I didn't say it was easy

Ok, so comparatively speaking this was a rather easy semester. We rarely had class and the most exciting part of this semester was giving each other injections. Happily things went really well and I met all of my requirements and I wasn't scrambling at the last second to finish my quads. So, three semesters down and 1 to go! I can hardly believe it! I just want to focus on really understanding what I am doing and what I will be doing for the rest of my career so I can be great in this field. I definitely don't feel ready to graduate at this moment, but hopefully I will be ready for it by the end of next semester.

Looking Back

Well, as I look back over the last semester I realize that the beginning was a lot smoother than the end. The last two weeks of clinic I was really scrambling to fill my schedule cause people just kept canceling or not showing up. I tried to call my mom for the last day of clinic and she absolutely would not come. I begged her to come and let me practice injections on her and she wouldn't even do that! Can you believe it! But thankfully things went rather well and I did finish all of my requirements. All in all things turned out very well.

One week to go!

So today was pretty uneventful, Raphael cancelled again so I had a child this morning and a tissue check on Manny. I was very pleasantly surprised because we placed Arestin in his 10mm pocket and today when I probed it had improved to a 6mm pocket. It was really neat that he ended up healing that well, I was very pleased with the result. This afternoon I finished Rosemary and she was tough. I had a hard time with her! She had the biggest chunks of calculus I have ever seen! It was fun to get them off. Anyway I am excited that we only have one more clinic session left before the end of the semester.

I'm having a little trouble

Ok, so I scheduled my patients for today Amal in the morning and Adam in the afternoon. However, I saw Raphael, and he only needs one quad scaled and he is done and he could only come this morning - so I cancelled Amal. This afternoon I had scheduled Adam and Bryan needed to get in - so... I cancelled Adam. Well, when I called to confirm Raphael- he said he couldn't come today and I couldn't get a hold of Amal so I had no one this morning. Luckily Jim needed a caries risk assessment so I got something done. However, after jim left I got a call from Mrs. Campbell saying that Bryan had called to cancel. :( Not good, he promised me he would be here so I was basically screwed out of a day. As I was searching for a patient however, a miracle happened. I got a call from one of my flyers from a patient who wanted to get in right away. SO... I got one quad of a class 1B scaled and that was it. I did my best and said my prayers and payed my tithing and things worked out.

mock board

Well, this was an experience. I had so many mixed feelings coming in today that it is hard to even describe what I was feeling. I was nervous about getting x-rays done cuz I had to take 9 PA's before I even got started. So I barely finished those and then I had to rush checking my patient in, which I was 3 minutes late, luckily no more! After that I was concerned that he might not qualify in the single quad and that I would have to do more teeth, luckily he qualified and things went well there. So I got out my heavy duty ultrasonic and started blasting the heck out of this guys calculus because it is some of the most tenacious stuff I have ever encountered. It was amazing, I just saw chunks of it flying off. So then I went back in with my graceys and fine tuned. I thought that I could feel this massive chunk between 30 and 31 so I was just going to town there. Finally I pulled out my probe to check probe depths and I felt a few more clicks so I went back in for those and then I felt confident enough to send him for the final check. Luckily I passed, I only missed one spot so I felt pretty good about what I had done. I didn't know what to do with all the paperwork however, so I'll have to fine tune the little things and get more signatures, but it sure was a confidence booster to pass the first mock board. I just need to focus on honing my skills.

Down to the wire!

Ack! It is getting close to mock board! I had been calling my patient nonstop for a week, with no success, and so have been a little stressed. But a miracle happened yesterday. A patient of mine that qualified as a mock board, couldn't come on the day of mock boards so I had him scheduled to clean this morning. Well, yesterday when I called to confirm him, he said that he thought we had scheduled him for a mock board and he could come on that day! What a miracle! I had been racking my brain about who to get for mock board, and here was my answer! So today I cleaned a woman who was a 1B and my grandma who was a class V. It was a great day!

labs are good, labs are great

I liked labs when I was 8 (Labradors that is!) Today was a fun experience, very calm and unstressful! We learned about right and left ultrasonics, sonic scalers, glucose testing, caries rick assessment and placing medicaments. I liked using the hot dogs to place the medicaments! It was a fun object for our lesson. In the afternoon I actually got to place a medicament on my patient with a 10 mm facial pocket. It was great! Today was an all around great day.

OD

Today was interesting. My first patient informed me at 8:15 that she needed to leave by 9:00 am, so I rushed through x-rays and did the best I could with the time I had. I think she may even qualify for a class 3 patient. Well Shandee and I then got to hang out and set up for the afternoon, which was a fun experience. We had 14 sealants that we shared on a great little girl. After that I saw my grandma for an OD check and I will scale her later in the semester. So it wasn't really a wasted day, but I really wanted to get some scaling done. Hopefully next week will be more productive.

Tenacious!

Hola! I am feeling um kindof different. I am having a really tough time getting tenacious calculus off of teeth. So today I had another really difficult patient in that the calculus just wasn't ready to let go of its ties to the tooth. I thought it would be, but it wasn't. So, my forearms now hurt from all the force I exerted, but the calculus finally succumbed to my way of thinking and left it's warm home for the wide open expanse of the garbage dump. Anyway, I just need to be a lot more thorough before I ask for my scale check. Other than that, my day was pretty good. I shared a class 5 with Tiffany and that was good gravy. I just want to be efficient, I want to be good, even though I know this is the time for me to learn, I WANT TO BE PERFECT NOW!!!!

blah, blah, blahhger

i enjoy getting my requirements! I am really excited and happy about the fact that I am already finished with my class 2 patients, thanks to today, and that I am almost finished with my class 5 and 1B. It makes such a big difference when your patients actually show up for their appointments! (knock on wood!) But I am really blessed this semester and I am very happy about that. It definitely cuts down on stress!

cold sores again!

Well another great day in clinic. My first patient had a cold sore right in the corner of his mouth, so I had to reschedule! oops! Luckily Shandee had overbooked her patients and she gave me a little 11 year old girl to clean. Thanks Shand! Everything went really well so I was pretty set for the afternoon. My patient in the afternoon was great, she was a talker however, so I was barely able to finish her before clinic got over. I was feeling pretty rushed, but things went okay. Hopefully next week runs smoothly!

Blah, blah, blahgger

Today went pretty well. I had an older grandma as my patient, and she was cute and very easy to work with. She had no problem laying back and opening wide. The only drawback was the physician consult, but it didn't turn out to be terrible. Later I had another great lady for a patient. The only problem I came across was the fact that concavities on the straight facial aspect of molar teeth are classified as furcations, something I didn't know. But I am a student so I can learn. I feel a lot better about clinic this year, and I am glad for all of the helpful tips that the instructors give this year. I feel like the help is available and much more willing to teach. I am by no means a great hygienist yet, but I feel that 2nd year instructors will help me reach that goal.

take 2

Well we are back to seeing patients again. Hopefully I will have more confidence with my paperwork so I can just focus on gaining and perfecting some skills. My first patient was a class 2, and she wasn't too hard, she didn't have much calculus so things went well. My second patient was class 1B, and he went really quickly as well. So far so good. I hope things continue to go well!

We're back

Well summer has officially come to an end cause here we are back to school! I am excited to be a senior this year, finally! One more year of headache and not seeing my husband and it's over! It's only ythe first week and I already can't wait for it to be over!

Last Day!

Almost! I just want to cry after today. It is the last day of clinic and I saw my class 3 pt, and I missed pretty much every piece of calculus in his mouth! I feel like I haven't learned anything if I can't even get al the calculus off in 2 quads in 2 hours! Yuck! I just want to crawl up in a cave an die!

Over kill

I got another pt with 2 quads of a class 2 and I am pretty excited that I will have extra requirements filled. I hope that things go well the rest of the week!

Class 3

Yeah! I have finally found all my required patients and I am so relieved. All the prayers and tithing have really blessed me to find this final patient. And thanks to Loni, yesterday I finished my requirements for pano's and I only have one last requirement for x-rays hopefully I will get them on Monday. Do you believe that things really do work out! I can hardly believe it. I'll be saying some pretty hefty prayers of thanks tonight!

Class 2 take two

Yeah! I am finished with my class 3 pt's! Hallelujah! I am breezing through my patients, I hope wednesday is a class 3. I guess we'll see!

class 2

Thanks Shandee for giving me a class 3! That was fantasticlly kind of you. I am one step closer to being completed with my requirements for clinic! Yeah! Things went fabulously today!

Today I finished another class 5 pt. Things went really well, I was a little nervous as I was scaling because she has some sever recession and I didn't want to ZING her with my scalers or anything. So I tried to be as careful as I could be. I didn't miss any calculus again! YEAH!

I finished another class 5 today. My pt was the wife of my monday pt and she was so great. Things went well, I didn't miss any calculus again so Kudos to me! I was pretty excited about that!

Well, I had a cancellation late Friday, so I had to get another patient in. I scheduled my patient late saturday, and I didn't call or send an e-mail to Gail, so she gave my patient away on Monday morning. I was fuming! I just cannot handle not having patients, because I need them so badly due to how many I have had that didn't show. Well, things worked out, Val was really kind and gave my pt back to me and she got someone else in. Sometimes I just hate the way things work here.

Today was great! I finished my 1B patient, and to top it off, I didn't miss any calculus! How exciting! It was a great day. We had a good time in our pod with all of the Christensen family. I think everyone had a good experience, and we all completed what we needed to!

I've graduated!

Well it seems that I have graduated from patients not showing up, to cancelling at the last minute. Actually cancelling 30 minutes into their appointment is killing me. I just want to scream and kill someone. But being the good member of society that I am, I think I will try to refrain from killing someone, I don't want to be put in jail when I am this close to getting out!

I think things will be getting better soon!

So I finished scaling on my husband today, and was a bit slow, but I am getting better. I really used my explorer to feel for irregularities and find areas that need work. I need more practice but I am getting the hang of it. I also did a quick probing job on a new patient that is a class 5, she will be fun to finish, she had a great attitude and was very nice. So, I am feeling a little more confident this week, but not completely ready to go out there and scale to my hearts content!

New Patient

I had a new patient today, she hasn't seen the dentist in a long time! But she is only a class 1B, so hopefully I can get her done in one more appointment. She couldn't stay all day today, so I only got through OD. We will get her done soon though and on her way!

Finishing 1B's

Ok, so I have been really negative, but I need to say that I WILL FINISH MY REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS SEMESTER. I will! I have to start thinking positively. It is possible to finish. I am a great student and I can finish! I will finish Danielle in one week, and I will get an entire full mouth on my mother, and I will complete my reqirements! I will! I think I can, I think I can I think I can.

Class 2

So I sort of finished my Class 2 today. I am really slow! And I really didn't do very well. I missed 10 spots with calculus! Ouch! And Instructor Carter had to finish him off because I was so late. I don't know if I'll ever be any good at this! It was fun to use the ultrasonic scaler and really see the calculus fly! I loved that part. I really need to be faster, but I also need to be more thorough. I just wish I was up to par right now!

1B or not 1B, that is the question

Well I finished off another patient today, she was supposed to be a 1B, but she had a ton of calculus, and I had the hardest time getting it off. Thanks to Jeff I had a pretty good experience. I really appreciated him sitting down with me and working me through the hard stuff. I really learned a lot having him show me exactly what to feel for and how to remove a ring of subgingival calculus. Anyway, I hope I can learn from this experience and actually get some good stuff off next time.

CA

I love being CA, you don't have to worry about your patient not showing up, which I love. Things went great today, I just checked everyone in, and then I helped out in the clinic. These days are always the easiest and the most relaxing. However I will say that it was a little boring today. I miss being with my pod, and I do like to see patients.

So, I got called last night and my patient cancelled, BIG SURPRISE!!, luckily I had a backup, I had a really good looking spanish guy in. He is a class II, so yeah, only 4 more quads to find of a class II and I will be good!

This new blogger is a pain! So I haven't blogged for a long time. I should blog about the 21st. I called and confirmed my patient, and guess what, NO SHOW!!! I am really getting upset about this all! But luckily Stephanie brought her nephew and she let me clean his teeth and I even got a 1A and completed him and an exam. Thanks Julie! So it wasn't a complete loss.

ULTRA SAUNIKKK!

I am so excited that we learned ultrasonic today! Yeah!!!! I love no stress days like today! No patients, no paperwork, and early out! (aka finishing on time!) I love the ultrasonic, I am definately going to use it on most of my patients!

I love being CA!

Today was a fantastic day! I slept well last night, no nightmares! And I didn't have to worry about my patient not showing this morning! I loved it. I loved being CA, I like taking money! I just wish some of it got back to me! The real question though is, do we really use $350 worth of materials? If not, then where does the rest go to? Because the university pays for electricity and we don't rent the clinic, so hmmm, this is a question for my thesis I think!

I finished!

Yeah! I finally finished! I had my brother in and he was a good patient, a 1B with practically no calculus! Things went great. I asked him where I can improve, and basically he just said to go faster. So I will be working on that, I have been for the whole semester, but I will continue to try and get faster.

I feel the same way!

Well I had a 3 year old little girl in today, and she was a cutie. The only thing was, she wouldn't allow me to look in her mouth. With begging from myself as well as her dad, we finally coaxed her to sit on daddy's lap and open her mouth. Little girl had 4 cavities and a few spots of questionable areas. I did get to polish, floss and do fluoride. But when the instructor tried to do a check, she refused to open. Well, that's how it goes sometimes!
I also worked on my grandpa, he came and let me do an intra and extra oral exam, he has candidiasis and a full denture. So I completed my PE for a removable prostesis and also got to see just how old my Grandpa really is!

Getting Behind

Ok, I need to blog about Wednesday. It was a beutiful day, I was feeling quite confident that everything would turn out great. I confirmed my patients appointment the night before and everything was grand. I even set a goal with Tiffany that I would at least complete one quadrant. But around 12:30 things fell apart. My patient was a no show, I waited until 1:00 and finally went a walkin on campus. I approached probably close to 30 people, but no one wanted to be my patient. That sucks! In desperation, I called my husband, bawling I begged him to come in and be my patient. Lo and Behold, he really does love me, he cancelled his lunch appointment and came straightway! What a guy! Thankfully I completed 4 PE's and 4 BWX as well. It turned out to be a good day!

Finally I have finished!

I have finally made it through an appointment! Yeah! So I got here, and my patient didn't show up, luckily someone else was here that didn't have an appointment, so I got a patient luckily! He was a 1A and was a great patient. I even finished a sealant on him! Yeah! He also had some decay, when his mom found out, she started chewing him out poor little guy! Anyway, thinsgs were great!

I like to scale

I just need to learn how to use the ultrasonic scaler and I'll be all set! My patient today was great, I got a pano and 4 bwx on her, I tried to scale her calculus on the lower anteriors lingually, but I tell you what, that stuff didn't want to come off. I am rescheduling her for after I know the ultrasonic so that I can get her in and out of here with minimal tissue damage!
Thanks for the help Amiee!

I guess I should blog about monday

I had nightmares sunday night thinking that my patient wouldn't show up, I just couldn't sleep! Then I came in the morning, and my patient was the first to show up, She was a great patient, she endured all my poking and prodding, she bled at every probe depth, she had decay on all her buccal surfaces and the had moderate periodontal disease! Wow! Class 3 here I come!
So I refered her to Candice! Good luck girl!

One down, a lot more to go!

Well, she's done, it only took six hours, but she is finally done. Thank heavens! Is it possible to really take 6 hours on a 1B patient! I suck! Hopefully one day I will get it right! But today was not that day. However, I did pretty well on my exploring and on my scaling. I just need to complete tx faster, and not second guess myself, that is what the instructors are for!
Another day done!

Well I had my first patient of the semester today, and things went pretty well, I got through health history, x-rays and OD on my grandma, but there is a ton that I didn't get to. It is a little difficult to work on someone with memory problems, she didnt' remember much of what I was telling her, and she would ask me the same questions over and over again, but that is something that I just have to deal with for her. Anyway, I am excited for this semester so I can get faster.

We're Back!!!!

I can't believe we are back! Now that school is back in session, it feels like I never had a break. I really need to practice if I want to keep from getting carpal tunnel!!!
Anyway, I am not really very excited about being back, I am feeling stressed about getting patients and about my schedule.