I'm so happy right now becuase I'm done with my clinic sessions until January!!!! YEAH! I'm even more excited becuase I was able to meet all my requirements and get everything done that I needed to!
Today went well. I saw a class 3 patient and did a half a mouth. I was able to do LA for this and pass off my subgingival irrigation PE.
This afternoon I had my friend from high school come in. It was a nice relaxing afternoon and I finally didn't feel pooped after cleaning a patient! It seems like it has been forever since I was able to clean a 1B and it was really nice! I also passed off my blood glucose PE. One thing I learned today..... with the new scanx machine in use...you have to be careful which template you choose when taking digital x-rays. I didn't even realize that was on there so I put it in the wrong template and they wouldn't pull up to print. I had to take the whole set over again! Brother! The computer didnt' like me today. A while after I had printed off my treatment plan, I went in to do my walkout, and low and behold...there was no tx plan listed anywhere in his file! It is beyond me where it went but I had to remake a whole new treatment plan...weird! I had a good time using the new intra oral camera to show my picture some really deep pits he had on his 2nd molars....technology is amazing!
It feels so nice to be done!!! You know what they say....it will all work out!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
CELEBRATION!!!
I am actually posting a day late this week, but at least I have some news to share! Today was my last day at the VA and I was able to finish up with my requirements!!!! I'm so excited! I got 2 quads of a 2 and 4 quads of a 5. No more worries for this semester!!! What a great feeling!
Yesterday went okay. I was worried sick in the morning because I hadn't been able to get a hold of my patient and I really needed her to be there...she was a class 3 exam. It was 8:20 and she still wasn't there so I decided I would help Claire with some screenings she was doing. I sat the patient in the chair to take his BP and then they called back over the intercom telling me my patient was here! Of course that would happen as soon as I sat that other patient down!!! I was soooo relieved though! I was kind of disappointed though becuase she decided she didn't want to be anesthetized because she hates shots so bad! (That's okay though, I made up for it in the afternoon!) I was able to pass of my perio files PE. I only missed 2 spots. This is a HUGE improvement! Last year when I saw her I struggled so bad, but this time around went much smoother!
In the afternoon I had my 17 year old patient coming back to finish him from last week. I was hoping he would want N2O, but he didn't...bummer. He was quite nervous and wiggly for the injections...but he made it through all TEN!!!! Let me just tell you again that he had the hardest stinkin' calculus to get off! He had a canker sore last time and it had almost tripled in size so I had the instructors take a look just to check and they thought it would be okay. Instructor Wolde recommended that he rinse with a mouthrinse made by colgate called Peroxyl that she says works really good. I hadn't ever heard of this before, so it was good to get her recommendations. Even though I was completely worn out at the end of the day, it was a good day overall!
Yesterday went okay. I was worried sick in the morning because I hadn't been able to get a hold of my patient and I really needed her to be there...she was a class 3 exam. It was 8:20 and she still wasn't there so I decided I would help Claire with some screenings she was doing. I sat the patient in the chair to take his BP and then they called back over the intercom telling me my patient was here! Of course that would happen as soon as I sat that other patient down!!! I was soooo relieved though! I was kind of disappointed though becuase she decided she didn't want to be anesthetized because she hates shots so bad! (That's okay though, I made up for it in the afternoon!) I was able to pass of my perio files PE. I only missed 2 spots. This is a HUGE improvement! Last year when I saw her I struggled so bad, but this time around went much smoother!
In the afternoon I had my 17 year old patient coming back to finish him from last week. I was hoping he would want N2O, but he didn't...bummer. He was quite nervous and wiggly for the injections...but he made it through all TEN!!!! Let me just tell you again that he had the hardest stinkin' calculus to get off! He had a canker sore last time and it had almost tripled in size so I had the instructors take a look just to check and they thought it would be okay. Instructor Wolde recommended that he rinse with a mouthrinse made by colgate called Peroxyl that she says works really good. I hadn't ever heard of this before, so it was good to get her recommendations. Even though I was completely worn out at the end of the day, it was a good day overall!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Not Quite What I Expected
Today went okay. This morning I saw my last 1A and finished my mockboard exam patient. I was able to pass off my desensitization PE on him. It all went well.
Yesterday my afternoon patient cancelled for today. I looked at the resource list and found a 17 year old kid who needed to come in so I called him. I figured I could possibly take a pano on him and maybe if I was lucky do sealants on his 2nd molars...on top of this I figured he would be a pretty easy 1B.
Well, I learned my lesson....NEVER make assumptions about a patient! He was a really nice boy, but....he needed to learn how to use a toothbrush.
I struggled with my x-rays a little bit (I did get a pano by the way!). We sat down in the chair and I started to probe. Unfortunately I couldn't do a very good job becuase the enourmous amount of plaque and bleeding everywhere! I couldn't believe it! He was classified as a 2 and I was thinking to myself...where did my easy patient go!? We took a lot of time to review the x-rays, discuss the infection and of course teach OHI. He was so tender when I was probing so we decided it would be best if we anesthetized him to treat him. I messed up by not having the large window of the carpule toward me, but it went okay. I couldn't believe how hard his calculus was!!! Unfortunately today I only got one quad done. Luckily I hadn't scheduled anybody for next week yet so I will be able to have him come back this semester. I also put him on some prevident to hopefully help with the decalcification that was starting on the facials of his maxillary anteriors. What a day! I'm glad it's over!
Yesterday my afternoon patient cancelled for today. I looked at the resource list and found a 17 year old kid who needed to come in so I called him. I figured I could possibly take a pano on him and maybe if I was lucky do sealants on his 2nd molars...on top of this I figured he would be a pretty easy 1B.
Well, I learned my lesson....NEVER make assumptions about a patient! He was a really nice boy, but....he needed to learn how to use a toothbrush.
I struggled with my x-rays a little bit (I did get a pano by the way!). We sat down in the chair and I started to probe. Unfortunately I couldn't do a very good job becuase the enourmous amount of plaque and bleeding everywhere! I couldn't believe it! He was classified as a 2 and I was thinking to myself...where did my easy patient go!? We took a lot of time to review the x-rays, discuss the infection and of course teach OHI. He was so tender when I was probing so we decided it would be best if we anesthetized him to treat him. I messed up by not having the large window of the carpule toward me, but it went okay. I couldn't believe how hard his calculus was!!! Unfortunately today I only got one quad done. Luckily I hadn't scheduled anybody for next week yet so I will be able to have him come back this semester. I also put him on some prevident to hopefully help with the decalcification that was starting on the facials of his maxillary anteriors. What a day! I'm glad it's over!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Finally some PE's!!!!
This morning we had a lab on desensitization and emergency situations. I really like that we take the time to review emergencies. I really hope I never have to deal with one in real like, but if I ever do hopefully I will be prepared!
This afternoon my patient was returning from earlier in the semester. She was 2 quads of class 2 and 1 quad of a class 5. She was so easy going and was a great patient. I was so grateful to Bossenberger who helped me to get so many PE's done! I FINALLY did some that I've been trying to do for the past month! I was ablet to do my ultrasonic, calculus removal, and accessory fulcrum. I had extra time at the end so I did my caries risk assessment PE. My patient also needed Arrestin in one spot so I did that PE! It felt so good to get that load lifted off!
One weird thing that my patient mentioned is that she was rinsing with Balsalmic Vinegar. She had sores in her mouth from the acid even. Some of the things patients come up with to do! Crazy! I had to explain to her that listerine would be much better!!
This afternoon my patient was returning from earlier in the semester. She was 2 quads of class 2 and 1 quad of a class 5. She was so easy going and was a great patient. I was so grateful to Bossenberger who helped me to get so many PE's done! I FINALLY did some that I've been trying to do for the past month! I was ablet to do my ultrasonic, calculus removal, and accessory fulcrum. I had extra time at the end so I did my caries risk assessment PE. My patient also needed Arrestin in one spot so I did that PE! It felt so good to get that load lifted off!
One weird thing that my patient mentioned is that she was rinsing with Balsalmic Vinegar. She had sores in her mouth from the acid even. Some of the things patients come up with to do! Crazy! I had to explain to her that listerine would be much better!!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Hectic Day!!!
Today didn't really go as planned! This morning my patient was 30 minutes late. Her BWX were the hardest ones I have ever taken (I'm surprised they turned out as good as they did...I didnt' have any retakes just 2 supplemental films to get the maxillary bone). The bad news is that I only got an OD done, but the good news is that she is a class III! She has quite a few class 1 furcations, a lot of recession and even some class 1-2 mobility. She will definitaly be a good experience. She can only come at 8:00 which only leaves me with the last day of clinic. She will be finishing off my class 3 requirements and my exams so I hope it doesn't fall through or else I'm screwed!
This afternoon was soooo crazy and hectic! I planned to see a 7-yr old boy and then see his 16-yr old sister. The little boy was quick and easy. I love doing kids. However, his older sister had like 3 HUGE cold sores!!!! GRRR! Ruin my plans! I tried to call my husband to see if he could come in so I could do my blood glucose and caries risk assessment pe's on him, but he was already at work so that wasn't going to work. Luckily Liz had a patient that she had scheduled for 1:45 and she was going to be busy with her class 2 patient so she told me I could have her. I was really excited to have something to do to fill my time and help me meet requirements.
I brought the patient back and she had kind of a complicated HHX. She was diabetic, had high blood pressure, and taking several meds....those HHX are always a treat to work with! After taking her BP 4 times it was finally low enough to proceed! However, since it took so long it was like 2:40 and I hadn't even done an OD yet. Prof. Perry was so good to work with me and help her get her finished and on her way. One thing that was kind of cool is that I got to use the new intra oral camera...that thing is soooo much better than that old dinosaur we have had to use in the past! She had a big red area on her palate that I had never seen before. I asked Prof. Perry about it and he said that if there was white specks with it he would think it was a yeast infection, but there wasn't. We told her to watch for any white to appear and if it does to go see her regular dentist.
I had 3 charts to fill out this afternoon so I was a little late getting out of there. Thanks so much to my lovely pod who is always so willing to help me get cleaned up so I'm not there as late! You guys are awesome! By the way, it happened to me again. I had all these big plans to complete PE's today (the accessory fulcrum, Caries Risk Assessment,Blood Glucose, Ultrasonic) and I didn't complete any of them!!! Such is life I guess, but hopefully I will be able to get around to them sometime soon becuase the semester is coming to an end!!!
This afternoon was soooo crazy and hectic! I planned to see a 7-yr old boy and then see his 16-yr old sister. The little boy was quick and easy. I love doing kids. However, his older sister had like 3 HUGE cold sores!!!! GRRR! Ruin my plans! I tried to call my husband to see if he could come in so I could do my blood glucose and caries risk assessment pe's on him, but he was already at work so that wasn't going to work. Luckily Liz had a patient that she had scheduled for 1:45 and she was going to be busy with her class 2 patient so she told me I could have her. I was really excited to have something to do to fill my time and help me meet requirements.
I brought the patient back and she had kind of a complicated HHX. She was diabetic, had high blood pressure, and taking several meds....those HHX are always a treat to work with! After taking her BP 4 times it was finally low enough to proceed! However, since it took so long it was like 2:40 and I hadn't even done an OD yet. Prof. Perry was so good to work with me and help her get her finished and on her way. One thing that was kind of cool is that I got to use the new intra oral camera...that thing is soooo much better than that old dinosaur we have had to use in the past! She had a big red area on her palate that I had never seen before. I asked Prof. Perry about it and he said that if there was white specks with it he would think it was a yeast infection, but there wasn't. We told her to watch for any white to appear and if it does to go see her regular dentist.
I had 3 charts to fill out this afternoon so I was a little late getting out of there. Thanks so much to my lovely pod who is always so willing to help me get cleaned up so I'm not there as late! You guys are awesome! By the way, it happened to me again. I had all these big plans to complete PE's today (the accessory fulcrum, Caries Risk Assessment,Blood Glucose, Ultrasonic) and I didn't complete any of them!!! Such is life I guess, but hopefully I will be able to get around to them sometime soon becuase the semester is coming to an end!!!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
RELIEF!!!! I can FINALLY breathe!
Today was the big day...MOCKBOARDS!!! I was scared out of my mind. I haven't been that nervous for a long time! I honestly felt like I was either going to throw up or pee my pants...or both! Luckily now it is all over with and I can say prayers of gratitude!
I started off this morning being a student examiner. It was really good for me to find out a little bit more what the paper work is and what needed to be filled out. It was also good to be able to put myself in the shoes of the examiner and search for spots of calculus.
After lunch it was my turn! I was really nervous that something was going to go wrong. I started off kind of on a bad foot becuase as I was setting up my tray I dropped my sharpening stone and it broke into 3 pieces...Lovely! Luckily though my patient came ON TIME AND HE QUALIFIED!!! I was stoked. Once I got scaling I wasn't as nervous, it seemed just like a normal clinic day. I was concerned about a few spots, but when my results came back I had actually missed two different spots and none that I was worried about! Lucky for me, those spots weren't counted on my grade becuase it hadn't been chosen in advance to be graded. I did make a mistake on my perio statement. I didn't realize that because he had 4 mm of recession on 1 tooth, he would be classified as severe...at least I'm finding this out now!
I'm soooooo grateful we had this opportunity to run through things so I can continue to prepare for the real thing. I can't even imagine how nervous I'm going to be that day! I was happy how things turned out and excited to be able to use this experience to better my skills. I'm glad we get to do this 2 more times before the real board! Thank heavens we have intructors who know what they are doing and can help us!
I started off this morning being a student examiner. It was really good for me to find out a little bit more what the paper work is and what needed to be filled out. It was also good to be able to put myself in the shoes of the examiner and search for spots of calculus.
After lunch it was my turn! I was really nervous that something was going to go wrong. I started off kind of on a bad foot becuase as I was setting up my tray I dropped my sharpening stone and it broke into 3 pieces...Lovely! Luckily though my patient came ON TIME AND HE QUALIFIED!!! I was stoked. Once I got scaling I wasn't as nervous, it seemed just like a normal clinic day. I was concerned about a few spots, but when my results came back I had actually missed two different spots and none that I was worried about! Lucky for me, those spots weren't counted on my grade becuase it hadn't been chosen in advance to be graded. I did make a mistake on my perio statement. I didn't realize that because he had 4 mm of recession on 1 tooth, he would be classified as severe...at least I'm finding this out now!
I'm soooooo grateful we had this opportunity to run through things so I can continue to prepare for the real thing. I can't even imagine how nervous I'm going to be that day! I was happy how things turned out and excited to be able to use this experience to better my skills. I'm glad we get to do this 2 more times before the real board! Thank heavens we have intructors who know what they are doing and can help us!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Some Good Experiences!
This morning we had a lab in clinic. It was really fun to test the pH of our saliva and check our blood sugar. Then we got to practice wtih our curved ultrasonic tips and accessory fulcrums. We also got to try out a sonic scaler and a Piezo scaler; it was interesting to feel the differences between them and the ultrasonic. Katie and Liz were also nice enough to let me try on their loupes for a few minutes to get a feel for them. I'm slowly narrowing down my choices. It is a LOT of money to spend, so I want to make sure I make the right choice!
This afternoon I had a patient come in who I had seen last year. She was my class three last year so I was hoping she would be a class 2 or 3. She was a 3!!! Yeah! I'm using her as one of my exam patients. I was able to give LA for my first time on a real patient! She was nervous becuase she didn't like the shots last time....little did she know that this was my first time and I was more nervous than her! I was the one that needed somebody to calm me down, but I was trying to pretend I'd done it bunches of times and tell her it wouldn't be bad. It went well, but her anatomy kind of took me by surprise. Her zygoma made it very hard to get to where I needed to be for the PSA and I hit osseous 2 times when I did the MSA...I felt like I was clear out in the vestibule! It was quite the awakening that everyone one is NOT going to have textbook anatomy to look for and sometimes you have to make some adjustments!
I also was able to place Arrestin on 2 sites. It was really fun and easy! I liked doing it! I hope it makes a difference in her deep pockets. She is coming back in 3 weeks so I will be able to evaluate if it made any difference and also see if the Chlorehexidine makes a difference as well.
I went over time, but I feel like today was a good day. I had a lot of first experiences, but learned a ton! It's amazing how much we continue to learn everyday!
This afternoon I had a patient come in who I had seen last year. She was my class three last year so I was hoping she would be a class 2 or 3. She was a 3!!! Yeah! I'm using her as one of my exam patients. I was able to give LA for my first time on a real patient! She was nervous becuase she didn't like the shots last time....little did she know that this was my first time and I was more nervous than her! I was the one that needed somebody to calm me down, but I was trying to pretend I'd done it bunches of times and tell her it wouldn't be bad. It went well, but her anatomy kind of took me by surprise. Her zygoma made it very hard to get to where I needed to be for the PSA and I hit osseous 2 times when I did the MSA...I felt like I was clear out in the vestibule! It was quite the awakening that everyone one is NOT going to have textbook anatomy to look for and sometimes you have to make some adjustments!
I also was able to place Arrestin on 2 sites. It was really fun and easy! I liked doing it! I hope it makes a difference in her deep pockets. She is coming back in 3 weeks so I will be able to evaluate if it made any difference and also see if the Chlorehexidine makes a difference as well.
I went over time, but I feel like today was a good day. I had a lot of first experiences, but learned a ton! It's amazing how much we continue to learn everyday!
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