The REAL world!

Boards came and went and School is OVER for FOREVER!!!!! Thank heavens! Everything went well. My patient qualified and my results came back 100%!!! Luck...YES!!!

To my classmates and teachers: I miss you all! PLEASE keep in touch with me!

Now, into the real world I go....much different from school. I have 2 jobs and am loving it!

Last Clinic Day!

I can't believe its actually over. I honestly never thought this day would come......and it still doesn't feel right.

This morning I saw my board patient. I cleaned one quad. It was a lot more tenacious than I was hoping for. He also had a really hard time getting numb, which makes me nervous. I've decided to clean the quad with the lesser clicks for boards and I think I will be just fine. I think if I chose the heavier side I would be burying a hole for myself that I wouldn't be able to get out of. I'm pretty confident he will work out great though. He seems to be very reliable (knock on wood) and hasn't ever had a cold sore. I get butterflies in my stomoch just talking about all this! I just hope that everything goes perfect for all of us and we don't have any more patients getting surgeries or anything like that!

This afternoon I saw my backup board patient that Chelsea Bomb and I are sharing. I'm not 100% confident with her. I think she will be there, but her calculus is just lighter that I would like. She's kind of just a LAST resort. Chelsea Bomb and Chelsea Buckwalter and I are doing screenings on monday to hopefully find some more back up patients. I just hate forking out all this money. It is sooo Not good on my pocket book right now....but you do what you gotta do!

I have very mixed feelings about today. I am so excited to never do another PE or have to meet another requirement or have another OD check, but at the same time I do think I will miss this part of my life. It's definitely something that I don't ever want to go back to, but I've enjoyed it (most of the time) while its lasted. I've hated the stress I've experienced, but hopefully I'll be a better person because of it. Hopefully I will be a more pleasant person to be around with less stress in my life after boards are over and I get the results that I passed!!!! (I'm going to have a nervous break down if I even consider what they might say if I don't pass!)

Its weird for me to think that I'm done with school. It's all I've ever known. I really would like to go back someday to get my master's and teach, but I can't tell the future unfortunately, so who knows if that will ever happen. Well, I guess this is sorta good bye, but not really. I'll have to write another post when all of this actually sinks in and hits me!

LA Mockboard

Well today brought be absolutely NO comfort!!! I failed both my injections and I'm really discouraged. I just get nervous and forget to think about what i'm doing....kind of a BIG deal in this situation! I just need to remember to take my time and examine everything...mainly my position before I say anything!


I did pass the written, but I think today's written is a LOT easier than the real thing, which doesn't bring me any comfort at all! I know I still have a lot of studying to do.


This morning after failing the injections I went over everything with a cotton tip applicator in Chelsea's mouth. I also attempted the injections on Jessica this afternoon. I feel more comfortable with them but I feel like I need to do it 1,000 more times before boards to get it right. I WANT to be able to PASS so bad!!! I hate feeling like this. I just hope that I can pull it all together by the time boards rolls around!

I can't wipe the smile off my face!!!

Today was a great day!!! I got 2 quads of a class 4 this morning to finish off my requirements. I also did 2 pe's....so now I just have the sterilization pe that we just got in our box today (at least it is an easy one!) I missed 4 spots this morning, but I was okay with it because I knew they were there. She was just tired and ready to be done so I had to stop. I did learn though to just numb up the stupid anteriors and don't try to get by without it. It will be much better for you and the patient. By the way...I do NOT like the curved ultrasonic tips. Maybe i'm just not giving them enough of a chance, but I really don't like them. You are free to have your opinion and I am free to do the same!
This afternoon went well. I officially am confident with my board patient!!! Hollie gave him to me but today was the first day I actually saw him for myself. He is perfect. He has a great attitude and is so patient. I took x-rays of his right side today. I had to have perry help me get supplementals to get the distal root of his third molars. I got through the OD and double checked my recession, probe depths, calculus clicks and occlusion and then checked it again. I'm kind of in a dilemma because I don't know which quad to submit. I'm saving his whole mandible for boards. His left side has like 18 clicks in it so I know it will qualify, I'm just worried it will be overkill. His right side has 13 clicks. So basically i have 3 options. I can be safe and submit the left side, but worry it will be too hard. I can submit the right side and worry about not having enough. OR I can submit the left side with an extra tooth or two. Does anybody have any suggestions? If I do the 3rd option it will be about as much calculus as just submitting the left side alone. Whatever I decide to do I really don't want to have to lose 4 points for going to my alternate submission...if I can help it of course! Let me know what you think. I'm going to have him back the last day of clinic to clean the upper quad so that may give me a little better idea. I'm feeling more confident about things.
I'm now going to announce my stress for next week: LA mockboards. I was shocked to find out we have a written test!!! I had no idea. I have so much studying to do! I guess I will think of that later and relish in the moment that I finally had a good day in clinic!

Final Mockboard!

This morning finally rolled around after a night of restless sleep. I was ready for my final mockboard. I had read over the candidate guide. I had all my paperwork filled out. I was ready to go. My patient showed up right at 8:00 and I walked out to the lobby to get him. The second I glanced at him I saw it.....I wanted to deny it, but then I looked again and it was still there. I wanted to curse the lesion that existed on my patient's lip.....you guessed it...a stinkin' cold sore. I immediately called Kami over and she confirmed the bad news. I had to have my few moments of break down from the frustration and dissapointment. My whole morning had just gone to pot!
I had to have Mr. Solomon explain to my patient why we couldn't see him and he was upset and disappointed (however, not as much as me!) Camille was my guardian angel today and she pulled out a name she had. Mr. Solomon called him and he said he could be there in 30 minutes. I didn't know anything about him and he was a new patient, but I decided to give it a shot anyways.
He showed up at 8:45. Kami took a look and we decided that he qualified! (praise the heavens above!!!) By 9:00 I was checked in (with no x-rays of course!), had given LA and working away.
At 10:30 I walked my patient to be checked out. I definitely felt rushed. I had no idea what the results were going to be because I didn't even have time to go back over and double check myself to make sure I hadn't missed any spots.
I was shocked when Perry told me I didn't miss any spots! I just stood there in disbelief!!! I did miss some points on my recession and occlusion, but I feel okay about that because I felt so rushed.
I'm so grateful for everyone who helped me out today and who helped me through the rough times. I'm sorry to all who had to see my tears! I just love our class and instructors and appreciate everyone's support! You guys are the best!

In this world everyone cannot be pleased

Today sucked. Just wanted to get that out of my system!

I saw my grandma this morning. She is just the cutest thing ever and I love her to death. However, I felt like I was under a lot of pressure because she wanted me to get both her and my grandpa done this morning. I told her it may not be possible, but we would try. We had a few things that slowed us down and I was still just trying to hurry because I didn't want to let her down. Unfortunately I did a horrible job cleaning her mandibular anteriors. (you honestly would have thought that I started going to school yesterday). I was really discouraged. I'm supposed to be graduating in just over a month and lookie here I clean like a dental assistant breaking the law. Whatever. I'm going to try and just say that I'm still under the "board Hangover", chalk that up as my excuse and move on with life. I got xrays taken on my grandpa but he has to come back.

Moral of the story: You just can't please your grandma and grandpa, your instructor, and definitely NOT yourself in this situation.

This afternoon my patient no showed on me. I spent the ENTIRE afternoon calling patients to get them scheduled for a screening. People have no clue how desperate I am. I screened a patient waiting for midtown but he didn't have near the build up I was looking for. I can only hope that someday my efforts will pay off...and that day better be soon.

I'm ready to be done with all these unreliable people. Unfortunately I can't get my license without relying on them so let's just hope for the best over the next month and a half.

I NEED that golden patient!

Today went well. I had 2 new patients, so I wasnt quite sure what to expect. This morning my 15 year old girl had quite a lot of calculus. I had to numb her up so I only got her left side done. However, I was able to do a screening on her dad (who had never been to the dentist). We took 4 BWX and he has MOUNTAINS of calculus on his posteriors, but unfortunately he isn't ideal for boards. He has some teeth that need to be restored and we are worried that his calculus is going to be extremelely hard to get off, especially because his daughter's was pretty hard to get off. so, he may qualify for mockboards, but he still wasn't my golden patient....yes I'm still waiting for that special someone to come strolling in. It was kind of a crazy morning but thanks to Kami, Katie and Jackie for helping me out!!!

Lis took a pano on my patient and we found an impacted canine! I'm glad I was able to recommend that to them so we could figure out it was up there!

This afternoon ended up being a class 5. she was really motivated about the homecare suggestions I made....I like it when it seems like they are actually intending to do what you tell them to do. I'm trying to get screenings scheduled, but it just doesn't seem like I've even got any great prospects. It's discouraging and stressful, but until next tues I'm just focusing on boards!!!!! I can't wait for them to be over with!!!

After that however, I'm on a search for my golden patient and I'm open for referrals!!!

Simulation Day

Its days like this that make me worried about holding up in a regular office. I can do it fine as an assistant on Wednesdays and Saturdays...but there is just something about hygiene that wears me out! It is a lot more physically demanding it seems. Hopefully that is something I will get used to!
In the morning I saw two 1A's. I had a screening scheduled, but he cancelled on me 45 minutes before he was supposed to come. My first patient was about 10 minutes late and then the computer for the scan-x took like 15 minutes to get going, which put me a little bit behind! My second patient was an absolute doll. It all worked out with my cancellation because I was able to do sealants on her.
This afternoon I saw my husband, which is fun and not fun. I absolutely love him to death, but I think family members definitely can complain alot more than a regular patient. Thanks to Jake for being such a good sport and nothing against him with what I'm about to say....I want to know if I can fix something or do something better...but don't try to blame me when it's hurting just because you don't floss at home! It certainly isn't that tender when I get it done to me! haha if only everyone was as obsessed with oral hygiene as I am! It does make me realize why people hate coming to the dentist though....their gums feel just fine until we go probin' around in there! Maybe some day in a perfect world people will take responsibility for their actions, or lack thereof.
After this I had my last mockboard patient come in to finish her last quad. By this time I was so worn out...it definitely wasn't my best performance!!! I took 3 sets of scan-x BWX today and I love them! They seem to be so much easier for the patient. Now I just have to do some PA's with them and see how that goes.
I'm just glad today is over and I want to thank Denae, Lindy and Mindy for all your help turning over my units and taking care of my instruments....you guys are awesome!

today was well....fine

I don't have much to complain about today. I had a 1B this morning and then an easy 2 this afternoon. Things went well! I'm getting close to finishing my Eaglesoft project! The main thing I need to remember is with patients with diabetes I need to find out and record more information. For example: last time they took their blood sugar, what the reading was, have they taken their meds, have they eaten....there's a lot of thinking that goes into it!
I NEED 4's and a board patient! Where to find them is the question....Any ideas?
Next week is my clinic simulation day. I'm interested to see how that goes. My goal is to just pace myself so I can stay on task. I'm most worried about switching over my unit. I'm see 2 kids in the morning (from different families) and then a screening. In the afternoon a 1b and the rest of my mockboard. I just want to keep a cool head and have things go smoothly!
This post is pretty much just a lot of random thoughts...nothing of importance! Sorry!

Not my day!

Today at clinic went okay. This morning I had a patient come back from earlier in the semester. Kami bumped him up to be 3 quads of a class 3! (Originally he was classified as a two). Mentally I wasn't prepared for what lied in store for me and I ended up getting discouraged after missing several spots. She also showed me how to not adapt the explorer so much and just kind of use it like the very tip of a finger to feel for the calculus. I really liked that idea. I also need to use more lateral pressure against the tooth and not just lateral pressure into thin air!

This afternoon I saw a 1B...but not a relaxing easy one by any means! I took a pano...lined the machine up wrong and had to redo it. NOT a good way to start off the afternoon! She had 3 of her wisdom teeth so Alexander recommended to use an end tuft brush to clean around them (especially because #17 was tipped lingually). The end tuft brush was also good because she had exostosis buccally of her maxillary molars...this by the way unfortunately had to be pointed out by Alexander. I only ended up missing one spot, which I knew was there, but I still didnt feel that great about the appointment. Guess it just wasn't my day!

Whew!

10 pounds have been lifted off my shoulders today!!!! I found a mockboard patient! She seems to be very reliable and willing to help. Her dentist had told her he wouldn't start the treatment plan until she had her teeth cleaned (smart idea!). When I talked to her on the phone she said she needed a deep cleaning and wanted to be numbed up and everything...I wasn't quite sure what to expect. She ended up being a class 2, but with only 1 quad that would qualify for mockboards (not as deep of a cleaning as I was thinking!). She had x-rays in oct. of 2008 so she is bringing her BWX with her, and we took 4 pa's of the LR quad today. Her calculus is pretty tenacious (I cleaned the left side today), I think partly because she is a smoker. I implemented some of what we learned this week in class about smoking cessation and she told me her and her boyfriend both want to quit. I really hope she does!

This morning Denae was kind enough to let me do a sealant on one of her patients. (luckily my patient was way cool and let me step away for a minute). Thanks Denae....it feels good to get one of those out of the way!

This afternoon was a breeze. I had a 1B, pretty dang healthy. It was nice for a change to have an easy patient. Although at the same time I'm wishing I was fulfilling some harder requirements. We took 1 PA because she had her lip pierced to the left of the midline and she wanted to check on the bone level. I'm getting closer to meeting my PA requirements! Overall it was a fun afternoon.

I was stressing out so bad and so it was such a relief to find my mockboard patient today. Now of course I will stress that she will qualify for sure and that everything will go well, but I think it will. Thank heavens for answered prayers!!!!!

Yet Again...

Today went well. I didn't have a patient scheduled this morning after trying and trying for 2 days straight. I came in and mr. solomon called a patient for me. They were able to come in, but didn't get here until 9:00. She ended up being a class 5, so I used her as an exam. I need to work on getting the distals of the back molar.

This afternoon I had another class 5. I tried the new Scan-X system. I like it. I was kind of nervous because I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing, but with a little help it went great! My patient had a weird bridge...the crown of the pontic couldn't even be seen in the x-ray...it was pretty crazy! I only missed 1 spot on her...the distal of one of the wisdom teeth. That spot gets me every time!!!!

Another week gone by and no mockboard patient. I think somebody's trying to teach me some patience....I'm holding out for next week, and if I don't have any luck then I will have to scramble to find some names to call for some screenings. :(

Just Another Day WITHOUT a Mockboard Patient!!!

Yesterday clinic went okay. I feel like I'm getting good requirements, just not what I'm most stressed out about right now, which is a mockboard patient. I don't even have any names to call of people to screen. If anybody has any suggestions...please fill free to give them to me!

I had a new patient in the morning who was 1 quad of cl 3 and 3 quads of cl 2. He had some 8 and 9 mm pockets and he didn't even want to be numb!!! I got the cl 3 quad done and had moved to a second quad. When I was getting close to being finished the patient said he needed to be done because his jaw was too tired and it kept popping really bad. Prof. Perry said to just finish that quad next time and get it graded then because I knew if I had him check it then I would have quite a few errors.

The morning seemed to be pretty long. I had a major headache, which really made it drag on. It's just not the same when you aren't feeling up to par. I had my new loupes in clinic for the first time and I didn't even get to use them becuase of my headache...bummer! I'm hoping to try them out real soon!

In the afternoon my brother-in-law came in. I was hoping he would have had more calculus becuase he hadn't had his teeth cleaned for 8 years so that he could possibly be a mockboard patient, but no such luck. I did use him as my class 2 exam so I'm finished with my cl 2 exams...yeah!!!! He was fun to clean because the calculus pretty much just came right off with the ultrasonic. His tissues were pretty red, swollen and tender. I've never seen tissue so fluctuant in the mandibular anteriors. I RXed some Peridex for him to try to help these heal.

He had geographic tongue...of course I forgot the proper name for it, but Perry was quick to remind me of it! If any of the rest of you have forgotten it is benign migratory glossitis. Although he was kind of a woosy (I don't even know how to spell that word!) patient :) I had a ton of fun cleaning them!

Perry caught one of my errors that I've been pretty consistent with so he suggested that I need to bring the cone head a little bit more up and slanted downward instead of going straight on when taking BW's. I had been missing the bone level behind the very back molar. I tried it and it worked fabulous! I love that I get constructive critism to try to make my skills the best I can.

A Beginning to an END!

Yes, it has happened. My last semester of school has officially started! Yahoo! It should feel great, but it doesn't feel that great. Instead I feel very overwhelmed! Mindy just updated me today that we have 63 days left until boards (not including sundays of course)....This was like a slap in the face! I have 63 days to know EVERYTHING since the beginning of my college days while still doing all the other bajillion things that need to be done!!!! Now that I have that off my chest I can talk about how my day went.

First day back and I must admit that I was a little bit rusty. Overall though I was very pleased how today went.

I did 2 quads of class 3 exam this morning and only missed 2 spots! I was able to get in 4 injections. I learned something very valuable today while doing my PSA. Put your finger on the occlusal plane of the max teeth, then go down the teeth until you reach bone and then pull the cheek straight out (if that makes any sense at all...) and it really opens it up! I was pulling the cheek in a weird way so it looked as if I was inserted enough for my injection but when Prof. Perry showed me what to do with the cheek it surprised me where I was at!

I was pretty nervous for this afternoon becuase my patient (returning from a year ago) has some pretty severe dental anxiety. I was able to do my nitrous P.E. and she was a class 2, which Perry encouraged me to use her as my exam. (2 exams in one day...the first day of the semester too!) I didnt end up doing injections (which I was super happy about because I watched Joni do it last year and it didn't look fun!) She was able to make it through with the N2O and some topical. I found that I was very paranoid about hurting her though becuase I didn't want to get her all wriled up. I missed 2 spots on the mand anteriors becuase I couldn't get the correct adaptation with the N2O nose in the way....Next time I need to remember to remove that for a few minutes to check this area. I felt that this appointment was much more calm than last year, which was enough to make me happy.

Better go get to my studying...where I will spend every spare second for this semester.