Fini, Final, Finito, Finished

Done, done done! I am done and finished with first year clinic!! I can't believe I made it and how fast it went by! I remember when I first started I thought it would never end! But before I knew it I was finishing up my last person for three months!

I owe a lot of thanks to my classmates, especially those in my pod! They are awesome! They helped me out by sharing patients with me and dealing with me all year! I wouldn't have finished my requirements if it wasn't for them.

Also my peer pal, MeChel, is amazing!! She was my first and last patient, plus a big help throughout the year with any question I had. She showed my some tricks today to help with cleaning a lingual bar. Plus she brought in her night guard so I could pass off that PE, and she let me prick her finger for a blood glucose PE. She really is awesome! She made clinic today fun and easy. It was really relaxed because I had already OD'ed her so I knew we had a lot of time to spare.

I have learned so much this year! Hopefully I don't forget everything over the summer! I have enjoyed my experiences here and I can't wait for more! :)

Family to the Rescue.... Again!

I don't think anyone goes through the dental hygiene program without the help of their family. I know I would have failed multiple patient experiences if it wasn't for my family! I am so grateful for them and love them so much.

Today it was my Grandpa that came to the rescue. I had a hard time trying to find a patient for today so I called my Grandma and she said they would love to come in. I was so grateful! It has been a few years (5 years to be exact) since my Grandpa had been to the dentist. So I was hoping that he would possibly qualify as a class III.

I was able to do x-rays (both BWX and PA) and I got one quad of a class III. I was really grateful for this because the rest of his mouth was a class V! So only one more quad of a class III left to do and I am in the clear for my requirements! I was talking to Sierra today and she is cleaning a patient on Monday that has one quad of a class III, and she doesn't need it so she is going to let me clean that quad! Which will be fantastic and I will be finished with my requirements!!

A Blessing in Disguise

Sometimes a patient cancelling at 5 am feels like a mini heart attack--sometimes it's a blessing in disguise.

The same patient that cancelled at 5 am last time did it again! What I don't get is why is he up that early and not able to make it to the appointment? He never even gives an excuse it's just,  "Sorry, I can't come today". Oh well it turned out to be better that he didn't come.

My last brother got the opportunity to get his teeth cleaned. It's good that it was my morning clinic since my brother has soccer in the afternoon so it wouldn't have worked out as well. It was also a great day because I got soo much done!!

I took 4 BWX's and 4 PA's, scaled all 4 quads, and placed a sealant. Plus I didn't miss any spots! It was great! Today was a good confidence builder for me as well. I realized I know what I am doing and I am getting better and faster!

Class V in One

Well I did it! I finished a patient in one appointment! It was the best feeling! My patient didn't want to have x-rays so that helped out a little, but still I finished him!

I got this patient from the resource list and I had a hard time getting a hold of him at first. I had the wrong number so I wasn't able to schedule him for an appointment. But I eventually did get a hold of him and I was able to find an appointment for him. He was a very nice man as well, and he had just gotten back from California. His wife is a painter so she goes and paints out in California for the winter.

He was a class V patient and I knew this coming into it. I was a little stressed that I wouldn't be able to schedule him back for another appointment since I'm getting down to the wire, so it was definitely a blessing to be able to finish him in one appointment. Plus it's four quads that will add to my total!

Check it off

Well I finished another patient today! This patient is probably one of my favorites! She is the nicest person and so sweet. I have really enjoyed getting to know her. This is definitely one of the benefits of clinic-- I get to meet new people and I really start to care for them and their oral health.

I just had to finish two quads so I knew it would be more of a relaxed day. I was able to take it easy and pass off a few PE's. It's nice to have a day where I don't have to be so stressed about getting through an OD, taking x-rays, and hoping I can do it fast enough so I can get to a few quads.

I can't believe how fast this semester is going by! I only have about a month left! It is so crazy! I have learned so much this year and made lot's of new friends. I am so excited for the future and for the experiences I will continue to have in the program!

Just Another Day in Clinic

Well like the title says, it was just another day in clinic today. I was a little nervous at first that my patient wouldn't show. This is the patient that texted me at 5 in the morning saying he couldn't come. So all morning I had my cellphone clutched in my hands just waiting and praying that I wouldn't get that text. And I didn't, and he showed up!

I was able to get x-ray 4 BWX and 4 PA's done! I was given a brilliant tip on how to get my PA's. Ashlee told me that I should suggest to my patients that we do PA's of the front teeth to check for cavities. Most people don't question it and they are beneficial since we usually don't radiograph the anterior teeth. It's genius!! Now I don't have to stress about getting my PA's done!

I will have to schedule my patient again because I wasn't able to finish. I am still waiting for that day when I don't have to schedule two appointments for 1B's! It will come and it's my goal to get it done this semester!

Car Troubles = No patient!

The thing I hate most about clinic is that no matter how many times you call a patient to confirm you still have zero control over whether or not they really show up! My grade is dependent on whether or not my patient feels like coming, is healthy enough to come, runs into problems or just forgets! I don't like not being in control of my own grade!

My patient today ran into some car troubles. And I try to give my patients the benefit of the doubt and believe what they tell me but sometimes it is hard. They have not shown up before because they had car troubles (about 3 weeks ago) and Sierra had just talked to the mom about 2 hours before and she had mentioned that her son was getting a ride with a friend. So when I called her about 15 mins after her son was supposed to be at the clinic she told me he won't be coming because of the car problems. So who knows what it really was but I'll be kind and hope they can get their car fixed.

My brother ended up being my patient today. I was really unsure whether I would be able to finish him or not because he got there about 45 mins late. I didn't have to do x-rays so that was nice and gave me some extra time. I just told myself to probe like I've never probed before!

I was able to finish him and it was great! But I learned today that sometimes family can be the worst patients! He was kinda funny to watch but a little frustrating to work on! But I finished and got four quads of a 1B so I can't complain too much!

Smoking--No Bueno!

Today I had a patient that I didn't know. Sierra was kind enough to give me a patient since she knew I didn't have one scheduled for today. It was the brother of her patient. I was planning on him being a class 1B, but that didn't happen. The appointment turned out different than what I had planned--which was a good thing!

So my patient was a smoker... my first smoking patient. And can I just say I do not like working on smokers. I felt like I smelt like I had been smoking for days after! I knew smokers breath was strong I just didn't know it would last so long.

There is some good news in this story! I was able to take full mouth! Which was a miracle since I have been stressing about my x-rays. That means I got 14 PA's!! It felt so good to be able to cross off all of them! I was able to also get one quad scaled which I thought was an accomplishment since the x-rays took awhile to do.

I'm looking forward to Wednesday because we have a lab and I don't have to worry about a patient! It definitely will be a nice break!

Crazy good!

Today I had my sister come in again to finish her. I only had two quads to finish so I knew it would be easier do. But I also had a patient coming in later in the morning so I could take a PANO on her. I was a little stressed and worried that I wouldn't be done with my sister in enough time and the other lady would have to wait. I'm pretty sure I had nightmares about it for a couple of nights! But luckily it wasn't horrible at all!

It started out that my sister was a little late.. I was starting to freak out but no too much because I knew she was for sure coming. So I decided to use that extra time and pass of a PE. This turned out to be great! I passed off instrument sharpening, which made my instruments nice and sharp for my sister. When she got there I knew it would go pretty fast. I used my ultrasonic for the first time on a 1B and it was great for the lower linguals! It made my appointment go so much faster, plus it was more comfortable for my sister.

My nightmare didn't happen because I was able to finish my sister in plenty of time. I had time to chart and clean up the unit before the lady arrived. And the PANO was a piece of cake! I take them all the time at my dental office so it was easy smeasy for me! :)

Little brothers

Once again I can be grateful for little brothers and a mom that is willing to pull my brothers out of school! My patient cancelled this morning while I was at work! I'm pretty sure the feeling I have when a patient cancels is comparable to a heart attack! I start to freak out! But my mom was very kind and she took my little brother out of school so I could clean his teeth.

I was able to get two bitewing x-rays taken and I also did four sealants! He was such a good sport! That is a long time for a little boy to sit in a chair but he was so cooperative!

I feel like I am starting to realize that most class 1 patients (both 1A and 1B) don't have much calculus! I don't have to scrape and scrape each tooth over and over trying to find something that isn't there. If they don't have calculus that's great! It's less time for me!

Benefits of Working

Today I saw a patient that my work gave to me. If there are any benefits to working while in the program this will definitely be one of them! This patient was seen at our office and was told he needed a SRP (scaling and root planing) but they didn't want to pay for it so they referred him to me. And I am so grateful they did because he is a class II patient!

I got my raidographs from my office and it was crazy how much calculus he has! There is radiographic calculus on every interproximal surface! So he will definitely be a fun but challenging patient. I was able to get one quad scaled today and he is scheduled back again so I can finish him.

He was such a great patient! He had a lot of patience and responded well to what I had to tell him. But it definitely took a lot of time to get off the calculus just because there was so much! It was fun I was able to use my ultrasonic and I really like it! It definitely is a time saver!

Thank Goodness for Family!

That seems to be the theme for this week! Both my patients cancelled this week, and I quickly realized that that is the most stressful thing ever! If I ever have a heart attack it will be because my patient cancelled on me!

My Monday patient at least cancelled on Saturday and she had a legit reason. So I frantically called another patient and they couldn't come in, so my last resort was my sister. And I owe her! I am so glad that she agreed to come in, because I know it is a lot of time to take off work. She was great though. I was able to get another set of BWX's and I scaled two quads! She has healthy gums and not much calculus so it wasn't too bad. She might tell you otherwise though. I think she realized after laying back for three hours how much I really do owe her! But she did agree to come in so I can finish so that's good right!

Wednesday was a completely different story! I had called and confirmed my patients appointment on Monday, and he was totally okay with coming in and grateful that he was able to get an appointment. But on Wednesday morning at 5:30 AM I received a text saying, "I can't come. Sorry". I was like great, what am I supposed to do now! I couldn't call anyone since it was so early! So I resorted to my little brother. Who was surprisingly very happy to come in! He was mostly  just glad that he was able to miss school! So he got the privilege of being the next trooper. And he definitely was! Three hours is along time for a little boy to sit in the same spot. I was able to get a set of BWX's and do six sealants! Which I can't complain about since that crosses off three more requirements!

All I have to say is that I am so grateful for my family and their willingness to help me out!! I love them so much!

My Family! :)

First Finished Patient!

I finished my first patient today! It definitely feels good to finish a whole patient and I realized I love return appointments! They are so much better than the initial appointment. I was able to bring my patient back and just start scaling away! No waiting for x-rays, no waiting for an OD check, I can just jump right in and go to town!

I saw what sheet calculus is like for the first time today. My patient didn't have a ton and it wasn't too tenacious, but I learned that you can use the toe of a curet to get the sheet calculus off. Plus another thing I learned is what orthodontic cement looks like on the tooth. It is very tricky and I don't like it! It looks like calculus and even goes chalky white when you dry it, but it is almost impossible to scrape off!! You can tell a difference because ortho cement goes kinda grayish when you scale it, while calculus doesn't. I was scaling this one tooth for like twenty minutes and it wouldn't come off. I asked my instructor about it because I didn't want it to count against me, and she told me that it was ortho cement and the ways to tell the difference.

I also passed off two PE's today, I kinda forgot about PE's last week and didn't pass any off. I wish I could totally forget about PE's! Actually the PE's this semester aren't as bad. Our instructor pretty much just watches how we are scaling and we don't have to worry about memorizing the PE's word for word like last semester. And most of the PE's are just repeats so we've done them once already.

Day two down, however many more to go

Well I found a patient for today! My peer pal came through for me! She is amazing. I was talking to her on Tuesday about a patient and she said that she had a lady that likes to come in on Wednesday mornings. So I called her and she could! She was so sweet too! When I called to ask if she wanted to come in she became so excited and started thanking me! It had been a few years since she had been in so she really wanted to get in.

I was able to get another set of BWX's plus one PA! I was feeling pretty good! Every little bit helps towards my requirements. Plus she is two quads of a class two and two quads of a 1B. It would've been nice if she was all four quads of a class II, but I'll take what I can get.

She is probably one of my favorite patients. She was so nice and very grateful for everything. She has been through a lot in her life with one of her little boys, but she is still so strong and I am amazed at how she keeps on going. She was also very attentive to what I had to say and was really worried when I told her she had periodontal disease. She is determined to keep up on her oral health and to make sure she see's the dentist every six months.

I wasn't able to scale any quads today but that's okay because I felt like I was really able to talk to her and help her make some changes in her life. I look forward to being able to treat her again.

The Beginning...

Well it came, whether I was ready or not! I saw my first real patient today . I wanted to start out easy so my first patient was someone I knew and she was only a 1B. I was extremely nervous because it has been over a month since I have held a scaler and actually been in someones mouth, I was worried I wouldn't remember a thing! But surprisingly it came back and it felt almost like I never left!

Today was a good way to start out a new semester of clinic especially my first semester of patient treatment. My patient was cooperative and helped calm my nerves. I was able to check off a set of bitewing x-rays since I was able to take 4 films on my patient! I felt good about that because now I only have nine sets to take! No big deal right? :/ And I was very proud because I also scaled one quad!

I saw some new things today. My patient had a tongue thrust device on her two maxillary central incisors. I haven't ever seen one on an actual person. And I thought it was weird that she still had one on since she is in her late twenties. She said it has been there forever and they are mostly just annoying now. She doesn't tongue thrust anymore and I guess she's never had them removed. They did make it a little more difficult to scale around and to probe around, but for the most part they were okay.

Well today went smoothly and it's over now, so now all I have to worry about is finding a patient for Wednesday! :/ Anyone have any options?