Last Day!

Well, today was the last day of clinic before christmas break!! what a relief that is. it kind of made my head hurt though, all the stuff that they went over that we didn't know when we had our patient come in. it was good to review it, i just hope that i remember it when january comes around. i left with my head hurting! but angie did a good job at answering all of our questions. i am glad that we had the opportunity. i hope i can relax a bit over christmas break, even though they gave us homework, and I am stressed about getting patients.

First Patient!!

Well today Trent, my fiance, came in to be my first little guniea pig! It was fun, I like treating patients, although I only got the OD and OHI done. Hopefully that just means that next time I will be able to get all the scaling done. I was happy that I didn't have to take any retakes. I felt like it all went pretty smoothly, although I had to ask for help a couple of times just with the paperwork and stuff. All in all it was a great experience, I can't wait to scale, I found some good calculus!! I am excited for the semester to be over, Christmas break will be so much fun!!

Patient Day

This afternoon I was Kimber's patient. She did a good job, I am glad that my teeth feel nice and clean. I realized that it is such a long appointment for our patients, I feel bad for them! They should get pain killers for their jaw! It hurts to stay open that long!! Anyway, it wasn't too bad. She did good.

Mock Patient!

Well, today was pretty stressful for me. I worked on Kimber as my first mock patient. I was stressed about getting everything done, and I was worried about not finishing my paperwork correctly. Of course, I didn't do it correctly, but there were minor errors. I also took too long on her scaling, so I felt bad, but at least I was thorough I guess. Hopefully I will get quicker because I don't want my grades to suffer because I am a slowie! Anyway, it was definitely a good experience. I am glad we got the opportunity to treat each other before we had a real patient.

Emergency Procedures!

Today I thought that clinic was kind of interesting. We learned what to do in emergent situations. It was interesting to find out the protocol in this clinic, I just hope that in a real emergent situation I remember. I am also getting really nervous now, because we have our first patient next week. It is a relief that it is my fiance and he'll be nice, but it is still nerve racking because I don't know how I'll do!! Ahh! Anyway, emergency situations are great to learn about, I just hope they don't occur! I was able to pass off a PE today, sealants! Hooray. I also played an asthmatic today in clinic, I'm sure I'm not a good actress, but it was fun!

Sealants

Today we learned how to do sealants. It was a nice review, because I already know how to do sealants. I did learn something new, and that was not to use pumice to clean the tooth off before you etch, the pumice can get trapped in the grooves. When I worked we used pumice, so I'll have to let my office know. I find it difficult to use the prophy jet to clean the teeth for sealants, especially on children, so I think I will just stick with the hydrogen peroxide. Anyway, I was able to get some reviewing of the computer stuff done today, there are so many places to mess up! I also passed off a PE, next time I want to pass off the sealant PE, and then I've only got one PE left!!! Yay!

Air Powder Polishing

Today we had to dress up in all these protective barriers to learn air powder polishing. As we were getting dressed I thought, this is so annoying, I'm never going to use this, but then we started cleaning the penny, and I was amazed. I thought it was awesome how the stain just came off and you could see it. I worked on Kimber today, and it was a little more challenging to work on a person than a penny. All in all it was a pretty good day! Next time I think I'll try to pass off the PE, we'll see what happens!

Sharpening

Today we learned how to sharpen our instruments. It wasn't difficult necessarily, but I was paranoid about ruining my instruments the whole time. I think it is definitely an acquired skill. The rest of clinic was pretty nice and relaxing, I was able to pass off more pe's, which is always good. I'm glad that I am done with october and all the tests we had! Now only 1 month of the semester left! Woohoo! I am excited!

Fluoride

Today in clinic time seemed to go pretty quick. It was probably because I talked with Skye half the time. We worked on each other. It was a nice practice day. We had a chance to start at the beginning and go all the way until the end. I am starting to get nervous for our first patient. Luckily I am using someone I know. Anyway, I felt like I had a good day, I practiced scaling anteriorly and posteriorly...and I polished and gave fluoride. I learned something new about fluoride, it has to stay on for 4 minutes!! Such a long time! We were doing it wrong in my office, we only did it for 1 minute. So it was good to learn.

Selective Polishing

Today in clinic we learned selective polishing. I already knew how to do it from working, so it wasn't too bad. We had the opportunity to go through the whole process and do everything today. I was able to pass off a PE, so that was nice. I wanted to be able to pass off one more, but was not able to. I also hope that I don't have any bad habits with my polishing because I have already been doing it for so long. I hope that people will tell me if I am not doing it right. Wow it's crazy to think that I'm almost finished with my first semester of hygiene school! I never thought I would get here!

Halloween!

Well today I was a party pooper. It was the Halloween Party and I didn't go, and I didn't dress up for class either. I woke up this morning very sick to my stomach, so I'm lucky that I even made it here for class. Hallelujah I didn't have radiology this morning! Anyway, I was able to pass of 2 more PE's today, and I plan on passing off two more next time. I was informed today in clinic that you can only pass off a maximum of 2 PE's per day...news to me! Anyway, I look forward to next time, it is polishing, which should not be too hard at all. I tried universal scaling today on Kimber and I felt like I forgot everything! Instructor Skeen walked me through and told me what I was doing wrong, so hopefully next time I can practice and I'll remember! Anyway, the thing that we learned in class today was patient classifications. I'm glad we learned that because now we'll know what the seniors are talking about!

Universal Scaling

today we practiced and learned universal scaling. I felt like I hadn't learned anything else! I felt like I forgot how to fulcrum, chair positions, everything! Kind of frustrating. I was able to pass my previously failed PE, I just hope I don't fail anymore this semester because I won't get an A if I do. Things went well today, I just feel like I need a ton of practice! I mean a ton!! My goal next time is to pass off the next 3 PE's. I also need to practice and practice some more, I hope that we have time to just work on what we did today next week!

Fail!

Today was the worst day yet in clinic, I failed the dental screening PE that was due today, I made a dumb mistake, but it was dumb enough to make me fail. I just felt dumb for not noticing that I was doing it wrong. I only lose 10 points, but still PE's are stressful enough, I hate that I have to redo it. Next time hopefully I will have time to redo it, although we are learning universal scaling so that might take all the time. I was able to pass off the instrument identification PE though. My goal is to pass of the next 2 PEs next time, and maybe hopefully redo my dental screening one, since you're not allowed to redo it the same day. I just re-read my blog and it sounds worse than it is...but I am quite a whiner, so just disregard!

Holy Moly!

Well today in clinic we pretended that we had a real patient and we went through all the steps that we would with a new patient. Holy crap! There is a ton of stuff to remember! I felt like I moved through it all pretty smoothly, but I needed reminders. I also was able to get a lot of practice and one-on-one with our TA Emily. She was helpful with my scaling technique...if such a thing exists...I don't have a technique, but I know there is one. She was pretty helpful, I like having someone over my shoulder critiqueing me, it is helpful. I am glad that we get individual time with the TA's too. I think that next time my goal will be to get better at indirect vision scaling the anteriors. I was able to practice that a lot more today than I did last time, but I still need much more practice. I hope I didn't injur my patient too much!

Slippery when wet!

Today in clinic I had a lot of fun. We scaled anterior teeth. I was lucky enough to have a partner that had calculus, so I cleaned it off! Kimber was nice, she said I didn't hurt her. It was kind of challenging today because on the typodont I felt like I was getting the hang of it, but then I started working on Kimber and I realized my fulcrum wasn't stable enough and I kept slipping! I was able to pass off two PE's today, and I am glad about that...PE's are not too difficult, they're just like a dark cloud looming over my head. I completely forgot what I was doing when I passed off my explorer PE, so I wouldn't be surprised if I have to redo that one. Anyway...I can't wait to practice scaling some more.

Clinic 10/11

Well today we went over instruments and we did more OHI. It was good to go over instruments, but it is a little confusing! I wish all of them were color coded. I worked with Kimber and we just went over OHI again, I also had a little bit of time to practice exploring. I feel like I suck! I haven't done it forever. I really am going to practice over the weekend. I hope that we have some time to practice on Monday too, because the PE is due, and I'm so not ready!!! AHH! Anyway, not much exciting happened today, although it was really fun to get to know our TA!

Disclosing!

Well luckily I brushed my teeth before I came to clinic today, so my PFI wasn't high! But, I feel bad that my partner Sarah didn't have much to look at. No nastiness for me! Today in clinic was fun. I was able to get to know a peer better, I like switching pods sometimes. I was also successful in passing off 2 PE's, with a goal to pass off 2 more on Wednesday. All in all it was a good day, I was able to practice probing, and I feel good about it.

Clinic 10/04

Well today in clinic I just felt lost, not because I couldn't find restoration and stuff, but because I felt like I didn't know how to explore, almost like I just forgot everything we learned. My latest and greatest goal is to take more time in clinic to understand and learn the concepts at hand, meybe then I won't forget. My partner today was Brittany. She was good, and it was fun to change pods too. She did a great job on me, she found everything that she was supposed to and she didn't hurt me at all! I am so happy for her! I just felt frazzled a little bit today, I'm not sure why. I just need to calm down and learn! I am dreading after class today, a couple of us are staying after to work on the case study. I don't want to be doing it forever! And sometimes they are really confusing! We'll see how it goes.

Probing!

Today was actually really fun. I didn't make progress as far as passing off PE's, but I had fun probing Ashley's mouth. We charted and probed. I learned how important ergonomics are today, just after probing one person my back and neck were killing me. I couldn't imagine doing it all day! I will work on that next time for sure. I also want to actually pass off some PE's next time, the instrument grasp and the intraoral exam PE preferrably. Anyway, today wasn't too bad, time seemed to go pretty quickly and Kim is a fun pod instructor, so it was good!

Ouchies!

it Well, today we learned probing, and I sure hope that we get more practice. I felt like I grasped the concept really well, and when I was practicing on my partner Skye, it seemed like I was getting it. I felt like I didn't take as long as I maybe should have, but at the same time I felt like I took long enough....I know I'm confusing myself! Anyway, probing seems much easier than exploring to me because there is no rolling of the instrument or anything. I feel like I am always hurting my patient though. Our TA today in pod said that with healthy tissue it shouldn't hurt your patient, but I think I hurt Skye a few times....obviously my error! I am excited that we are getting into the real hygienist stuff now, although it is challenging and I don't feel like I am great at it. I think practice will be very good for me. One thing I noticed(brought to my attention by Jen! thanks!) today was my posture, to read the probe I kept slouching my back, and I was having a harder time today getting in the correct chair positions for probing too. I don't know what the deal was! I really need to be aware of that. My goal for next time is to get better at that, so I think I'm going to review my chair positions, I also want to get a really good practice in with the explorer and the probe. I was reading Dena's blog and she taped her pinky finger to her ring finger during exploring, I really think that would help me because I have a hard time relaxing my pinky. I am going to pass off my intraoral PE next time too! Yay!

Mondays are getting rough!

Well, I don't know if I was the only one, but today was like the longest Monday ever! It makes it even harder too because I have clinic and radiology on Mondays. Anyway, enough whining. I don't want to be the class whiner. I had a pretty good day in clinic today. We mostly worked on passing off PE's and we had a continuation of last weeks exploring and rolling stuff. I still don't feel like I am great at it, but I did work on my walking stroke a bit more this time. I hope that I can get a little better each day. Next time I want to pass off my intra oral exam pe. Wish me luck!

Adaptation!

Well today time flew in clinic! It was kind of scary, but really fun today. We practiced on dexter for a little while, and then we moved to adapting the explorer on each other! I felt so bad hurting my partner because I wasn't great at adapting. It was fun to switch pods for partners today, my partner was sheri. She did great, I didn't! I also finally passed off my vital signs PE. My next challenge and goal for next week is to pass of at least 2 or 3 PE's. I want to focus practicing on fulcrums and adaptation. Today was fun though, I love having the TA's help us, they have great advice. The program is going pretty good so far, I am a little worried now that I got engaged, because I don't want to lose study time to plan a wedding, but I don't want a crappy wedding! We'll see what happens. Thanks!

Confusion!

Well today in clinic we learned intra oral exams. They aren't too bad. I just have a hard time because I feel like I always forget something. We had the chance to start a "patient" and go over the hhx all the way through the intra oral exam. It was so confusing, doing the paperwork, we found out that for the last few weeks we've been doing things wrong, which was frustrating. But eventually I'll get it. I'm just glad that it's not wrong on a real patient, it was just on skye. Today is my long day, so this morning I had radiology. It was a rough morning, I could not stop overlapping my premolar bitewings! I finally got it though, and was able to pass of the PE. Today in clinic I'm going to try to pass of the vital signs, we'll see how that goes. I better get to it!

Fun stuff!

Today in clinic I had a little bit of fun. With my pod we went over blood pressure, fulcruming, and our lovely TA Jen, tought us the explorer movements. That was the part that was really fun. It was kind of challenging to get the proper positioning for fulcrum, I definitely need some practice. With Jen helping me I really felt like I understood more, I just need to be able to do it on my own. It feels like I'm getting closer to the good stuff in hygiene, because thus far it has just been setting up the room and stuff. I didn't get any PE's passed off today, so my goal for monday is to pass off at least one, the vital signs one. I am going to have to practice over the weekend. My partner was Skye today, I liked working with her because she had ideas and helped me a lot. It was fun! I'm excited for next week. Oh, yah today a lady that sells loupes came. I don't know if I should get loupes or not, some people are getting them. I know they would help, but I don't know if I would use them enough. I'm not going to get them right now, my bank account took enough of a hit starting the semester, so it needs a break!

Clinic 9/11

Well today was a pretty good day in clinic. I feel like I accomplished quite a bit. My goal for today was to pass off the next 3 PE's on setting up and closing down the treatment room, as well as chair positioning. It is going to take me a lot of practice to get the chair positioning down. I was able to pass of my PE today, however. My partner today was Kimber. We also worked on blood pressure and vitals with our pod. The best part of the vitals was respirations, I feel so weird watching someone's chest while they breathe. I definitely feel like I need more practice with taking blood pressure, for today I got down what I am supposed to be doing and what I am listening for. I think my goal for next time will be to practice blood pressures and get better with my accuracy. I also wanted to review my chair positions over the next week so that they are really firmly established in my little head! Hopefully they'll fit! Well, my long day is over!

What a day!

Well, I guess I am officially initiated into being an Ogden resident. Today was a crazy day, I am so tired. I was up all night cleaning because my apartment flooded, and to top it off I have a sinus infection. So needless to say, today in clinic I was only half there. I passed off two PE's today, and we went over medical histories. I am so glad that there were TA's to help us create each others' medical histories, it answered a lot of my questions about the case study we are doing. The only problem is I have to go back and re-do it. I found out that the PE's aren't as stressful as they seem. I was under the impression that they would be really difficult and strict to pass off, but it totally isn't that way. Anyway, I'm ready to go home and take a nap!

Clinic 8/30

today we went through a couple of the PE's. We got to get in the chairs, but all we did was look with a mirror. I just hope that I can get rid of some of my habits from dental assisting( mask below chin!) Anyway, I'm excited to learn new things! I think I'm pretty organized now, but it was a little hectic for the last few days. It has been crazy between moving from Salt Lake up to Ogden, quitting my job, and starting the program. It costs so much money!!! I need to find a job now, wish me luck!

My First Day!

Well today was the first day of school. I think I might go nuts! It was a long day of radiology and clinic. I think that my goal for the day was to make it through, and remember all the homework I have to do. I know I got everything done, with the help of my planner, the modules and readings thus far are complete. Hopefully that means that tomorrow when I show up I won't look dumbfounded when the professors talk about something. Well, c-ya later!

Orientation

Well what a day. I had orientation today, I wonder if I might make it through this stuff! Hopefully I'll catch on. I can't wait to meet all the girls!