Stupid PE's

So today I had a class III that I did root debridement, ultrasonic, perio files, calculus removal, and extra oral fulcrums on and I didn't pass off any of those PE's. What is wrong with me? This afternoon I saw an easy IB and I was going to do my Eaglesoft PE, woops I took conventional x-rays. AH! I'm so frustrated. This is so stupid. I am so mad at myself. I hate when I get myself geared up to do a lot, and I screw it up. Dang it!!!

Mockboards:(

Mockboards weren't too fun. My patient was given anesthetic and he was still flinching everywhere, even when I wasn't doing anything that would be painful. And then I missed points on recession because I put 1mm and there was only .5. I didn't know we could even put half a mm on there. They said I should have put a 0. I missed points for missing one pocket depth too. He had a 10mm pocket. Woops, I think that was probably deeper than a 6mm to start with. Oh well. At least I learned what not to do now:) "It was a good experience." HA!

VA Again

I was able to get seven quandrants done of a class III in one day:) I was so excited. Thanks to whoever did the OD's on them. I think that one of the clinician's was my peer:) and the other worked at the VA. Thanks though! I love when I get things accomplished. It really makes for a better day!

Injections!

So we were able to give each other a PSA, MSA, ASA, nasopalantine, and greater palantine injections. I think all of us were nervous, but we weren't all shaky like we thought we would be:) I was in Karlie and Brooke's group. We played rock-paper-scissors to see who was the first patient and clinician. Brooke was the first clinician and I was the first patient. She was the first one in the pod to do it and everyone was watching her. She wasn't even shaky until she got a positive aspiration, then she started getting a little shaky, but no too bad:) It actually went really well and wasn't bad at all. I don't think anyone caused any hematoma's:) It was really fun! I hope I get really good at giving injections. I want to do them for my doctor so I can keep in practice!

VA good day!

So at the VA I was able to see two class V's. I was also able to get my exam done on one of them too! I'm glad I got those patients, so I was able to get eight quads and an exam! I really need to catch up to everyone after not being able to see some patients because of medical problems. I was also able to take bitewings on both too. All of my Weber patients haven't wanted x-rays. I need to be more pushy I guess.

Another stressful one

So I've had a diabetic patient that can't control her blood sugar. I've had to send her away three times. This time her blood sugar was really low and I had to do a physician's consult. I felt so bad because she felt fine and really wanted her cleaning done. I did end up cleaning her teeth finally:) After working on a physician's consult and taking her blood sugar twice and waiting for the consult to come back, after and hour and forty-five minutes I started the cleaning. I'm so glad I was able to get all four quads done so she's done yay!! I don't think I can afford getting any more medical problems and sending people away. I've had to do that with another patient, so I am behind everyone else. But, hopefully I will be able to catch up at the VA when we start seeing four patients a day. I hope I can even do that?!

What a day

Today started out with a sweet older lady that came in previously and I had to send her away for her low blood sugar. Today I had to send her away again because this time her blood sugar was too high. DANG IT! I have had three clinic times ruined because of health issues. I felt really bad because she felt fine and wanted to get done and I couldn't do anything about it:( I feel bad.

This afternoon my patient would be really good for board except she has recession and I can't scale the enormous amount of calculus on it without her flinching and moving everywhere. I kept on asking her if she would like to have some anesthetic but she kept saying, no, we're good girlfriend. What the? I can't get work done without hurting her and she tells me to skip that part. What? I can't just skip calculus. Ah, I was very frustrated. But I did use oraquix on her and was also able to put in a site of arestin. The oraquix didn't help her though. Pro. Perry told me that she would be too hard to work with for mock boards. Dang it again. I thought I was getting lucky seeing her, but then I realized how difficult she is. Oh well, I just get four quads of a hard class II. Good experience I guess.

VA CA

Today I went to the VA to be the CA. It was nice to be able to explore there and learn where things are, and use the computer and chart for multiple people. Now I understand how to chart faster and I know what exactly I'm supposed to chart and where the buttons are so I can do it faster. I almost was able to see a class III patient in the afternoon because they overbooked, but right before the appointment, Diane wanted to do his cleaning because she worked with him last time and he was a harder case. DANG IT! Oh well. I did help her with the cleaning and there was a TON of stain everywhere. But I don't get any credit for it. Oh well I guess. But being CA isn't so bad down at the VA.

Class III Finished!

Yay! I finished the last two quads of my class III patient. I wish I would have declared an exam on this patient because I'm not sure how many more I'm going to run in to. Oh well, it was a good experience though! I was still apprehensive getting into the larger pocket areas. I could feel calculus with my explorer, but it was really hard to scale it out of there. It took many tries. I asked Pro. Perry to come help me and let me know which instruments work best in these situations. It really helped a lot. I was able to get some good chunks out of those pockets. It's so satisfying when I can actually see the deposits that I'm scaling off!
I also had a blind patient today. He brought his guide dog Comet! I love labs, and he was super cute! I enjoyed playing with the dog more than anything! But it was a good experience working with someone with such a hard disability. He was very nice and helpful. He was a 1B but there was a ton of plaque. It was mostly sub-gingival so I used my ultrasonic to flush it out, but it still took a lot of scaling to get it all. It was kind of hard for a 1B, but it's good to have all sorts of experiences I guess.

I'm Back!

So today I had a patient with a huge medical history. I feel so bad for her, she's an elderly lady that had pretty much everything in the book. She's constantly at the Dr.'s office and then I made her sit here for 2 1/2 hours. After starting her OD, she started sweating everywhere. She told me her blood sugar is probably dropping. She checked it and it was at 50! WHAT! Dang it! I told her I couldn't see her with it being that low. She ate some cookies and we chatted and waited, and waited. She checked it again and it went up to 86 so I was able to get the OD done and that's it. She is scheduled to come back. She was very nice!
My second patient is a funny man! He was chuckling through his whole appointment. He is a class III and I was able to get two quadrants done! Yay!! He was super cooperative with me and was a very good patient! He is also scheduled to come back and get finished! So today turned out better than it started! I'm just glad I accomplished something today!

Back in the saddle!

So I was able to see my first patient at the VA on wednesday. I was very nervous because I was in a new clinic with new instructors and I was not familiar with any of their equipment or their computer system. There was a lot to learn in a little bit of time there in the morning. My patient was 29 and new to their clinic. I wasn't sure what I was going to get. I was pleasantly surprised because he was a 1B and the cleaning was very straight forward. I was able to get a pano and 4BWX and do a full OD and FM scaling. I was glad to see that having the summer off didn't destroy all my confidence. I'm excited to get started with two more patients on thursday. I'm more nervous about remembering how to chart everything by hand. That is one thing I really like at the VA is their electronic charting. It's easy and fast!

Last Day

Today was my last day in clinic and I had one quadrant left and one PE left! I was able to finish my class III patient today and pass off my area specific PE. I really like using my gracies when there is a deep pocket. It is hard to get down in 6-7mm pockets or deeper using just regular instruments. I'm really excited to get my mini's next fall, I think those will fit in those tighter areas easier! I did miss the most spots I've ever missed before on this last quadrant, so I felt like a failure. It was a bitter-sweet ending for first year clinic. It was a hard class III-IV patient, but I thought I was doing better than I was. I had questions on two teeth about if I was feeling calculus or root surface, and it turned out to be calculus. When am I going to be able to tell the difference? Oh well, I'll figure it out in the fall hopefully! YAY, clinic is over, summer is almost here! Sand dunes here we come!!!!

Class III

Today I had my class III patient in again. I did her upper left quadrant which is really a class IV and the dentist said that she needs to get two teeth pulled from that quadrant because they are mobile and pretty much don't have any bone structure around them. And I also did the lower left quadrant. As I was going around each tooth getting off what I thought was biofilm, I went back to check my work and it was all back? What the #&@^?? So she had so much infection that was oooozzzing out that it would kind-of solidify and look like biofilm but as soon as I would clean it off, more would come out. Instructor Vining was "milking" it from her palate. It was pretty gross. Dr. Hopkin came and took a look and told her to get some teeth pulled and put her on an antibiotic. He told her that a couple of other teeth are really close to having to be pulled, so a good cleaning and taking really good care of them is the only way she's going to keep them. It's really sad that her condition is this severe but I don't understand why people wait so long to seek any help? Anyway, it was reall cool to see and really gross at the same time. But it was a good experience for me.

Class III or IV!

Today I had my class III patient! I was able to do her OD. Well... she ended up being a mix up class III and IV. But this will be a good experience for me! She was given some lidocaine at the beginning of the appointment because touching her gums made her jump. I was able to probe but scaling she still didn't like so Pro. Costley gave her more. She had so much infection in her mouth that it was neutralizing the anesthetic. I was able to get one quadrant done though. It was really hard because she had 8mm pockets and they were super sensitive. It is interesting to see this condition and educational, but very sad. She is in so much pain. I hope that when I'm done she will feel so much better and continue with her continuing care. I hope to pass off my area specific PE on monday when she comes back!

Monday I finished up my dad! He's so great! I did three quadrants on him and was also able to pass off my ultrasonic PE, universal PE, and blood glucose PE! Ah.. it feels good to almost be done with everything! I have one more ultrasonic PE and my area specific PE. The area specific scares me because I haven't had any patients that qualified to practice on with them. Oh well, it will all work out! Love ya dad, thanks for comin' in!

Good day...mostly!

So today I had a 1B patient with braces, and her five month old baby was very upset the whold appointment. Karlie had her four year old son, and when she was done she held the crying baby for a long time. The best part of the day is that Sharli did a screening for me today and found my class III!!!!!! YAY! THANK YOU SHARLI! Now my goal is to help everyone else find theirs. It is so stressful to find all of our requirements. Sigh... I'm so relieved. Now I hope I can finish her!

Two in one!

Today I finished up my mom's last two quadrants and passed off a few PE's. I did the explorer and anterior PE on her! Then my grandma came in. She has had dentures since she was in her 20's. She so little and cute. So Jen Reese did the bottom denture and I cleaned the top one. Her OD was the fastest one I've ever done! Then I was able to pass off the removable appliance PE on her! After our clinic, I stayed for the afternoon so I could pass off my peer calculus removal PE. Kristin was so nice and let me squeeze into her appointment. THANK YOU KRISTIN! Today was a good day, not too stressful, but I was able to pass off four PE's! YaY! Almost done!!!

So my patient was my husband!!! OH... cute! It was a very straight forward appointment and fun! He was an easy 1B and a great patient! It took him a while to come in and see me, but he finally did! Thanks for comin' in Babe! Love ya!

Pretty good day

Today I had an eight year old patient. I was able to fulfill my last sealant requirements and do the diagnodent PE. He was a very good patient and was cooperative with all of the running around I was doing. I had Miriam do his bitewings because she still needed to fill those requirments and I am done with all my bitewings. I am now done with all requirements except my class three. Everything else is just extra quads! Yay! I really hope I can find a class three to come in and be willing to come in for multiple appointments. That's my huge goal for this semester!

Thanks Ins. Kirsten

So I had a class two patient returning for three quadrants. I was able to finish him in a little over an hour and a half. I missed a couple spots and had to go back and then I got him up and out of there. I then had my 12 year old niece come and I started off with bitewings and then rushed to get her finished in one appointment. I made her my last 1B exam and was able to get her done in a total of about 25 minutes. It was awesome because Ins. Kirsten really helped me get these people in and out! I was able to get 7 quads done in one clinic! YAY!

Ah... mondays

I really don't like mondays very much. We have less time to work on patients and fewer instructors to pass things off. I had a returning patient that had sheet calculus and all of her lingual anteriors. I really do not like sheet calculus, it is very difficult for me to get off. I scrape and scrape and rinse and dry and what do ya know, there's still some there. Anyway, I was able to finish this patient and pass off two PE's but that was a chore and a half. Well, my goal is to keep passing off PE's every clinic day that I can so I'm not freakin' out at the very end. I really don't like monday's, they're very discouraging. Well, wednesday should go much better I hope!

Good Day!

Today I had my class II exam patient!!!! It went really well! She was such a good patient, she was so nice and so easy going! I was also able to pass of three way over due PE's. Now I have like 5 done, I have like 15 more to go AH!!! I really need to get a move on that:) But today was very productive for me! I can actually go home feeling good today! Yay! Thanks Instructor Kirsten for all your help, and all the TA's. You're all so helpful!

Yay, a productive day!

So I had a 1B patient and was able to get through the appointment with ease! I was really happy because she still had calculus and I was able to get it off and I didn't miss any spots which made me feel really good. I've been trying to be really thorough and I think that I just usually take too much time trying to be thorough, but with this patient I felt thorough and a little faster than usual. It was a pretty good day. The only down side is that I had to wait over 20 minutes for my OD check, so I couldn't really get started until I had that done, but at least I finished and had some time to spare. Ah... I just need about 11 more of those days for clinic this semester. HA HA! Yeah right.

Ah, bit off more than I could chew!

So I tried to do my my 1A exam and then do a 1B start to finish. I finished the 1A pretty easy. The 1B has 10 sealants that needed to be done and also has sheet calculus on all of her anteriors. She has radiographic calculus and 4mm pocket depths on all first molars. And SHE'S 15. I did my sealant PE and then had Linda do her sealant PE on her as well. So next appointment I have seven more sealants to do and finish up all four quads on her. It wasn't a productive day like I had planned. But I did have a lot of help from the second years!!! Thank you TA's for cleaning for me and for all your help! I really need to get going on my PE's too, that's my goal for now!!!

Ah.. another easy goin' day!

Today I had a 1B come back to get finished up! It was pretty easy because I had done the whole mandible last time so I only had the maxillary teeth which were super easy, and she's a hygienist so her teeth were really clean! I did have to wait about 25 minutes for my scale check. Good thing we like to chat!! Also, sweet Jenny Story let me do a pano on her patient because her requirements are all filled for that! How NICE! THANKS JENNY STORY, YOU'RE THE GREATEST!!!!!!

Ah... relaxation!

On wednesday, we didn't have patients and we learned how to do blood glucose levels, use the diagnodent, and how to clean dentures or appliances. This was such a relaxing day, and I could use a few more of those!!! I was also able to pass of my sharpening PE!!! Yay, that is pretty much my first PE pass off if I don't count the CA one. I really need to get going on my PE's. That is my goal from now on, to pass off two or three PE's at least on wednesday's when we have more instructors and TA's.

Finished in one appt!!!!

Today I had a patient that sweet Karlile gave to me! He was a border line 1B-2 but he classified in to the 1B category. We didn't take any x-rays so we went right in to treatment! The whole appointment actually went pretty smooth. I did have some spots that I missed or overlooked, but overall, the appointment went pretty well! Karlile also let me do a sealant on her patient, so that's one more thing out of the way! Thanks Karl!!!!

Why am I so slow?

Today I had my mom come back in. She is a class 5 and has a lot of restorations. I had a hard time getting around her old fillings with bad margins, and around the crowns with recession. I had a hard time detecting if there was calculus under the overhangs of her fillings, or if I was just hitting the overhangs?! Ah, I get so frusterated sometimes. I'm glad she's my mom and will come back with no problems. She said she likes to get off of work and come see me! I'm glad my patient is still happy, cause me... ahh! One day, I will be so good and so fast... hopefully!

STRRRESSFUL day

So today, my patient showed up... but someone else's didn't so the other person got to see my patient. So the beginning of my stressful clinic. I called five family members and my dad was in salt lake more than willing to hurry and come up, but i wasn't about to let him do that and not accomplish much once he got there. So thanks to Mr. Solomon, Minerva was able to come in! We got started about an hour and a half late. I didn't get to scaling but I did get my OD done! The best part is, is that she's a class II and qualifies to be an exam. Yay, class II exam. That's pretty much it!

Easy goin' day!

Today I had my sister come in to get her finished up. I was also able to do 16 PA's on her for a full mouth. I finished her two quadrants and had some time to spare. It was such a nice day because I wasn't rushed the whole time! The instructors were very busy and it was hard to get one because everyone was calling them from each operatory. I was glad I wasn't in a hurry for one to come check because it wasn't happening. They go as fast as they can, but there's so many of us to check I'm sure it's hard and frustrating for them. I'm sure I'll have the days of trying to hurry and having to wait, but today was really nice. I hope I get fast enough that doing a 1B start to finish will be a nice easy goin' day!

Another day...

My dad was my patient! That was fun to have him come in and see me. He's so excited for me to be in this program! I feel like I leave my patient sitting by themselves a lot. I had to wait for a second year (that wasn't scheduled on the computer) to take x-rays on her board patient, and then clean her room and set up mine and then go get my dad to take four bitewings and a pano. I felt bad cause he sat in the chair for like twenty minutes just wasting his time. But he is so sweet, he said it didn't bother him a bit. I used the ultra sonic scaler on him too and I didn't like it so I think that no one else is going to tolerate it either, but he said that didn't bother him at all either! He was a great patient. I only got one quadrant done but he will be back to get finished up! I hope next time I can spend more time with him and not leave him sitting alone forever.

STRESSFUL day

So an hour and a half before clinic, I called my patient to make sure she had directions to the clinic. I had recived her name and number from the list in the front office. When I called she said, oh yea I'm not coming, I'm glad you called. WHAT? So I had a frantic search for another patient and luckily I found a nice man named Roberto. He didn't speak english but the appointment went well for having him come about 25 minutes late and being a class 5 the appointment went ok. He still needs to come back to finish up 3 quads. I'm really hoping I get faster really soon. I want to finish patients in one appointment NOW. I'll keep workin' on it though!

Wow... Hygiene is stressful!!!

Today I had a hygienist I work with come in and see me! She's awesome! I did 4 scan-x BWX on her and finished two quads. My goal was to get finished today but that didn't happen. I'm still having a hard time detecting calculus. After Pro. Costely showed me where it was and how to get it off, things clicked for me. I hope I can remember how to do it on my next patient! It's really fun and rewarding when I actually see stuff coming off! My goal is to be more careful in detecting where the calculus is and then working hard to get it off!
I also need to speed up the probing and whole OD. I think this is where I get behind. I'm not the world's fastest "probe-r" but I'm really working on making sure I'm getting the right angles and feel for it. I guess practice makes perfect, I just wish I had a little more patience.

First child patient!

I had my first 1A patient and his oral hygiene is not very good. I learned a lot in that one appointment. I learned a certain instrument that is probably not good to use on a child. I also learned that when a child has heavy plaque, it might be easier to polish first, after you show them their disclosed mouth and teach them OHI. I scaled all of his plaque off which was good instrumentation practice, but I wasted a lot of time being very picky when I could have removed a lot of it with selective polishing. I know next time that to make it easier on myself, get the loose stuff off first and then get the harder stuff off; it should go a lot faster that way. It was a really good experience for me! I'm glad my patient was cooperative because it took a long time! But I've learned new tricks!!

I'M BACK!

Well... I'm back. Today we learned more about ultrasonic scaling and using area specific curets also known as gracies. I like the gracies, they help me with angles and therefore getting more calculus off! I needed more practice with the ultrasonic too. I think both the gracies and ultrasonic are going to help me a lot!