LAST CLINIC DAY!

Yay!  I can't believe I have made it through my first semester of Hygiene school!  It really has flown by!  That's not to say that it has been easy..  it DEFINITELY has not been easy!  There have been a lot of tears, a lot of headaches, a lot of late  night studying, but now it's all over (well after I take my finals).  Clinic today was Emergency preparedness/ clinic manual test.  I think it's a little silly that we are just not learning emergency preparedness after the semester is already over, oh well, good thing we didn't have any emergencies!

I did it! I saw my first, real live, not hygiene student, patient!!

Today was great!  I was able to see my very first patient! I won't lie, I was terrified and I am thrilled that it is over with.. but I did it!  I was supposed to have my husband or my parents come in, but that didn't work out so well. So my husband had mentioned to a lady that he works with that I needed a patient.  Well she just happened to need a cleaning and has no insurance so she was the perfect candidate!  I was so grateful to her for coming in for me, and the funny thing was she was so thankful to me for having her in!  Probing I still feel a little iffy on.. x-rays were pretty much a downer today.. but I made it through!  I think she is still willing to come back too and let me finish cleaning her mouth.. so I guess I couldn't have done too awful! ;-)

Last mock patient day

Today went really well.  I was able to finish up the two remaining quads.  I always love Wednesdays because we have a lot more help with the TA's being here.  Michelle was nice enough to come over and help me work out some fulcruming and stroke issues that I was having.  Overall it went smoothly and I didn't have any missed spots! May be because Danielle has a clean mouth.. :-)

Mock PATIENT day

Today was my first day doing a full appointment!  I was very nervous that I would completetly forget how to do HHX, OD, OHI.. not to mention probing and scaling! For the most part it went pretty good.  Danielle was my patient and she was such a good sport.  I am actually pretty proud of myself because I finished 2 quads without any errors!! The thing I think I still need more practice and time getting used to is probing.. I dont' know why this freaks me out and throws me off so bad.. But I know in time it will get easier.. Can't wait to finish up with Danielle on Wenesday!

Worst day of clinic ever.. for real this time!

Yesterday was the WORST day of clinic.  Once again all I had to do was be the patient.. so it should have been great right? Wrong.. Danielle still did awesome and the whole time I was in her chair I just relaxed and honestly fell asleep.  When I got up, however, I started feeling really sick!  During Podwrap I had to sit with my head down on the desk.  Well long story short I ended up throwing up 3x's because of the medicine I am taking for my back because of my stupid car accident! Kristen had to drive me home and I even had to miss radiology lab..yeah.. worst day of clinic ever!

Hardest day yet ;-)

Today was soo hard! I had to do.. NOTHING!! It was so nice to be the patient today! I got to sit back and relax and let Danielle work on my mouth!  She did an awesome job!  It was nice to check in like a patient and go through the whole procedure to see what our patients will be experiencing.  Plus I love that I got to be the patient first and not the operator.. now I can learn from what she did!

Instrument Sharpening

Today we did instrument sharpening.  I am not going to lie I think I'm pretty awesome at sharpening my instruments!  Professor Costley even came around and told me I was doing very well!

Sealants and Flouride!

Today was a lot of fun! I know that a lot of assistants do sealants in office, but I have never been able to do that.. I was really excited and it was really pretty fun!

Air Polisher.. OUCH!!

Today we learned how to use the air polisher.. first of all Ashton and I tried two different units and they didn't work! So we ended up finally having to us Cesia's and Kelsi's! I really kinda hate the air polisher.. it hurts, it's messy, and it's not the easiest thing to use or care for.  Then we did regular polishing and flouride varnish.. that was sooo much better, though the varnish feels pretty funny on your teeth.

Treatment plans

Today we leaned how to put treatment plans into Eaglesoft.  I have never used Eaglesoft before starting the program so it took me some time to get used to things by learning my way around. Pretty much we did that for 10 minutes and then had the rest of the day to practice and pass of PE's.  I passed off Dental Screening! Now I just need to do Intra oral camera.

Practice day

Today we were actually supposed to do intra oral camera.. well that didn't actually happen.. I guess that the morning ran out of barriers so today was pretty much a practice day.  We did go over OD and OHI and record them on our patients treatment record.  That seemed to go pretty fast for me today.  So after that I got to practice and pass of PE's!! I passed off 3 today!! YAY for me!

Dental Screening

Today in clinic we charted what we see in our patients mouth.  We marked any fillings, crowns, recession, sealants (needed or already done), any missing or extracted teeth etc.  I had it really easy, my partner was Cesia and she hardly had anything to chart!  Then it was my turn and she had a lot more to do.  I had a lot of fillings to chart.  I looked in Kelsi's mouth for a minute also so I could feel what a composite filling felt like.  But since Cesia didn't take long I got to practice anterior scaling again.. I'm too nervous to pass it off.. I guess I'll have to do it Monday though.. wish me luck.

Blue Mouths!

Today we did OHI and disclosing.  It was pretty gross actually to see the spots in your mouth where there is plaque. Actually doing OHI and disclosing didn't take very long so we got a lot of time to practice scaling!  I was really glad that we had the practice time, I really needed it!  I also passed off instruments and design, way easier than I thought.. I'm still nervous to pass of scaling and adaptation.. hopefully next time!

S C A L I N G!!!!

Everyone watch out!  We learned how to scale!  I feel like a 16 year old driver, everyone should try and keep their distance because I am now on the road.  Really it wasn't too awful.. I did make Ashton bleed quite a bit.. but when I told Professor Costley that I was making him bleed, she said "yay!"  I'm learning.. my hardest part and the most painful part for Ashton is trying to do the linguals and using indirect vision.  Hopefully the more practice I get the better I will be and my patients won't be wincing every time I use my mirror

Insturuments!

So many instruments to learn so little time!  When we first got our instrument issue I was sure that I would never be able to learn all the insturments and what they do.  Today was very helpful we even got our typodonts and used scalers on them!

Side not.. so not ready to pass off probing and exploring because I have not even got to practice since we did it the first time!!

Exploring!

 Today we learned the basics of using the explorer.  Went pretty well.  I hope this will really help me when I someday get to work on teeth and find calculus!

Intra-Oral Examinations

Today we looked in each others mouth looking for any abnormalities.  Not as fun as the Extra Oral exam because it's not as much of a massage.. but it was good to learn.  Some of the things we were looking for I had never heard of before. Now I am just waiting to pass off.. Mondays stink for passing off because we have no Ta's so the instructors have a hard time getting to everyone.. Hopefully I get a chance today!

Face and Neck Massage!

Today in Clinic we petty much just gave each other massages!  It was awesome! We were really doing extra-oral examinations, checking for lumps or bumps or anything abnormal that could be an indicator of cancer.  Once you start going it was pretty easy to get into a groove of what order to check things, this was my biggest concern prior to practicing.  We also got to pass of a couple of PE's today.  I passed off Patient and Operator Positioning, and Mirror and Fulcrum PE's! Yay!

Vital Signs!

Today we took vital signs on each other.  At first I was a little nervous, I didn't think I would be able to hear the systolic and diastolic pressures.  It actually wasn't too bad.  I definitely think it will get easier and easier with more practice!

Health Histories and Treatment Records...

Last clinic that we had we focused on reviewing patients health histories and writing in their treatment records.  Professor Costley first gathered us together to explain everything.. I felt like I was back at orientation with how much information was being told to me.  I was feeling very overwhelmed.  Then we went back to our pods and practiced with our pod partners, there was just so much to remember!  Hopefully we will just get more and more practice with this and it won't be so hard to remember everything that has to go in the HHX and HHX/RX.

Side Note:  I just really love our class! Everyone is so friendly and willing to help! We are starting to feel almost like a little family! :-)

ERGOMOMICS!

Today was all about ergonomics! We even used real instruments.. granted it was only on our typodont but it was still quite enjoyable!  It's hard to remember all the rules, the correct grasp of instruments (very difficult to get used to when you are double jointed), the correct position of your char, your patient, and the light, plus remembering to keep a firm fulcrum.  A lot to remember, but eventually I'm sure it will become second nature.  I'm definitely going to take my typodont and tools home so I can practice.  I especially need to work on using my mirror...  Can't wait to see what we'll do next time!

First Patient (kinda)

Today we worked on each other! Well..  actually we just used the water and suctions. We got to try all the different suctions and see what ones work best for us and our patients.  We also learned how to set up and take down our unit.  This part was kinda boring since I have been doing this in the office that I work at for two years. Some things were a little different so it was good to know what was expected.  I can't wait til we get farther into the semester and start using our tools! :-)

Second day of clinic

Well the second day of clinic was quite interesting and once I explain you will understand why I am so late blogging.  Second clinic was all about the blue boa and suctions.  It was kinda funny to practice on the typodont for the first time.  I did like the blue boa, but I don't think that I would use it with every patient.  I can see how it would be nice to use for sealants or  when using the cavitron.  The rest of the day was spent trying to get the computers and EagleSoft working.. Most people got theirs working by the end of clinic. Mine, however continued be lame and not work. Oh well, all fixed now!

First Day of Clinic

I didn't know what to expect for my first day.  Yesterday I was super anxious in anticipation.  I kept myself up late worrying that I wasn't going to be prepared for my first day.  It ended up being pretty low key.  We got settled in our pods and got familiar with the clinic.  Then we learned how to use Eaglesoft and scheduled ourselves for the rest of the semester.  It wasn't too hard but it took a long time and was pretty tedious.  I have never used Eaglesoft before because my prior office used a different system, but so far so good!  Can't wait to see how the rest of the clinics go! I'm really enjoying getting to know everyone.  We seem to have a really good group of people!

I did it!