I'm weird!

So Karlie's blog actually made me think of this.
I was sitting in church today looking at my cousin's little girl. She's getting her primary molars in. I sat there thinking about how those grooves need to be sealed and how could you do a sealant on a 1 1/2 year old. Once I determined it couldn't be done unless they were asleep, I started thinking about hygiene instructions for a 1 1/2 yr old. Needless to say, i missed part of the lesson!

Last day of my last fall semester ever

Well, today was a good day!
We got to sleep in for one, that was very nice! It reminded me of when we only had afternoon clinic last year. We came down for screenings which went pretty well. Why do they always take longer than anticipated?  I met some nice peeps and even found a Mockboard pt for Karlie or me. We better find another one. But she was so nice. I threw out a few Spanish phrases...well the only ones I know and she told me I spoke spanish well! I don't really know exactly what I'm saying but it works. So we took the necessary x-rays (and maybe 2 on the wrong side:(  ) And I discovered that Tori is AMAZING at x-rays! I could not get the snap-a-ray in to get #17 and she just slid it right in there. Seriously amazing!!!
After screenings we went to the Christmas party which was a lot of fun. We got to buy clothes and toys for a little boy. I think he'll like them. We all did. And then Leigh and I snarfed on Little Caesars. Oh that was good pizza! mmmmm!
Then I ended the night by going to the institute Christmas show and saw Karlie dance. They did a great job! It was a good day!

Breeze of a day

Well! This has been my most exciting clinic to date.  I didn't get to see calculus fly, but I have definitly seen other things fly. It is so windy up here that I'm waiting to hear of the school closing down. Although Tori just got her patient numb so...not great for her. Looking out the clinic windows I've seen metal roofing come off and alomost hit someone, a truck bed lid fly off and may have hit Tanya's car and people getting blown around. The cops have had there hands full pulling people to safety, recording damage to cars and shutting down the parking lots. And still we continue with clinic. We'll see what happens throughout the rest of the day.

TA-ing

So I have had the opportunity to be a TA in the Anatomy class this semester. It has been so fun for many reasons!
1. Its been nice to get to know the juniors. They have a fun class!
2.I get to work with Karlie and Tanya. They are very smart and hillarious and we've had some good times and very funny moments....
3. Perry's awesome. He explains things so well. And we got to see him walk like and dentinoblast again. Probably my most memorable lecture! and we captured it on film this time!
4. Its been a good review! Its amazing that we learned last year. Had I remembered it all LA wouldn't have been so hard!
5. I learned that its hard to be a teacher, its hard to write quizzes and its even harder to grade them!
Hopefully we were helpful to the juniors!
Looking back its been a great semester!

Materials Lab 2

Well, I'm finally doing something with the impressions that have been sitting in my locker for a month. I debated between making bleach trays or a night guard. I eventually settled on just bleach trays. So I worked on filling in all the bubbles. My impressions are now speckled blue! In the mean time I made the most beautiful temp crown. I was very proud of it! I've never made them the way we did in class. Karlie Weeks and I had a good time figuring it all out:) I thought afterward we should put them all on a necklace like peeps do with animal fangs. I thought that'd be a pretty sweet necklace of anterior temporary crowns. Karlie Nichols convinced me otherwise:( i still think she was wrong:) HaHa!

I bought loupes!

Wow, I feel like I just saw my hardest patient. I'm exhausted. He was just a II but boy it was hard work! I think my thumb and fulcrum finger are numb!  I did get to get my patient numb! I gave a psa which went well and then Perry helped me give an infraorbital! That was cool. He just kept pushing the needle in....
This morning I took conventional BWX! and then forgot they were duplicating film and put them through together. I didn't realize it till the last film...so i had to redo 3 of them:(  I'm a dork sometimes.
I also bought loupes today. It's so much less painful to just give a credit card number than writing out a thousand dollar check..AAAHHH! I am excited for them!
Well, I feel like I've had a full day!

VA today was quite exciting. I saw two pts this morning. I had a happy patient who REALLY loves his dogs. I had nice patient who REALLY didn't like one of the doctors. My afternoon patient  with REALLY high blood pressure, so high we was escorted to the emergency room! But since he left I got to help place some medicaments! That was pretty cool. I feel like I learned alot!

Clinic... i've lost track

Today was a good day. I got to see my bro which was fun. It was nice I could get him done quicker this semester instead of barely getting done in an appointment. Its nice to see improvement! I learned today that I need to REALLY review PE's. Lets just say i now know how to turn on a diagnodent. Luckily my instructor was nice. And... my ultrasonic got broken! Like tip completely snapped off! SAD.  I looked at it and thought, I didn't use my curved last time.. what the! But then I realized it was broken. I hope i get a new one.

My first injections...well officially!

Today I saw a class II patient. He had some good solid calculus!! Wow it was a good learning experience. To start out I had to get him numb. This guy was so patient with me. It was my first time giving shots to a real patient. I started by giving a PSA,and MSA....well I thought I gave a PSA. In my defense it was on the left side and he had really strong cheeks! Needless to say, he wasn't quite numb on the top when I started so I had to give him another injection. I don't think this one worked either. I think I had oseous contact but my instructor said to give it so.... Boy those first shots are an adrenaline rush. I had to just keep telling myself to breath deep breaths while injecting. After finishing to UL I moved on to the LL and gave an IA. This one worked!!!
Along with injections I learned how to use my triplebend. This was the first time i've ever used it. Probably over due! It was really helpful in knocking that calculus off! Its my new friend!

Mockboards

Wow, what a relief to have this day over with! All that worry for nothing right? Right! It wasn't actually all that bad. I was in the afternoon so I was able to observe how things run before going through it myself. Though I didn't enjoy my lunch very much. The real excitement of the day started when my patient said he was coming and then stopped to get lunch on the way...he didn't arrive till 12:55! AHHHHHHH! I was freaking out! and frustrated. He's a nice patient though so it all worked out. This was his first cleaning ever so I think it was alot for him to take in. I got him finished with some time to spare and only missed 1 spot!!! So lucky!
One mockboard down....too many more to go!

Childrens Health Connection!

Well, day one of the children's health connection has gone well. You know those kids that do not want to cooperate or just cry, I'm happy to say I saw a few of those and I got x-rays on them! It was great! Its been pretty fun working in radiology. I feel good about taking pics on kids and it was nice to hang out with everyone. Its been a good day.
Oh and I have to give a shoutout to Tori and Heather for working on that special little patient who will not be getting Mcdonalds for good behavior. They worked hard and even sacrificed some filanges. You made us proud!

I thought I liked injections but I was wrong!

We gave the lower injections today. Karlie and I worked on each other again. I wasn't really nervous this time. It had been kinda fun last time.  But boy was I in for a surprise. Prepared as we can be we began and I went first this time. I did the IA injection and I was very accurate. This would have been good if Karlie wasn't dying in my chair! Costly was helping us and kept telling me to redirect. Redirect where?! I didn't have a clue what I should be doing. I kept trying to redirect and hit karlie's nerve 3 different times. I felt so bad. I finally deposited, pulled out and did the long buccal and mental quickly and then started to freak out! Looking back, its kinda funny. Karlie had stopped breathing cause she was in pain, I had stopped because I was so nervous and I could tell I was hurting her. She had tears from hitting her nerve, I had tears from the adrenaline. Both of us just sat there afterward shaking and breathing deeply. Oh it was awful! I had had such a good experience last time and this time I never wanted to give a shot again! Once calmed down, I cleaned up.
Then it was Karlie's turn....

Finally!

Up to this point I've been a little nervous. I've only seen 1B patients...only! I never thought the day would come when my patients would have 5 mm pockets! Does anyone else find it awful that we wish this? I feel bad and yet get so excited when they aren't 1B's. Oh well, such is the dental hygiene program, right?
Well my morning patient was so nice and reliable! and even better is I got her finished in 1 appointment. When did we get fast?  Haha, fast as in 3 hours but still:) It made for a good morning. My afternoon was busy. I saw an 8 yr old who was just awesome. Little boys are so funny! and then after that I did an OD and found my Mockboard!!!!! I felt like I could kiss prof. Hanson when she said he qualified! What a relief!!!
I feel its been a pretty great day!

Materials Lab 1

Its been a while since I worked in a dental office. Its been about 3.5 years. That so crazy to me! I remember a lot of things like it hasn't been that long. I've learned though, that even if I remember them doesn't mean I'm still good at doing them! I think Karlie will attest to this with my impression taking skills:)  To be fair I only had to redo them once, but really anything over one time it too many. That stuff is nasty! So after doing those, I feel that my skills were coming back. Pouring the models was tricky. Yet again, I remembered parts of doing it but not completely clearly. I poured them up, they weren't beautiful and there were some bubbles but they worked.
Besides the impressions we did temp fillings. I've always liked the smell of ZOE. Does that make me weird? Anyway, we did the fillings, they were pretty easy, and they brought back memories. It made me excited to work in an office again. I liked being an assistant!

Karlie has a big mouth...perfect for injections!

Well, the day we've all been dreading since we learned the seniors practice injections on each other has passed! All the anticipation is not good for nerves! I tried not to think about it very much. I made Karlie go first and she was very calm. I apparently have great anatomy...in my mouth! I was nervous about the palatal shots but they weren't nearly as painful as I anticipated. Once she was done it was my turn. I was nervous but they went well. It was easier than I thought it would be. It was actually kind of fun! My dad thinks there's something wrong with me for saying that but it was. I don't know why I was so worried! Now that its passed I can concentrate on enjoying Peach days!

chicken wings!

Today I gave injections to chickens! Well, Chicken wings. First off, raw chicken is disgusting! and it stinks! I suppose it is a good medium to teach with however. We learned to load our syringes, how to not stab our hands with the harpoon! The proper speed of deposition, what oseous contact feels like and what positive aspiration looks like. It was fun to play with our chicken wings even though they disgust me. I just can't believe we're going to be giving each other injections soon! AHHHHHHHH!

Senior Clinic!!! 1

I hope this is all making sense. I am typing from my clinic chair and the computer screen is kinda far away! I can't see everything clearly:) and I just was diagnosed with nearsightedness so  that can't be helping!
Well, the long awaited... and dreaded day arrived... clinic. My first official clinic day has just been completed. I saw 2 patients today and finished them, doesn't sound like much but I was proud of myself. I still sometimes feel like a chicken with its head chopped off but things seen to run smoother with each successive appointment. I saw 2 1B's got x-rays on both and hopefully improve scaling! All in all a successful day!

Clinic 24

Goal: See a 1B in 1 appointment and finish scaling in 25 mins...we'll see.
So today went well but not really as I planned. My patient was half 1B half II. I got to use my slim-line and triple bend on the anteriors. It is pretty cool to watch them break up calculus. I remember thinking, "I love my ultrasonic!" while working. It really is a lifesaver! I just don't love hand instrumenting what's left afterward. I didn't get it done in 25 mins and didn't get to go over the anteriors so... I missed a few spots. But it was a good experience.  And I got him completed!

Clinic 23

Goal: OD and quad scale 1B, also pass of my sharpening PE...finally.
Well, I was nervous because this was my first 1B that was an adult that had to be done in one appointment. I did it though. It went well. My patient liked to watch in the mirror and I don't really like that. It makes me nervous. I instrumented all by hand so that was a good experience. It still makes me tired. I can't really imagine doing it all day everyday. Someday. Jamie took the x-rays for me so while that was happening I was able to pass of my sharpening PE. Don't worry its only the last week before clinic ends:(  Its a very important one though. I need to sharpen more often! Oh and that was my last PE. Yeah!!!! I can't believe we're almost done with the first year of clinic...and school!

Clinic 22

Goal: 1 quad of class III, 2 quads of class V, removable appliance PE....
Today went well and I got alot accomplished. I worked on my class III. I was slower than I thought I would be but I got him finished! What an amazing feeling!!! I had a pretty tight schedule and worked it out so that my 2nd patient could come in before I was done with my class III and get x-rays done. Thank heaven Leigh is amazing! She was a life saver! She took the x-rays and then I saw my patient. She was my denture patient as well. I was nervous for the removable appliance PE but it was easier than I thought it would be. Pretty straightforward.  So I cleaned that and quickly cleaned 2 quads (they were super easy). It turned out to be a good day!

Clinic 21

Goal: 2 quads of class III
I feel pretty good about myself today. I was nervous about how my class three would go. I've heard stories and I was nervous. It went really well though! I finished 3 quads, learned how to use my gracey's which I think are fabulous! Passed off 2 PE's and feel pretty good about how today worked out. I feel pretty good about the rest of the semester actually. I can't believe its almost done. I'm pretty sure I'll forget everything I've learned!

Clinic 20

Goal: OD and 4quads of a 1A, finish OD and 1 quad of a III.
Well that didn't quite all work out but I did see this cute little guy who was really fun to work on. I finished him and brought back my class III but I didn't have enough time to scale so we did the OD and took some PA's. I feel bad that they have to keep coming back so many times. Also, it is stressful to see multiple patients. And having to tear down and set up for another one is hard too!  It was a good day but stressful. I don't know why but charting took forever too! I;m glad this day is done!

Screening

Goal: screen 3 pt's in 1 1/2 hours...Ha!
So screenings take longer than you think. I saw 2 pts and I found my class III. Can I tell you how much stress that took off!  I was so grateful!  I screened in the morning and by the time I was done it was snowing hard. So i decided to wait around and see if the afternoon needed help. Lucky I did because...i found a removable appliance!!! It has definitely been a good day! And the snow went away!

Clinic 19

Goal: finish 1A 4 quads, 2 sealants, OD and 2 quads on a new patient.
Today was fun. I was able to finish  my 1A and do 3 sealants. It took alittle bit longer than I expected as these things always seem to do. When I finally got my next patient back I knew I wouldn't be able to get what I wanted to done. She is one of my friends and was in from out of state and agreed to let me work on her since my original pt couldn't come in. Luckily, she's amazing and let me take some x-rays so what I got done was much better than I what I intended to. BWX and PA's!! Plus it was really fun to have my friend there!

Clinic 18

Goal: finish 2 quads 1B and pass of 2 PE's
Today proved to be much better than I expected. I had a patient come back to finish. I was able to improve my ultrasonicing and complete him. I was going to pass of some PE's when I was informed that a 1A walkin wanted to be seen! I didn't pass of  all of my PE's but I was able to take BWX and do an OD before my time was up. I was grateful because I needed 1A's.  Plus I found some sealants on the patient as well. It was definetly a good day.

Clinic 17

Goal: complete OD and FM scale on 1B patient, also take 4 bwx and Pano.
I did it!!! Today I saw the nicest boy. He was so fun to work on!  So I took a pano on him. I did it with conventional film. It is a pain in the butt loading that film in the daylight loader! But I did it. I also took bwx. He didn't consent to retakes and that always makes me nervous but I got them!! So that started the appointment off well. I was able to complete all quads, due mainly to the fact that there wasn't alot of calc. I don't know if I would be able to complete an adult 1B in one appointment. I need to work on that! But the appointment went well and I was able to accomplish my goals!

Clinic 16

Goal: complete 4 quads of V, pass off universal and ultrasonic PE
Well, today i accomplished part of my goal. I was able to finish 4 quads. It was a good learning experience cause my patient couldn't handle the ultrasonic so i hand scaled alot of calculus. It can take a long time! and its hard!  But I learned alot while doing it and how to use the instruments more effectively. Inst Vining also showed me some good tips to be able to see with direct vision, it was great!  I passed off the universal but didn't get to do ultrasonic. If anyone is unaware and vining ever asks what the 3 communicable diseases that you shouldn't use the ultrasonic with are, remember that they are TB, Hep B and Hep A or C (great, now I can't completely remember:) But thats very important to him!  All in all a good day!

Clinic 15

Goal: complete 2 sealant patients, a/p PE and glucose test
Today went well but I thought it was going to go alittle smoother. Its stressful to see multiple patients in a day. I feel better about doing sealants. I've never really enjoyed and sometimes dread doing them but they went well. I'm sure with more practice it will just continue to improve. It was interesting passing of a/p. I had read all about it but i couldn't remeber well how we had done it but i passed and thats the important thing right:) and the glucose test PE went well too!

Clinic 14

Goal: Complete: OD, bwx, pano, scale
Well I didn't quite accomplish all that. I at least got the first three done.  I saw one of my favorite people in the world today. I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I learned alot about charting! Also, I took my first pano. I'm really grateful for the handy instructions that are on the wall. If you follow them its pretty straight forward. Oh one fun experience; so I went to run through my conventional films and there was already films being processed. I didn't know it was the test film until i had loaded all mine. It came out dark and so did all of mine:( Come to find out, there was a problem witht the fixer leaking out. Luckily the instructor counted them. The rest of the appointment went well though. It was probably the first clinic day that I wasn't rushed to the end. It was kinda nice!

Clinic 13

Goal: Learn how to clean braces and finish him in one appointment.
OH BOY!

So I was very nervous. I’ve never worked on braces before . I sat down and started to work and all my practice and knowledge flew right out the window. I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing! I eventually pulled out my ultrasonic and just washed away the biofilm. That was mostly what he had. Although he did have a cavity and I saw first hand what can happen when the ultrasonic gets near it… Anyway, It was a good learning experience. I still don’t think I’m comfortable working on braces but I suppose that’ll come.

Clinic 12

Goal: scale 4 quads on an Adult.
I have yet to finish 4 quads on an adult in one appointment but I did it!

This possibly made my best valentine’s day to date! (that should say somethingJ )I continued to improve ultrasonicing and passed off my anterior scaling PE! Yeah But I must admit the best part of the day was getting flowers from my patient! He brought them for me for cleaning his teeth! It was pretty awesome (don’t get too excited though…he’s married) but it was still awesome and I did finish him so that was great!

Clinic 11

Goal: Accomplish an OD and 4 quads...check!
Today i saw a nice youn boy. His mother gave consent for x-rays but no retakes-talk about pressure! Luckily, I got them all the first go!One more set of conventional done! I still feel weird probing young patients but its getting faster! I completed the OD and did a complete full mouth scale! I've decided that I like 1B patients that are young and have no calculus. I think I'll start screening for patients under 16! They're easy. I also discovered its very difficult to explain tx plans in another language! Thinak heavens for mr. Soloman. But I'm happy to report 4 quads done!

Clinic 10

Goal: finish 1 class II quad, possibly 2 and then see a 3yr.
Today didn't quite go as planned. I accomplished alot but had my 1st official break down of the year. I didn't think it would come but it did. Its kind of embarasing when you start to cry in clinic! On a positive note I did finish 2 quads of a class II and learned how to properly ultrasonic. When I finally finished that patient, I saw my 1st kid patient. I was alittle stressed and turned into assistant mode and completely forgot that the instructor had to check my patient before he left:( Not a good idea! Luckily Costley is generous and will work with you! I am just happy this clinic day will never happen again!!!

Clinic 9

Well, obviously I have failed at the last goal. Its now march and I haven't blogged since jan. BAH!  I keep forgetting! Anyway, for clinic:
Goal: finish scaling my class V patient, with time to spare.
Well, I did accomplish my goal. I was able to scale 3 quads of my class V patient. He was very comfortable i suspect because he fell asleep. I had to use a biteblock to keep him open. I didn't really have alot of time to spare but I got him done and that is the important part!

clinic 8

Well, if anyone was paying close attention to the last 6 blogs one will realize they are all dated today. So my new goal for clinic....Blog ON the day I'm there! 
goal 2) not have crazy hectic days!!
Today went well right up until the last 30 mins of clinic.  I saw 2 patients, passed of my sealant PE (sorry about #2 Adrienne!) got a quad done, found a cavity lurking under calculus and thought I would take some easy PA's. Ha! well all was good till the PA part. How hard is it really to take 2 PA's. With schick. Hard!  When I'm an idiot and screw up the computer - hard! needless to say, I deserved the marks on Taleval under x-rays. Luckily in the end I got 2 good shots and saved correctly into the computer. Once that was done I was just a few mins after walk out and thought I would print a quick walkout statement. I think the walkout statements on eaglesoft dislike me. After Demmings and Mr. Solomon helped I finally got a walkout printed and my pt on his way shorlty before pod wrap. A good end to the day:)
Oh and then I was a CA.
That actually went really well.

clinic 7

Well, I've had this appointment scheduled since last semester and I was pretty excited about it. I was ready and prepared and was going to fly through the OD and straight into a quad. Ha!  The OD went fine. He's been keeping better care of his teeth and although I shouldn't really be sad about this he is no longer a class II. (doesn't that go against everything we do! I feel that because of requirements I hope people aren't taking care of their teeth. I will get over it) I was able to take some x-rays on schick. They actually turned out much better than I thought they would but I still dislike schick. In my perfect world I would only use scan-x. But once again due to requirements....i used it. I finished the OD and pray the next time I will be able to do all 4 quads in one appointment. I know there will come a day when i will. Someday.
Goal: OD and scale 1 quad. hmmm...

clinic 6

I am officially the slowest scaler in the world!
My patient came in and on time. Things went well but I took forever. I'm not quite sure why it took so long. I didn't miss any spots but I suspect I waste time on areas that are clean.  So...that was frustrating.
Goal: scale 4 quads
only got 2 done:(
work on being thorough and efficient! and speeding up!

clinic 5

Can I just say it was very nice to have a good long weekend! Well, I had my mom come in today. I figured she would be patient with whatever I did and decided to take some old school conventional films.  I was right about the patient part!  This was my first experience with the day-light loader. If you haven't experienced that yet, you're missing out! (Not really) Also it was my first experience using the double packets. Its awfully fun opening those in a small box with an orange viewing rectangle.  I'm just happy to report I got all the films back and didn't send any together or throw some away!
The rest of the appointment went well. I was able to pass off a PE and turned in my chart on time!
Goal: OD possible quad scale.
Didn't quite reach it but I was pleased with what I got done.

Clinic 4

Well, I am very proud of myself today!  I finished an entire patient! Granted it was a 1B, she was barely a teenager and took very good care of her teeth...but still I finished!!! Probably never to happen again. I was planning on having a child for a patient but we had a slight switch and I got the older kid. It worked out though. The weirdest thing was probing her. It seemed completely irrelevant but...
Sometimes I feel like I spend alot of time scaling supragingival calculus and that never gets checked. oh well!
Goals: finish a 1A and possible sealants.
Actuality: Completed 1B patient, tx for sealants

Clinic 3

Today was my first day scaling after the wonderful Christmas break.  Too bad for my patient really. After 15 mins of trying to remember how I was supposed to scale, trying not to hyperventilate and freak out or look worried, I slowly got the hang of it. Luckily my patient is my brother and too nice to complain. The next big task will be getting him back in to finish:)
Goals: remember all that I forgot and apply
I'm not sure how I did.

clinic 2

Today was nervracking but it turned out to well.  I had 2 patients today. Good way to jump back in!
I was able to get a full mouth done. It went well however, i did learn that you can only put retakes in one at a time! very important:)  Then I started an OD on my next patient. That went well too.
I'm super grateful for the CA's and the stephanie the TA. they are lifesavers so... good job guys!!!

Clinic 1...again

Well, its good to be back. I wish we had a little more time before we say real patients but I guess that'll just force me to learn even faster!  Today we worked with taleval, learned more about the ultrasonic and graceys. it was good