Last day of clinic!

So this afternoon was okay. My patient did not end up being perio like I thought she would be. She actuall had really healthy tissue considering that she smoked. I thought that she was going to be a 1B. After taking x-rays, she did have some bone loss and ended up being a class 5. I have realized this semester how important x-rays are. It makes it so much easier classifing patients. I would have never thought this patient had bone loss just based on probe depths, and looking at her tissue. Little did I know she did. I also learned this morning with my terrible patient, that I need to make the decisions and do what is best for the patient. Sometimes I think I need to be a little more agressive and not be such a push over. If I would have just told my patient this morning that having anesthesia would make the process less painful, and help me do a better job I would have finished scaling the 2 quads I started. Instead she is coming back for me to finish them in January. I think overall this semseter has been a success, and I feel my skills have improved.

Frustrating Morning

Lets just say that this morning was not the best. My patient that came in was referred from her dentist for scaling and root planing. She was a class 3 on the top and 2 on the bottom. I decided that I would start with the top. The entire time, she would complain that I was digging into her gums and it was hurting. I told her we could get her numb, but she said she did not want to because numbing hurt also. She was very unreceptive to any instructions, and told me that she had been going to the dentist for 2 years. She was a know it all, and was probably one of the rudest patients I have ever seen. So I scaled as best I could, and when it came time for my scale check, there was calculus on every tooth. I informed the patient that in order to adequately clean and remove all of the deposit we would have to get her numb. By this time we it was almost patient walk out, and we did not have time for that. She will be coming back in January for me to "restart" again. I just hope I can do what I need to do without her giving me problems. Hopefully my patinet this afternoon will be nicer and let me do what needs to be done. I still want to get the last quad of a three that we were supposed to get for this semester done. Hopefully I can get one this afternoon!

Last Day of VA

So today was the last day at the VA for this semseter. It went pretty well, I got class 5's again as usual. I was hoping for a class 3, but am ok now that I know the requirements are combined. I am glad that they did this. I am just one quad away from the requirement this semester, but it would still be nice to start next semseter knowing I am not behind. I have some perio patients scheduled for thursday so hopefully they show. Anyways I am glad that this semester is almost over only one more to go!

VA

So today at the VA was a pretty productive day. I was able to see 2 quads of a class 3 this morning, and was able to pass off an arestin and LA PE. I only now need 1 quad of a three to get the requirements for this semester. I am not too worried about that though. In the afternoon, I saw a class 5 patient. He was pretty easy, and I got him done pretty quick. Other than that, nothing much has been happening. I am looking forward to the end of the semester. I am just a little nervous for finals.

PE's Completed

So this afternoon in clinic, I was very pleased with myself and what I was able to acomplish. I was able to finish my last 3 Pe's that I needed to do. I am glad that I do not have to worry about those anymore till next semester. I was able to do my perio file, root debridement, and arestin PE. I also gave my first true injection. It was a little wired but I felt that I did pretty well. I gave the MSA and PSA. Now to finish my requirements for the rest of the semester I just need to get my 3 quads of a class three. It was nice not having to take any radiographs today, sometimes that seems to stress me out the most. I am done with my PA's for the semester, and think I only need a couple more sets of BWX and 3 more panos.

11-19-08

So today, I could not find a patient to come in during the morning. I called all of the patients that still wanted to come in, but most of them want to come in next semester. I was so frustrated, especially since I still need 4 quads of a class 3. I ended up just having my mom come in and was able to pass off my desensitizing PE. I guess that is better than nothing. I will be glad when this semester is over. I am getting ready for Christmas break that is for sure. This afternoon I have one quad of a class three that I am going to finish for lis. She needs anesthesia which I am a little nervous about being that I have not done anesthesia on an actul patient yet. I feel pretty confident though and hope I will remember everything. I will have to blog again later and talk about how that goes.

11-13-08

So today I was able to scale 4 quads of a class 3 in the morning. I am glad that I was finally able to get a three, now I only need 4 more quads. Hopefully I will get them done. I was also able to pass off my blood glucose PE. In the afternoon I saw a class 5. I thought she was going to be a 3, but things did not turn out that way. I was able to get a FMX on her, and am now done withmy PA's for the year. Hopefully I can get the rest of the 3's I need within the next few weeks. I guess everything always works out in the end.

1A

So today I saw a 1A patient. It was the last one I had to see for the semester. She was a pretty easy patient, and cooperated very well. I was also able to take a pano on a boy that came in. I had to retake it, bacuase I forgot to push the film down to the bottom of the sleeve, so there was a little bit of a cone cut. It was a good learning experience. I think I have all but 1 quad of a three scheduled that i need, so I am pretty glad about that. Hopefully the people I have scheduled show up. I think I will be okay and should be able to get my requirements done. I am not stressing as bad as I was before, but still get worried sometimes. Well I guess everything works out in the end usually.

VA!

Well I am already done with my morning patient here at the VA, so I figured this would be a good time to catch up on my blogging. This morning I saw a class 5 patient as usual. It seems like I hardly ever get perio down here at the VA. Just as long as I can get my requirements done I am fine with it, but it would be nice to something a bit more challenging. I still need 8 quads of a class 3. I have 3 quads scheduled, and don't know what I am going to do about the other five. I guess in the end eveything seems to work out. I can't believe that it is already november, and almost christmas break! It is so crazy to me how fast the program has gone by. I can't believe I am almost graduated, and will never have to go to school again in my life. That makes me so happy! Well I hope that I get a class three -maybe this afternoon!

10-16-08

SO today was a pretty good day in clinic. I saw a patient that I saw last semester. She is a class 5, and was a pretty easy patient. I took4 BWX, which did not turn out as well as I had hoped, but she has a really shallow pallate so it was hard for her to bite all the way down. I am almost finished with my requirements which makes me really happy! I have 8 quads of a IA to do, which I already have scheduled, and 8 quads of a class 3 left. I keep getting class 5 patients. That is all I have seen this week so far. Next week is mockboard, and I am a little nervous. Everything seems so complicated! I just hope my patient ends up qualifying. Well I am glad that it is fall break this weekend, it will be nice to get a little break from school/ work.

I found my mockboard patient!

So today did not start out as I had planned. in the morning i saw the easiest 1B i have seen so far. She had hardly any buildup, and took me only one hour to complete. She was a new patient so I was hoping she would be something more than that. However this afternoon I saw a Spanish speaking lady named Nancy. I was worried she was going to be another 1B since it had only been 9 months since her last cleaning. When I started to probe, I realized that she might be able to qualify for a mockboard patient. I had prof alexander come over and do and OD, and I was excited when she had enough clicks of calculus to qualify. I was so happy, and am so less stressed now. I did not realize that we had to have PA's of the areas that we were going to be scaling, so I will need her to come back for that. So today has been a really good day!

9-25-08

So today was a pretty good day in clinic. I did not see any perio, but still felt like I acomplished quite a bit. My first patient this morning was a Class 5 and I was able to use her as my exam and 4 quads that we need up at WSU. I am now done with all my class 5's. My afternoon patient was a 17 year old boy who was just a 1B. I was kinda bummed that he was just a 1B but I was able to pass off my air powder polish and sealant PE, so that made me feel much more productive. I am still searching for a mockboard patient. I only have new patients scheduled until then so hopefully one of them will qualify. I am pretty stressed about finding one, but I guess it is mostly just luck. Overall today has been a good day, with little stress. I am just glad that my patients came being that I have had 2 patients no show me already!

Finally a Class 3!

Today in clinic I was able to see a class 3 patient in the morning. I think he was one of my hardest patients yet. I believe the class 3 I saw spring semester was not a "true" class 3. I was able to scale all four quads, get an exam done, and also really use my graceys. All the instruments I used on him were new, and I think that really made a difference because I only missed one spot. So I was all excited that I finally was able to see a class 3 patient, and was hoping my afternoon patient would be a good classification also. I was sooo mad when my afternoon patient did not show! I had Amber call to confirm her and her son (who Amber was seeing), yesterday and they said that they were coming. Well we got a hold of them around 12:50 and she said that she forgot. I don't see how people can forget about an appointment when they are reminded less than 24 hour before. I was pretty mad. I attempeted to call some of the patient I have scheduled to see if they could come in earlier, and also called some patients that I had not scheduled. No luck! I asked 3 or 4 patients who were in the waiting room at midtown clinic if they were interested, and none were. One of the ladies I asked told me that she only had 4 teeth on the bottom that had never been cleaned and they were really lose and hurting and she did not think it would be worth it to clean them. I was confused because it looked like she had all her teeth on the maxillary, until she told me it was a denture. I felt kinda stupid. I guess on a positive note, I was able to schedule a few appointments in October for some patients who could not come in today but wanted to come in another time. Overall I guess the day was okay, I just wish patient would show up to thier appointments!

1st Day of Senior Clinic

Well clinic has not gone well at all so far today. I had a pt scheduled and she did not show. I had Nic call to see if she was coming and her husband said she had left this morning and took the bus. I think she might have got lost or something. I tried to call a few other patients but it was too short of notice and they could not come in. Also yesterday my afternoon pt cancelled. I was so mad and called over 10 other patients to see if they could come in but none were able to. Lets just say the past 24 hours have not gone the way I was expecting them to. I just hope not too many more days like this come my way in clinic. This has probably been one of the most stressful times ever for me in clinic. I hardley had any patients no show me spring semester. Well I guess everything will work out in the end, it always does. I am just glad that I have a patient for this afternoon. Hopefully he meets decent classification being that I had no morning patient. Well this was a good way to vent, and I feel a little better now.

Extra Quads

Since I am done with my requirements, I am just trying to get extra quads now so maybe I can get an A. I had my dad come in today, he was just a 1B and was a pretty easy patient. He was very sensitive to probing which is something I have never had to deal with surprisingly. My patient for wednesday cancelled today so I had to find another one. I got a name off the resource list and found somebody to come in. it feels so good that this semester is almost over, I cant believe how fast it has gone by. Only one more year and then I will be graduated that will be a great feeling!

Finally finished with PE's and Requirements!

So over the past few clinic days I have managed to finish all my PE's and complete all my requirements. It is such a good feeling to have this done and have one less thing to worry about. My patient today was a class 3 in all four quads, but 2 of the quads qualified for a board patient so I only cleaned the right side. I was fine with that because I only needed 2 quads of a class 3 to be done. I am glad that i was able to finish 2 quads today so I can concentrate on getting extra quads next week. I think I will have over 65 quads by the end of the semester so that makes me happy. Today was a wonderful day and so much stress has been lifted off my shoulders!

No Show Pt!

So today I had my possible class 3 pt scheduled to come in. I had lily call and confirm him yesterday and he said he was coming. Well today at 1245 I had lily call him and he said that he would not beable to come to his appt and did not want to reschedule. I was so frustrated! Luckily I was able to have my little brother come in and get a pano and clean his retainer. So I guess I was some what productive today and was able to finish up my pano requrements and also get a PE passed off. I just hope another class 3 comes my way soon!

1A's and Sealants Finished!

So today I was able to see a little 4 year old boy. He was really cute and I was able to take x-rays on him. He had never had x-rays before. It did not take me long to scale him becuse he did not have hardly any buildup, so it was a pretty quick appointment. My husband also came in and I did a sealant on him. I passed off my diagonodent and sealant PE also. Today was a pretty productive day, and I am glad that I am getting my requirements done. I only have 3 quads of a 3 a pano and 13 PA's until all my requirements are met.

Finally PA's

So today was a very productive day in clinic. I was able to complete the last 3 quads of my class 2 exam pt, I now I am offically done with my class 2's yeah! I started on the lower linguals like inst. vining always tells us to and did not have any missed spots today so that made me happy. I was also able to complete a FMX on alyse's brother in law. She was all done with PA's so let me take them since I have been in dyer need of them. I only had to retake 2 of them so I was pretty glad about that. My class 2 patient did not take very long to finish cleaning. I am just glad that I was able to stay on schedule today and finish all that I had planned. I also passed off my 2nd ultrasonic PE!

Class 3!

So today I had a new spanish speaking patinet come in. I took 4 BWX he did not want to pay for a full mouth series like many of my pts. I completed my OD and everything seemed to be pretty normal, he only had a few deep pockets. I thought he would for sure just be a 1B. When I had Angie come over, she looked at the x-rays and pointed out some calculus spurs. I did not even notice them! It was cool to see calculus on the x-rays. After doing an OD check it was determined that he was a class 2 upper and 3 lower. He did not have very much supra calculus, but quite a bit sub. I was acutally suprised he did not qualify for a board pt. Just by looking in his mouth I could hardly see any calculus. I guess I learned today that it is important to look at the radiogaphs in depth before probing, and also feel for calculus as you probe. I cleaned one quad of a 3 and he is coming back in April. Overall i had a good experience in clinic today!

3-19-08

So today was just an ok day. My patient came and I knew she had not had a cleaning for 3 years. I was planning on taking a FMX since she had not been to the dentist for so long. When I got to school she told me that she had just had a FMX taken at the Layton Mid-town who also referred her here. So I was unable to take any x-rays and was pretty bummed. She was a 1B and did not have to much buildup. I was actually surprised when she asked me what I was doing when I started scaling. She told me that she had never had her teeth cleaned this way before but that they were always cleaned with a rubber cup. I informed her that the rubber cup was used for polishing and would not remove buildup. She was suprised and so was I. I was also suprised that she did not have more buildup due to her OH habits. She only brushes at night and never flosses. Hopefully that will change with the OHI I was able to give here. Well I just hope some PA's will be coming my here in the next few weeks.

Finished with class 2's!

So today I thought my patient was going to be a class 5 in all quads but she ended up being a class 2 on the lower and class 5 on the upper. I was pretty excited because now I am all finished with my class 2 and 1B requirements. I still need 4 quads of a class 3 but have a pt scheduled the first week in April to come in (I just hope he comes). I also need 4 more quads of a 1A, and my 27 PA's. I am stressing more about my x-rays than anything right now. At this point I would be willing to pay for 2 of my patients to have FMX. Well in the end I hope everything works out.

Class 2!

So today I had my second class 2 patient. I am so glad that she ended up being a 2 in all four quads. She was acutally my hardest patient so far. It took my one hour and fifteen minutes to scale all four quads, so I need to work on lowering my time. I am glad that I just got her finished. I also passed of 2 PE's so today was a very productive day. I just hope that I can find 2 more quads to meet my requirements. I am acutally more nervous that I wont meet my x-ray reqiurements I have only taken 1 PA, so hopefully some of my patients coming in will need FMX. I really need to practice not activating with my fingers but with my wrist. My fingers got kind of cramped today so I noticed that I needed to use my wrist more. Overall a pretty good day!

3/3/08

So today was a pretty good day in clinic. I could not find a patient for today so I had my back up who is my husband come in so I could fininsh him. He could not get here till 9 though cause he had a class. I worked on my caries analysis on my patient while I waited, so that was good to pass the time. I was able to scale all 4 quads in 30 min so I am getting faster. I also passed off my intra-oral camera PE since I had a little bit of time to kill at the end of the appt. I am now almost done with my 1B requirements, I only have 2 quads left. I just hope my patients coming in are something other than a class 1B, cause I need the other requirements.

Spanish Speaking Pt.

Today I had a Spanish speaking patient for the first time. It was a good experience, and was not as difficult as i thought it would be. She was a class 1B and did not have very much calculus. I used her as my last 1B exam patient, so I am glad to be almost finished with all my exams. She had some mandibular tori that is the first time I have ever seen tori so that was pretty exciting. I was able to scale all 4 quads in about 25 minutes so I am glad that I am starting to get faster. Today was a good day in clinic overall.

Finally A Class 2!

So I am pretty excited today because I saw a patient that is not a class 1B. She was a class 2 and I am so excited. I took 4 verticle bwx on here and realized never to take digital verticle bwx. They are so hard, and do not get everything you need on them. That was a good learning lesson. I was able to scale one quad and only had 1 missed area. I was pretty excited. Today made me feel less stressed about getting my requirements done, although I still need some other classes. Today went really well, and I feel like my scaling skills are getting better every clinic session.

2/11/08

Today in clinic my goal was to complete my patient. I am happy that I met my goal, and was able to get done with a 1B in one appointment. I also used this patient as an exam patinet today. I am just trying to get done with all my exams and PE's as soon as I can so at the end of the semester I wont be so stressed. I was glad that I did not have any missed spots during my scale check. The past few times, I have been missing spots on the lower anterior linguals. I feel like I am becoming more confident and I acutally know what calculus feels and looks like. This has been something really helpful to understand. But today was probably one of the best clinic days I have had in a long time.

Clinic 2/6/08

So yesterday when I called to confirm my patient she cancelled. That is both times this week that I have had pts cancel. However, I was able to get my mom to come in again. She was my first pt and I needed to finish her lower quads. So the whole day didn't go to waste thankfully. I was also able to pass off my ultrasonic and anterior scaling PE's. It makes me feel better when I get things done. Hopefully I have some class 2 and 3's coming up I have not seen one yet. But I guess everything will work out in the end (hopefully). But today was a pretty good day considering the circumstances.

Pt Canceled

So I am so furious! My patient cancelled at the last minute this morning. He spoke spanish, so I had somebody call and confirm him yesterday evening. He said that he would be here, but then called this morning and said that he had cold sores. I wish he would have mentioned that last night. So anyways my husband is coming up at nine so hopefully I can get some stuff done on him.

Class 1A

Today I saw my second class 1A. I set the goal before I came to clinic today that I would finish him and try not to have any missed scaling spots. Well I ended up having 2 spots on the lower ant. lingual that I missed. I always miss spots on the linguals! Other than that the appointment went very well. I need to get some class 2 because all I have seen are 1B and 1A's. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will get some. On Monday I have a Spanish speaking patient coming in which makes me nervous. I hope it goes well and the language barrier does not cause too many problems. But today was an overall good day in clinic. I am beginning to become more and more comfortable and more confident in my abilities.

Clinic

Today in clinic was pretty frustrating. I had my pt scheduled and she did show up, but then told me she had to leave at 9:00. I got most of the OD done, but still need to have it checked in more depth when she comes back. I am glad that she came today though because she might possibly have a few quads that are class 2. This made me happy because I have only seen 1B's so far. I got my sharpening PE passed off, so I guess I did get something done. My goal when this patient comes back is to get her all finished.

CA for the Day!

On Wednesday it was my turn to be the CA. It went really well, and was actually a very stress free day. Mindy and I went around with Tori and she showed us everything we needed to do. We stocked all the cupboards and pods in the clinic, checked in and out patients, and we also made these kits that are going to be used to do sealants for children. It was a really good day and went really well.

Class IA

Goal: finish all 4 quads of patient, have no retakes on X-rays.
Well I am excited to say that I met my goal! I got my patient finished in one appointment and decided to have him be my 1A exam. I also did better taking x-rays today and did not have any retakes which makes me happy. I decided that I like the digital better than the conventional mainly because it saves quite a bit of time. Developing takes way too long, especially if retakes need to be done. I realized that I really like using my 135 for posterior scaling, it seems to do a good job and seems to get more interproximal as compared to some of the other instruments. My only trouble today was indirect vision. It is so hard and still feels really akward for me, especially the lower and upper anterior lingual. Hopefully one day it will just click. I was also able to complete 7 sealants today. I never thought that I would have to do that many at the same time but it went good overall, and I remembered how to do them. Overall I felt more confident today and feel like I am getting the hang of things more and more every day.

Back to School!

So today was the first day back from christmas break. It was a pretty good day we learned about area specific curettes, external fulcruming and practiced ultrasonic. Wednesday we see a pt which makes me excited. I am just nervous about finding my patients for the semester. I have most of my patients for Jan. but need to start booking some in Feb.