Finally finished my Crazy class 2!!

Wow!! What a learning experience!! I completed my most complicated patient today. He was my patient who hasn't been cleaned in over 14 years. His calculus and buildup was insane! My fingers, wrists, and arms sure got a great workout today. It was really exciting for me to work and work at something and see a difference. He has improved his oral hygiene habits and his tissue looked a lot better today. Hopefully he'll come back in 6 months when he's due so it won't be as complicated. It sure was tough but I'm really thankful that I had this experience because I sure learned a lot!

2 more quads of a 2!!! :)

My good friend from High School came in and was my patient today. He was awesome! I haven't seen him since graduation, which was nearly 3 years ago. Luckily, to my benefit (not really his), he was a class 2!! Well at least 2 quads were. It was So sweet! I was really excited! I only got his OD, a pano, and 4 BWX done on him though but I was happy to get more 2's!! I'm excited to use my ultrasonic scaler on him the next time he comes in. Hopefully I'll get more of those pesky PE's passed off! Good luck with that I say!! :)

CONVENTION!!!

The UDA convention was this week and it was So much fun!! I was able to attend with my classmates as well as the ladies I work with. It was such a great experience and we went to some awesome classes. The first one was all about how systemic diseases can affect the oral tissues. It was really interested to be reminded about osteoporosis and diabetes and how they affect periodontal disease. He instructor had great pictures and facts on his powerpoint. I sure learned a lot from him. Also, after lunch with my my dad's staff, I went to a local anesthia class. This one wasn't as well organized as the first but it still was interesting. I learned some great things about the anatomy of the jaw and where to stick a needle for which specific injection. It got me really excited to start giving injections next semester! I had a really good time walking around all of the exhibits with Casey and my dad. I learned a lot from the table clinics as well. We got tons of free stuff and just had an all around enjoyable time.

Hooray for Family!!

My cute nephew Ryan came in today and was my Awesome patient! He did a really great job and it was fun to show him around the clinic. He is 7 years old and was really excited to be there. He asked lots of questions about what I was doing and the names of the different instruments. I'm glad it went really well! He is Super Cute!! Since working on him didn't take the whole time, I also saw my sister Jami and was able to complete the scaling on her. He was a great patient too and I was happy she could come in too. It was nice to see and work on a pregnant mouth. We've learned in class about what to expect in the mouths of pregnant mothers and it was fun to see it first hand. She is taking really good care of her mouth and teeth. I love my family!! They are all just Awesome!

Lab day!!

Today we didn't have any patients because we had a mandatory lab day. It was Awesome!! I very much needed day off! We were able to pracise the ultrasonic scaler on each other as well as our area specific graceys. I'm starting to feel more confident in using my ultrasonic and I think I can now use it on a real live patient! Oh, and today was my first Dental Medicine exam and I did great! It was super specific but the questions were asked with no confusion. I really liked it! Today was just an all around great day!

Slow Day...

Today was a great day! First off... it snowed like Crazy! It took me 15 minutes to get to the clinic and I only live 2 miles away! It was pretty insane. My patient luckily lives on campus so he just walked and was on time. It was Great! I only had to scale his left side, rubber cup polish, and fluoride. Then I had his wife scheduled to finish the exact same thing. Due to the weather comditions, a lot of the girls patients called and cancelled last minute. So I ended up giving my second patient to Abby. I felt like even though I really needed the quads, Abby would have failed for the day if I didn't let her have her. So I did give up 2 precious requirements but Abby didn't fail for the day. So all worked out! I got done super early so I just walked around and helped the other girls chart or take pictures. It was a great day! I'm thankful for all the patients that I get to see and meet. Hygiene school is the Best!

Worst Day of Clinic thus far....

Where should I start?! Today was awful! My patient was a returning class II and I was so excited to get scaling on him. I had 2 hrs and 45 min to just scale! I thought I would just be in heaven and finish all 4 quads. But NO!!! It was terrible! My patient hasn't had a full cleaning in over 14 years. I only completed 1 quad and it was SO HARD!! My instructor was even having a little bit of a hard time when I would ask her for help. However, today was a great learning experience. I got to feel and work on real tenacious calculus which I've never done before. Prof. Costley was a great help and she showed me lots of different ways to scale. My patient was awesome too. He just acted like "no big deal" and never complained. He was just great! So even though today was very hard and I've cried a bunch... I did learn a lot. Hopefully I'll keep getting better and faster!

Great Patient!!

Today my patient was Jami, my cute sister. She was an Awesome patient! It was so fun to work on her and show her what I do day in and day out. She was super cooperative and willing to let me do whatever. She was my guinea pig for my ultrasonic scaler and she handled it well. I wanted to practise on her because I haven't used it yet and she really helped me out. While we were waiting for my instructor to come over, we talked about boys! She gave me some really good advice about things happening right now in my life and it was a huge stress reliever. She is the best ever! Today was super successful and I was happy things went so well!