Major Storm! ruins last clinic day

It was like nothing Ive ever seen, like something out of a movie!  We showed up to clinic however, not many of our patients did.  Its a wonder the campus was even open as long as it was.  We spent 3 hours watching the campus blow away, almost taking people and cars with it.  I did get my diagnodent PE done on one of my fellow classmates and now that I'm thinking about it I do believe I forgot to put it in taleval, better do that.  None of my patients wanted to drive in the weather and cancelled.  I didnt blame them it was definetly dangerous out there and I didnt want to drive home in it either.  Well another semester down, 1 more to go!  WHOOOOOOO!!!!

VA and the day before Thanksgiving

I went to the VA today, the day before Thanksgiving, and I thought it would be dreadful but to my surprise it wasnt so bad.  I half expected them to let us out early but come to find out they dont even get the day after Thanksgiving off so the day before is nothing special either.  It was a good day though.  I got some good classifications and some xrays which were much needed.  I really realized today how important it is to have good, sharp instruments.  They just dont do a thing if they are dull.  I do however wonder if there is even any hope for the ones at the VA.  I sharpened and sharpend and I was still having problems.  I was getting pretty frustrated. I am going to start opening my instruments and sharpening them before my patient even comes so I dont feel so rushed.  Hopefully that will help.

Clinic Lab

Well we only had one patient in the morning today and this afternoon was lab.  It was kind of nice and relaxing and I was really happy cause I have decided to come down with the gomboo.  Today is the last day of clinic for November.  I can hardly believe it, my how time flies.  We did wheelchair transfers and I kind of hurt my back, which means I may have been doing it wrong.  It was interesting to see the Velscope, I am excited to use it I think it will be interesting to see what shows up.  Well adios November!

Dental Materials Lab

Lab day and we made bleach trays or mouth guards, we got to choose.  I made a mouth guard for my clenching problem.  Not sure, but I think it may have something to do with all the STRESS Im under!  It was pretty fun lab though.  Local Anethesia is killin me.  I just want to go back to learning injections,  compared to this calculations stuff, giving injections almost seems easier.

Clinic

Well I finally finished my mockboard! Yeah!! I think she was happy too.  I gave 2 injections and passed my LA PE.  My afternoon patient was a pretty easy patient so it made for a nice afternoon.  Only one more clinic day in November, I can hardly believe how fast time is flying.

VA Day again

Well it was almost like going to the VA for the first time today.  Its been 4 weeks since our Wednesday group was there last and it proved to be a good return for me and it came back pretty quickly.  I felt like it was a pretty productive day.  I have had trouble in the past with my patients actually showing up today they both did.  I got 4 quads of a 1B and 2 quads of a class 4, 2 panos, a set of BWX, 6 PAs, and a PE passed off.  Happy with the day

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DRUGS

Today was about drugs and these are always interesting classes.  I like to see the pictures and see the aftermath it is so interesting.  If only people could forsee the future.We also talked about piercings which is also cool.  Bisphosphonates are sure becoming controversial it seems like there are so many side affects.

Thursday clinic

My morning patient didnt show up today.  I called him last night and stressed 8 am 3 times. "yep I'll be there" he  says.  I dont understand why patients dont just say no Im not coming, what is so hard about that.  Well Mr. Soloman found a patient.  Adrienne didnt have a patient either so she was gonna see this guy and the minute we saw him we did some stereotyping and thought class 5 for sure.  So Adrienne let me see him since she has numerous amounts of this classification. She was a huge help so thank you Adrienne! However I wasnt able to clean him because he didnt get here til almost 10 and he was a new patient. Bummer.  I was able to do my Caries Risk Assessment PE today though and I agree with Professor Alexander it is kind of gross to watch them do this PE

Halloween

Sensitivity, that was the subject for today.  Well i do know about this subject because I have had the most sensitive teeth for years due to gingival recession from brushing too hard.  Sweets and the ultrasonic are two of the most painful things for me. After having the ultrasonic used on me I have much more compassion for my patients when I use the ultrasonic on them. Love the new Colgate sensitive pro relief toothpaste, it works amazingly well and it doesnt taste bad so good for recommending to patients.  Its Halloween so I'll be trick or treating, lots of fun.

Thursday Clinic

Well its Thursday again. Wow how times flies! thank goodness.  Today was a good day. I found my mockboard for January and hes a class 3 which is and added bonus.  I cleaned one quad today and found out how difficult calculus can be.  Also when someone is bleeding it is really hard to see and takes quite a bit of extra time to probe because you have to keep rinsing and suctioning.  I really have found that I love the 8 o'clock position for maxillary posteriors ( thank you Dr. Hanson).  Holy cow it really helps to be able to pull the correct way on the deposit and it feels better also. 

10-24-11

Today in Alexanders class Heather and I did our patient education skit.  It was pretty funny.  I kept telling her she needed to keep it together and not laugh and I was the one who couldnt control myself.  It was pretty hard to speak clearly with those teeth in I felt like I was spitting.  I tell ya Im country at heart ( minus the teeth).  I found the speaker today, Dr. Pobanz, to be pretty interesting for the first little while anyway.  I was really interested in the brackets he says he uses.  He said they dont need the elastics around each one and cause less pressure when moving the teeth.  Im kind of feeling it out right now cause my daughter needs braces and I have already had a consultation with another orthodontist.  It just makes me wonder though cause everyone thinks what they are doing is the best practice so its good to hear different opinions.  I was impressed at how he will not treat if the patient has poor hygiene and he will suspend tx if they are not being meticulous in bifilm removal.

10-20-11

So today in clinic I was able to give my first injections, yeah!  We were released from training last friday and I was pretty nervous to give injections.  I have had this problem with my hand shaking uncontrollably.  I was really sick this morning, didnt know if I would make it through but I did.  I didnt even shake until I took the needle out and was trying to put it back in its cap.  Instructor Wold even said I did a good job so that gave me a boost of confidence.  I think its going to be easier now.  Not saying I wont be nervous but this experience kind of broke the ice and I'm glad its over.  Now I'm movin on!

Mockboard Day

Well today was Mockboard Day and I was fine last night, this morning, until I started setting up my unit for the afternoon.  I actually felt like I might throw up, wierd.  I kept telling myself this was going to be good practice and I was just going to learn from it. Well that all changed when it was actually my turn.  I didnt do as well as I wanted to.  I was actually amazed at some spots I missed because I couldnt believe I missed them, they were huge.  Oh well I definetly learned from the experience and I can almost guarantee I wont miss them again.  I also learned today that 2 hours isnt near as long as you think it is.  Happy thats over

VA Day

Well its really hit and miss here at the VA. Some days are great and you feel so good others, your patients dont show up and you cant find one to see which makes for a not so productive good feeling day.  Today is one of those not so good feeling days.  Oh well.  So I am getting all prepared for tomorrow and am hopeful it will go good.  I am so happy we get to have this practice.  I am looking forward to getting familiar with the routine of boards and seeing how things go.  It will just be nice to get it over with.  Well the day is coming to and end. Heres to tomorrow. 

9-29-11

Wow! Its been a long time since I blogged.  I keep forgetting but I have so many things to say and so many experiences to talk about.  I really love Senior clinic.  It has been going so well.  I feel like this year is going smoother.  If I had had some of the experienceslast year that I have had this year I probably would have cried.  I guess I just feel more put together this year.  I am finally getting faster and taking the chance that I may have a miss instead of going over and over it.  I am feeling more comfortabe with myself.  So far it is paying off.  Getting Better!

wednesday clinic

Yeah! I got my class 3 finished today so I now have all my quads of a class 3 and a fighting chance of getting all my requirements without needing an extra clinic day. This relieves a lot of anxiety I have had here recently.  This program is major stressfull which may be why I have come down with some nasty sickness.  Hopefully I can get better over the weekend and get back to business monday morning.  I am so excited for this semester to be over soon. I know Ive said it before but Im gonna say it again, I NEED A BREAK!!! I only hope I dont forget everything over the summer and come back to start at square 1 again.  Well I only 2 weeks left, Whoo!

Another Monday

Well there are only 3 more weeks of school and I am so ready for this semester to be over.  Wow it is stressful and my body just needs a rest so I can get ready for next year.  I am very pleased with my day today.  I did 3 PE's and finally passed off my 1st ultrasonic.  I am so happy!  It wasn't as hard as I thought even though I was very nervous about it.  I really like the tripple bend much better than the slim line.  I felt it was much easier to navigate.  I love the swivel.  I went to school early today so I could take xrays for midtown  and it was really sad there were no bwx.  I did take 1 pa but I didnt need Pa's I needed bwx.  Oh well I was really greatful they let me come.  I got 1 quad of a class 3 and 1 quad of a class 2 completed today also.  So this day started off the week much better than last week.  Hopefully this means it will be a better week.

Wednesday 3-23

Well I forgot to blog today.  Monday was a very bad day for me and today was a little better but I still feel I should be faster.  Dang what is the key to this.  I just dont know what to do to get faster.  I finished my patient today and got a sealant and a PE done so I was happy about that.  My patient was a 1A and so she wasnt too difficult.  I also took a pano on her and some xrays.  So I did get quite a few things done today.  I am happy this week is almost over, hopefully next week will start off a little better.

Wednesday

Well today was one of those frustrating clinic days.  Man, I was late getting my patient out and had a few misses.  I was very flustered!  I got my removable prostheses PE done and that was very nice.  I also did my blood glucose which I was happy to get those done.  I want to get better at scaling and faster and I just dont feel like that is happening.  I just dont know how to get faster and get these patients turned out faster.  My patient today was very patient with me.  The appt was long and he was having a hard time laying there but he was very patient.  Tomorrow is UDA so we will be there going to classes and visiting vendors.  Hopefully it will be fun although we have a test hanging over us so that could hamper our enjoyment. Next week is spring break so it will be nice to have a couple days off however, in a way I just wish we could have clinic to get some more time.  Well signing off for a week. Yeah!!

Clinic Monday

Well the day didn't start off to good, my patient didnt show up.  This is the first time this has happened to me so far this semester so it was pretty hard for me.  I now know what it is like to feel completely helpless in this situation.  However I was able to get a patient and she was the same class as the one who cancelled so I was so greatful. THANK YOU MR. SOLOMON!  I was able to get through OD and OHI so I can go right to scaling next appt.  It was a very good experience today, I was able to see many things I havent seen before like diffuse redness and some other things.  Today turned out not to be so bad.  Wednesday I will be able to do my removable prosthesis pe so I am excited for that.

Monday

Today was a good day.  My son was my patient and I did BWX and a Pano and sealants and was able to finish him which was awesome.  I learned today that it is really important not to spend too much time on kids sub calculus cause there just isn't much there.  I think I have a tendency to spend too much time looking for something that I don't know what it is half the time anyway.  He was such a good patient he was trying so hard to sit still but he was a really good patient considering how long the appts are.  After class we went to the WIC office and did a presentation.  It went really well there were a lot of people in the class.  Well another day has come and gone and so am I for the night.

Mondays Clinic

Today I finished my patient, late, but I finished her none the less.  It was a good learning experience.  I have been a little timid going interproximally and it showed today because I missed 3 interproximal spots. and they were pretty good sized.  Dang it! My instructor is very helpful though and very knowledgeable (I think that is how you spell that). Well Wednesday we are having a lab and not seeing patients but I wish we were.  I feel like Im not going to get my requirements and we have so many days off this semester it seems.  Monday is Presidents day so we have that off too.  Oh well!  We will be learning to do the edentulous patient stuff which I am happy about so I can get my edentulous patient in.  Well until next time, signing off!

Another Beautiful Clinic Day

Well today I had a real good day, except I kept forgeting little things.  I guess I needed some more brain food today.  I was able to do 4 BWX and get through 1 quad of scaling.  Yeah I was so happy!  I used my new head light today for the first time which was really exciting.  I really liked it so I think I will use it a few more times and see for sure.  It was nice that it went where I went and I didnt get that dark shadow over the mandibular teeth like I usually do, really liked that.  Well I am progressing every day and am looking forward to getting better.

Feb 2

Well it is a new month. My first patient of the month was 2 quads of a class II and 2 quads of a class V.  Very nice.  She was the sweetest lady too.  I was able to get some good experience with recession today.  I had not seen a great amount of recession so it was really neat to see. I got some PAs and a real good discussion about OHI.  She said several times noone had ever told her that before.  I was very pleased with this appointment and feel I got pretty far.  I didnt get to scale but she is going to come back and i will be able to finish up then.  I am starting to feel a little better with my appts.  I am getting the charting down and feeling more confident every day.  I wondered if I would ever get here and I am, slowly but surely.

Monday Jan 31

Wow I am having a very hard time remembering to blog.  I run out of time in clinic and thing Im gonna come home and do it then I forget.  So I am now writing about my Jan 31 patient.  I finished my patient today! yeah! I was really happy to have her taken care of.  When she was here last, Instructor Hemsley said her classification may have to be changed because the calculus was so tenacious and I had several misses.  She told me to have the next instructor evaluate and when I did several of the misses were not actually misses so I was really happy about that.  The quad that I had not yet finished was changed to a class II.  So I now have 1 quad of a class II.  I still have several requirements and it is really stressing me out.  I feel like I am not going to have enough time to finish all of them and it is causing me much anxiety.  I just need to remember 1 day at a time. 

Hygiene Life

Well Wednesday was a very good day for me.  I got another full mouth so I have the minimum requirements for PA's which is nice and I got all the way through OD so I am really happy about that.  This week has been crazy we have had tests in every one of our classes so I have been in zombie land.  I met with my Professor on Wednesday because I feel I am not adapting right.  It is so much harder to access all the areas in the mouth and see them than I ever imagined.  She was a big help and hopefully I can catch on to this a little better.  She also showed me some extra oral fulcrums which was nice.  It is pretty hard getting your whole hand in the mouth to reach those interiors.  I am getting the hang of things a little better and feel I am slowly starting to improve, which is a very good feeling.  I still get frustrated sometimes but Im sure that is normal and will get better with time.  Well until next time.

Another Clinic Day!

Today me, Heather, MeChel, Marianne, and Tori saw a whole family.  They were very nice people.  The husband was my patient and he said he was very happy he could be part of the learning process.  Very nice to work with such understanding sweet people.  I think I was a little faster today.  I did xrays and scaled a quad which was very awesome.  I am still a little frustrated and I am hoping it is going to feel better soon.  I feel like I am not adapting very well and I really want to.  I am having a hard time getting a good fulcrum so I can get back to the posteriors better.  Today was overall a really good day though.  I do feel like I learn a little more every day, however I still feel a little inadequate to be cleaning teeth. I am also a little timid of the ultrasonic scaler.  So my goal is going to be to get in and use it so I can become more comfortable with it.  Well we have a big test tomorrow so I'd better go study.

Wednesday already

Well its Wednesday already.  The week has gone by fast and now we are having a 3 day weekend. Yeah!! cant  wait.  Today was my first patient day I have been able to do charting and probing and OHI, except I did the OHI before the probing which I forgot I wasnt suppose to do.  I havent done this since November so I was a little green today but you live you learn right?  I did remember how to probe and didnt do to bad so that was a bonus.  My same patient will come back next Wednesday so I will get to scale and that will  great.  I am still hoping to get faster real soon. I was also CA this afternoon which made for a long day but Mr. Soloman was so helpful and really nice and I scored a patient just by being CA, way cool!  There is a lot to do being the CA.  I never realized how much they do and all the responsibilities they have.  I am much more aware now.  Well heres to a long weekend. Im signing off> goodnight

Monday Again!

Well today was the second patient day.  I was still so nervous all day before I came here.  My patient was my really good friend though so Im not sure why I was so nervous.  I did a FMX including bwx and I did them with conventional film.  Oh my heck, with this new daylight loader we have I think it took 3x as long to unwrap, separate the foil, make sure I was hitting the cup, and then to load them all wow it was so time consuming, well my  whole clinic time to be exact.  My goal for my next appt on Wednesday is to be faster and get some scaling done.  That would be great.  My Wednesday patient is a new patient also so I will have to chart all restorations and it will take some time but I sure do hope I am gonna get faster!

First Patient day

Today was out first patient day.  I was pretty nervous the closer it got, however, it went more smoothly than I expected.  I didnt have to redo everything because my patient was my patient from November.  So it was pretty much straight to scaling.  I am very slow at this but I know I will get faster with time.  I am trying to be really positive and have faith in myself.  I am a little tight fisted and have the death grip on that instrument so I really have to conciously think about it to stop.  I was happy I made it through and am looking forward to getting faster and better.  Over and out.

First Day back!

Wow!  What a great break! Today was our first day back and it was awfully hard to come back.  I wasnt quite ready.  We learned to use the ultrasonic today and it is a little harder than it looks.  Getting the angle right and making sure that the tip doesnt touch the tooth straight on, sometimes difficult. I am pretty nervous about seeing patients I just dont feel ready and TalEval mixed into things makes it even more confusing.  I know it will get easier though when I start doing it all the time so Im just trying to be patient with myself.  Hopefully it will all come together soon.