement and get the probe in the pocket. I was not expecting this at all I thought that I would be a natural so I was kinda disappointed to learn that I will actually have to practice before perfection. But it's ok I think everyone is in the same boat. I didn't get to be a patient for my pod partner which was also kinda disappointing. I wanted to be able to feel how she did. It would have made me feel so much better if she would have hurt me too. I guess I'll have to quit playing football with my husband so my jaw won't break again! ;). But now I'm done and I can think about it all weekend! No PE pass offs today I had no time!
So next week I'm going to be busy passing off PEs and trying not to get behind. I feel like I am starting to fall behind and fast but like I said earlier I think there are a lot of other students that are feeling the way I am. So as of today I'm still in the program and I will be back tomorrow!

Kim

Intra Oral Exam

2009-09-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

Today we learned how to do an intra oral exam and use the proper grip on our probe and explorer.
It went well the trick is remembering all the little steps now. I hope I can do it. Clinic is slowly getting harder, it's great! I passed off my Health History PE today and that was a huge relief! It was hard to remember everything but it is also important to have the steps memorized because when I actually start seeing patients it will be something that I do every day. Overall I am feeling comfortable in clinic now and am enjoying it more than stressing about it. I feel like it is the most important class time of my entire program it is stuff I will actually use in the field.
Anyway I had a great day today!

Kim

Using the mirror

2009-09-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

So I thought we would be doing a lot more than we actually did today but I am glad we are taking baby steps. Today the goal was to learn to use the mirror in the mouth. I have done this for a few years now so it came fairly easy to me but I remembered how hard it was when I first learned it and I am glad we went over it for the people that don't have a lot of experience with this. I passed off my Vitals PE so that was a relief!

Kim

VITALS!

2009-09-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today I learned how to take vitals. The respiratory and pulse rate were really easy to figure out. I was kind of nervous about blood pressure. I have been taught how to do it before and have never got the hang of it. My previous teachers made to big of a deal about stuff that didn't matter, I think. So I was expecting the same thing today but surprisingly everything went well! I took blood pressure like I have been doing it for years! YAY! It was really fun and we all had some laughs! I'm really looking forward to our next lab we will be actually using instruments in each others mouths! I can't wait!

Kim

Postitoning

2009-09-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

So I was really excited for clinic today! We learned about patient and operator positioning. I was really excited about this because when I was working for my last dentist my back, shoulders, hands and arms were so sore at the end of the day. Well now I know how to prevent that from happening. :) I also got to pass off a PE so I'm all caught up for now, YAY! I also got quizzed on my tooth numbers today and I surprised myself. I thought I would be really slow at figuring out which tooth belongs to which number and I wasn't to slow at all! So that was a huge confidence booster!
Here's to a great day in clinic! (Now on to radiology clinic. Hope it goes well! I'm a little nervous.)

Kim

Just a day in DH clinic

2009-08-31T14:03:00.000-07:00

So today in clinic we went over barriers and setting up our ops. We also got to have a live patient to learn how to use the suctions on. It was fun! I feel like I can use the suctions, both slow and high speeds, pretty well. I was not to out of my element today. I also got to pass off two process evaluations today. I was not really sure what to expect so I was nervous. Kim C. was great and helped me get through it alive. I passed both of them so that's what counts, right?

Kim

Personal Protection and use of Suctions!

2009-08-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

Today was my second day in clinic. Today the goal was to be able to use our suctions and water together, learn about personal protection and learn how to barrier our pods. To be honest it was kind of boring! I did learn that in the clinic we barrier a lot more than I am used to but other than that everything we did today was something I have already done. That's to be expected though. Better to be ahead than be behind!

Kim

Getting Organized!

2009-08-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

Ok so today was my first day in the clinic. It was a lot of fun! I got to put all my instruments away and I got to know my clinic area a little better. I am finally feeling comfortable with the situation. I figure I might as well relax there is no use stressing out about where I need to be and what I need to be doing. Someone is always there to tell me! Anyway today was a great start for the semester! I'm excited to learn new things and be involved with the DH program. I'm not so excited that everyone now knows my most embarrassing moment, but oh well I have dirt on them now too! lol

Kim

Orientation Day!

2009-08-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

Well orientation day is coming to an end! I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed! I honestly can't remember a thing the professors have told me. So I'm just going to show up Monday and pray I don't get too lost! The group seems like they are all fun and I hope we have a great 2 years together! It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be! ;)

Kim