blessed with success

Feeling extremely relieved. I got my results and passed clinical and the national written board. Yay. And I have all my requirements all done so from here on out i just need to show up so i can graduate. Never thought i would be saying this. Awesome:)

boards are officially over...unless i didn't pass clinical (please bless i did)

Freak talk about the most stressful situation you could ever put yourself in. UHGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!! I passed anesthesia written and clinical so that felt good to have over and out of my life FOREVER! But, now I am just waiting for my clinical results and i can't even think straight worrying about it. I should be fine, ive passed all the mockboards and have done really well but im just so nervouse cause his probe depths were sooo sooo deep and i just pray i was getting to the base of the pocket and was able to get the correct probe depths. It is done electronically this year so we are suppose to get our results within 7-10 days and maybe even sooner. I am freaking out. Talk about torture chamber for 7-10 days. I better have passed cause I NEVER WANT TO HAVE TO DO THAT EVER AGAIN

LA mockboards

So everything went ok this morning except my harpoon was disingaged on the PSA, I didn't fail for that reason but I failed the PSA because the window on my syringe was slightly turned so the examiners couldn't completely see the aspiration. BOO. But thats an easy fix. I did awesome on the IA and I also passed the written so it just feals good to have it over. On to the next worry, I NEED A BOARD PT!!!!!!! I was suppose to do a screening today on a guy that im pretty positive he qualifies but he called last min and couldn't make it but promises he;ll come tommorrow. You can't trust anybody these days.

finally the final mockboard IS OVER AND OUT OF MY LIFE FOREVER!!!!!!!!!

Wow. Today. WOw. It was stressful. My pt. is the perfect candidate, except he has a latex allergy and he actually overqualifies. He had 24 clicks of calc. in the quad i cleaned. It was tough. It was black rings that surrounded the entire circumference of his teeth i swear. The ultra sonic did a good job of getting it broken up and then i went to town with my hand instruments. I felt pretty good about it but it was soooooo much work. I ended up missing 3 spots and they were like tiny but im happy with my progress and if i could clean that guy i can clean anyone.

big day

So today was a gold mine. My morning was a cl. III and i got 2 qds done and my afternoon was a cl. IV and I was able to clean 2 qds. and my mockboard pt. came in and i got his xrays, so we should be good to go!

another day

So today was a bummer. My pt. called last night to cancel so I called up this family friend that has been begging for me to clean her teeth and she says she'll come at 8:30 so that's fine, as long as I have a pt. So she calls at 8:30 and says she wont be there till 9. So at 9:45 she rolls in. I give her mouthwash and tell her to have a seat and she now needs the restroom. She was in there for 10 minutes and by the time I finally started the chart, I realized she had a major joint replacement done so i call her doc and he's like yeah she needs to premed. So, this morning was a waste of time. This afternoon was pretty good. My pt. was als0 a family friend and she came right on time and ended up being a class 2 and everything went really smooth.

MOCKBOARD NUMER 2

So today was a success. I only missed one spot and got docked points for excluding her third molar in the quad I was scaling. I thought it wasn't quit errupted and they thought otherwise. So i felt good about it and need to keep improving.

VA

So VA was great today. I worked with a cl. III pt. and she had several disabilities. We were able to make her comfortable with pillows and blackets and were able to take her xrays very very gently. She had fibromialgia and was just in pain all over her body. It was a good experience for me to work with a pt. suffering from those problems and to know how to best manage the appt. and make my pt. comfortable.

Maria and Guadalupa save the day!!

Boom shaka laka shaka laka shaka laka shaka boom! So guadalulpa is a cl. IV and maria is 2 quads of a II and two quads of a III. Sweetness. I did 4 injections and I feel pretty confident in them, i love injections and i also got 5 PA's and man do i need them. And I am also on the look out for 1A's. Next week is mock board and i better freaking pass! And I will if it is the last thing i do!

jan. 19, 2010

I am feeling very overwhelmed:( Man, how can i get ahead? I feel like I am doing ok day by day but I am just hoping it will all work out because looking down the road it doesn't seem as though it would. I had a cl. 1V today so that was good. I got a quad cleaned. Now the trick is to get him to come back. Please bless he comes back.

VA

So today is a GREAT day. I loved the VA. Crazy? yeah cause i usually HATE the VA but i think things are looking up. Mostly to the fact that Dian left me alone the whole day! She didn't bully me once and that made all the diff. And Bossenburger was great, she gave me some great pointers and watched me practice and it felt good ot have some direction on what to work on. I also saw 4 quads of a class III so it was a hot rockin day:)

wow here we go again

ok so to be honest, i am at the top of my game. I am usually having a panick attack at this point but i am doing good. I feel organized and ready to succeed. Today my first pt. pulled a no show, wow, but luckily nats pt.'s wife came with him so i was able to see her. She was a 1B and i got some bite wings so it was a good pt. to start the semester with so i could refresh my memory. Hopefully my afternoonn pt. shows cause he is a cl. IV

Last day of clinic this semester!!!

hip hip hooray!!!!!!!
so usually i would be so freaking excited for this day to come except i am kinda not. Once finals are over this semester, the real race begins. I have to start studying for boards. yikes. and i'm feeling so overwhelmed because i don't know where to begin!! i guess page 1 of my board books. scarey. So today was ok, i finished a 1B and my afternoon pt. has not shown up yet. BOO. So wish me luck with my studies over christmas break, i am going to need it.:(

class III baby

So today a class III landed in my chair, yeehaw, love when things start to work out right in the nick of time:) I was able to get 2 quads done and I was able to do anesthesia so it was a great day. I just need the III's to keep a comin.

boo hoo!!!

What the freak! So my class III pt. shows up on tues. for some reason and her appt. wasn't till today, so Solomen tells her that and she says she'll be there probably 10min. late but she'd be there. TOday comes along and 8:40 still no Concepcion. Give her a call and she plays stupid. "I had no idea I had an appt. today" oh really? Cause you were just here tues. and we confirmed with you. She's all "well i guess i can come today but i can't pay" ok see ya later, i already paid $10 for your xrays last time and i'm not giong to keep paying for you so no nevermind, so, the search for a III is back on. BOOOOOO! This makes me soooooooooooo mad!!!!!

another day down

Today was the beloved VA. My morning pt. was an old man who told me that he wanted me to stop putting my damn tools under his gums. Hmmm.....how am i to clean your 5mm pockets? Wow. And he told the Dentist that it would by his next birthday by the time I got him done. Thanks grandpa maybe if I wasn't wrestling with your tongue and lip the whole time this might speed up things a bit. But I got him done and he was 2 Qds of a III so that was good. And my afternoon pt. was great. I love when you get good pt.'s. He was a IV so i am still in need of 6 quads of a III, wish me luck

VICTOR-Y

So today I finished victor, my class IV VICTORY, VICTORY!!!!!!!!! I was able to give 4 injections and pass off 3 p.e's and this afternoon I finished my mockboard, passed off 3 p.e.'s on her and did 2 sealants so today was a very productive day, yet, I am still worried about my class III. So far i haven't seen any, and to be honest, if i don't get one and the VA chances are i won't cause i am booked till the end of the semester and not thinkin any of them will be III's BOOO THIS SUCKS

Oct. 27

Today I had VA, lucky me, my first pt. was a 1B (good thing I drove down here in the snow for that great qualification) and my afternoon pt. pulled a no show. BOO. Anyways, my first pt. I don't think my first pt. knew what a toothbrush was, his plaque was out of control but had ZERO CALCULUS!! How does that happen? Lucky fellow I guess. But his gums were very angry to say the least and it still took me an hour to clean him up. And the bleeding was worse than the plaque so I couldn't see a thing and I went through a pack of 2x2's but he was a very nice guy, easy to talk to and the time went fast.

Good day

I saw another 1A, which I didn't need the quads but i had forgotten to do an eaglesoft so that worked good. She had a PFI of 0% so I spent a lot of time on OHI with her and her mom. Then in the afternoon i saw my mockboard and i cleaned the other half of her mouth and it went well:)

VA vent

K, I gotta be honest. I absolutely HATE the V.A. I try to like it, and just change my attitude but I just DREAD it. Gosh I just feel like this is MY education, and I am doing this for FREE so maybe you would treat us with a tiny spec of respect. I keep getting told up there that "this is not a learning facility," Really? Cause I could of sworn I was paying money for this and I could've sworn the whole point of going to the VA was to get practice; On to the computer system. What?????????? I think I finally got a hang of it, now that half the semester is over, but I was like so worried about screwing up the computer system I couldn't get as much cleaning done as I should have cause I was so pre-occupied with entering crap into the computer, then It would magically disappear, so i would have to go back in and re-enter, p.s. if there is something that has zero correlation to my boards, I'd rather not waste my time stressing and worrying about it. Ok, now that is out of my system, I am going to change my attitude and the next time you hear from me, I will LOVE the VA.

Yay for me! finally

So today was a good day. It could have been a BIG problem but it ended up good:). I had a pt. call in and cancel his appt. the night before so i turned to my list I made at the women's health connection and the first 2 people didn't answer,so the 3rd person I called answered and said she would be there in the morning. Yay. So, she showed up and ended up qualifying for the mockboard...YAY!! Love when you strike good luck:) So i didn't clean her, i just took xrays and went over OHI she has never had a cleaning in her life so alot of what i told her was brand new news to her. So now the trick is getting her to show up.

good day

today was a good day. Both of my patients showed up so that in itself is a good day. I pass off some P.E.'s and got some qualifications completed so that is a great day. I feel like, however, I don't feel like I am detecting the calculus as well as i should. So, I will work on that:)

we need back up here!

K so remember my nice little class IV? yeah, well he decided he wanted to come next tuesday or wednesday instead of today and not tell anyone about it. Yet, when I talked to him last night at 8:00 pm he claimed he woule be here. Then he doesn't show, i call him and he's all "oh yea, I want to come next tuesday or wednesday" well guess what bud, I'm not here those days! Anyways, my sweet little sister-in-law flew out of bed and was here in a half hour bless her little heart:) She was a 1B with light calc. on the lingual of her mand. anteriors but everything went really well. Except i need MORE XRAYS!!! Everyone that has come in so far to this point has already had them. BOOOOO!

Oh yeah class IV? BRING IT!!!

So today I found a class IV, yeehaw!!!!!! So....I sit down to get to work, it takes me about an hour to do 1 FREAKING QUAD, yeah, you heard me right, and I was feeling pretty good. I was getting massive amounts of calculus of this dude, there was absolutely NO WAY he could have any left. Or so I thought. And boy did I think wrong. Perry came over to check me and after about 2 seconds said "ok, we're going to go ahead and finish him up later." Uh...what's that suppose to mean? Well let me tell you. THis means I burnished every interproximal's calculus. Nice. I was so sure too. SO now, I need to work on freaking interproximals and what the He*& does burnished calculus feel like anyways? JEAZ GUYS THIS IS FRUSTRATING!!! So I got in a fight with a class IV and he won. We'll see about next time Victor, I'm going to kick you interproximal calculus' trash!!!!!!!!!

talk about BAD freaking LUCK!!!

so first day at VA, first pt. pulls a no show. THis was secretly ok with me due to the fact that my pt. was 1. homeless and 2. addicted to meth and cocaine. Those didn't sound like fun for the first pt. back. So, my second pt. is 20 min. late, so I was getting discouraged he wasnt going to show, and to my surprise...he showed!! And its a good thing too cause I was sooooo ready for him and excited to get my clean on, so I got talking to him and to my dismay...he had knee surgery within the last year DID NOT PRE-MED, therefore, I had to send him home. BAD LUCK ISN'T OUT YET. It gets better. So, the next day, I was at the gym pumping some seriouse iron and all of a sudden, my back freezes up, I can't move, I drop to my knees and can't breath. Apparently it was a "muscle spasm" whatever the H that means. So I seek a massage and a trip to the chiropractor and cry myself to sleep. I wake the next day and feel a little better, strap on my back brace, take my Valume, and am on my way to the first real day of clinic where I'll actually see patients! As I 'm pulling into clinic, the pt calls and cancels my morning and afternoon appointment. OK, AM I GETTING PUNKED HERE? WHERE IS ASHTON? THIS IS NOT FUNNY. Kyle ended up coming (nice i had to use my number one back up plan on my first day of clinic) and the clinic found me someone for the afternoon, thanks for that guys. Anywho, it turned out good, I got 8 Quads of a IV, an exam passed off and a P.E. so we'll take it. E for effort.

is summer over already?

Bummer. Here we are again. But you know what? That's ok cause that means we are getting closer and closer to graduation baby yeah!!!! So the first clinic day back was awesome. We didn't need a pt. we just got a peer in our chair and got re-introduced to our units, instruments and the human oral cavity. Speaking of cavity, jen found 5 cavities in my mouth!!!!!!!! I can't remember the last time i had a cavity and i show up with 5? What the H? So gotta get those fixed. We also learned how to sharpen our instruments which went well, so far so good. Let the games begin.

Loops are the bomb

Got another 1B. But I was lucky to even have a pt. in my chair. I scheduled someone 2 weeks ago and left messages to remind her and hadn'd heard back from her so about an hour before I needed a pt. I made some calls and someone was able to come in so it was awesome that i even had someone show up. And can i just tell you all how much i love and adore my loopes? Seriously, once you try them you will wonder why you did without them. They're really like the best investment, my posture has improved a ton and its soooooo cool to actually SEE the calculus! i HIGHLY recommmend them.

Getting wrapped up

So I finished my 1B today and passed off my intra-oral camera so that's basically what I got accomplished today. I am running out of time. I have 1 sealant, a 2 and a 3 left as far as requirements go and 4 more pe's so we are starting to wrap up. I feel good about clinic and class believe it or not i'm just going out of my mind with school!!!!! Every day i wake up and think, am i done yet? You are kidding me i am still doing this non-sense day after freaking day!!!!!!!!!! Burnt out, i have officially HIT THE WALL, so GET ME THE FREAK OUT OF HERE ALREADY, LET SUMMER START!!!!!!!!

1A yay!!!

Finally something other than a 1B!! yippee! And i also got sealants and a pano done so hip hip hooraw. Love those kinds of appointments. i didn't get any P.E.'s done so better luck next time. I'm starting to feel better about the requirements this semester. I need a 2 a 3 and a 1 and one more sealant so i'm getting close.

FRUSTRATION

So...my last Class II came in and guess what...turns out he's now a class 5, now considered a 1B!!! Fabulouse, can't have too many. Good news is he needed a full mouth, and his xrays were so intersting, around multiple roots, it looked like abcesses, exactly what we see in radiology but the dentist thinks it must be thinning of the bone (my pt. was 74) and my pt. wasn't in any pain so the Doc said not to worry about it, but i kinda am. I want someone else to take a look just to be sure.

IB :(

Another 1B...got some bitewings and he needs sealants so he will be coming back so that will be good. He had braces and it was my first time working on braces and its pretty intersting to manouver the probe arond those things. I got him cleaned but didn't have time for sealants and he will be coming back and needs 10 sealants so if anyone needs one, let me know.

1 sealant down, 2 to go

Today I saw another 1B SUPRISE, but I was able to get a sealant on her done, my sealant PE and my sharpening PE done so my time wasn't completely wasted. My goal for next time, is to finish all my class II remaining PE's which are specific instrumentation and ultra-sonic on my Class II pt. who is coming next clinic. So he will finish off my cl. II's and I'll have two 1A's and my class III left. So that is my goal, and that is my progress.

another 1B

I had another 1B, i'm getting really good at these unfortunately because they are all i have these days!!!!!!!!!!!!! My xrays were great, thank goodness, I love conventional more than any other. And I ended up getting him done in 1 appointment so I guess its good to keep seeing them to work on my time but i NEED 1A'S!!!!!! Once again, I was so rushed trying to get him done in 1 visit that I didn't have time to pass off any PE's...Boo:(

Little Bro

So my bro came in and he has been in Africa for 2 years using a stiff bristled brush. He had a little recession and a broken tooth and not very much calculus, in fact it took 20 min. to do his full mouth so considering he hasn't been to a dentist in 2years, he looks really great. He is a clean freak so he has always flossed and mouthwashed on top of brushing so good example that it truly does help. It was a little concerning, I found 4 palpable nodes on him. 2 on his sternocleidomastoid and 2 large ones on the base of his skull on the back of his head so he's going to see a doctor so it;ll be intersting to see what it is, hopefully nothing too concerning. I need to pass off more PE's and TAKE MORE XRAYS!!! I'm starting to get nervouse about those items:(

Class IA

I had my first mixed dentition patient and it went great. The xrays and cleaning was a breeze (ofcoarse) but I loved teaching her OH. She was so darling and seemed soooo excited to be in my chair, gotta love those pt.'s right? She loved the "surprises" i gave her, floss, TB and tongue scraper which appeared to be her fav but she was sooooooo receptive and eager to learn about her teeth. I gave her a goal to try to floss 2x/week and brush using the Fones method focusing on the gumline, this seemed to be the area she was missing the most and she showed it back to me and totally understood what I taught her, she did it great:) So yeah i love eager little kido's can't wait for another!

Mamma Mia

My momma mia was my pt. today and she did great. She has 2 bridges and over half of her teeth have a root canal. When my grandma was prego with her and also her older bro, she took a medication to help with the morning sickness and when she was pregs with her last child, the doc told her not to take it anymore because there has been a negative correlation with the medication and the tooth development of the babies. So my one uncle and mom have bad teeth and my other uncle has great teeth, so, it did show a correlation but is that even possible? That it would even effect the permanent teeth too? Anywho, I got her HHx, xrays and OD done and she'll come back for her cleaning. Hope all is well with everyone else, break is coming up! Sprint to the end!

Class V

So today I did a full mouth scale on my dad who is a Class V who ended up qualifying as a cl. II so that was good, I got all 4 quads done and only missed one tiny spot so that was good. I passed off my second anterior and posterior instrumentation P.E.'s so that felt good to get it all done, including an exam, yay:) And I finished with time to spare so my time is improving so its exciting to start seeing improvement.

Thanks little bro

Today my bro Bridger was my pt., he was a class 1B and he has like 8 cavities every time he goes to the dentist, he has beautiful teeth but i think you is a all day soda sipper and so he will be my "sugarbug". His visit went well, I didn't scale yet but took stupid digital bite wings and what the heck is wrong with me? i was taking such good films on the aweful dexters, how come i can't get a descent pic on a person with a perfect mouth? hate them. But i totally get into OHI, i love educating people cause before school, I knew nothing! I hope the world will catch up with us and realize how important oral care is the overall health of our bodies. So bridge got a very thorough OHI and hopefully he will understand how important everything is that I told him.

if you thought i hated xrays before, now i really hate them

So hubby came back again today, cold sore is gone thank goodness, and I attempted a FMX using the phosher plates. So i was so nervouse about working the computer and the plates so i will blame it on that for now but my xrays sucked. I only retook 4 cause professor snow made the others work, but really katee are you serious? the occlusal plane on every single picture was completely off and my contacts sucked it up BIG time, what the? did i not take an entire semester of learning how to take these idiot things? and i could've sworn that the rin kit was designed that even idiots could get a good film, and even with them i couldn't get a good xray! but congrats to kelsey for only having 1 retake on her full mouth, maybe you could teach me sometime. Anyways, I got the full mouth done in 35 minutes, that could also be the problem I was trying to be so fast (not like 35 min. is fast but I was rushing) deep breaths and quality films is my goal for next time. But the good news is, is kyle is finally done!! After 3 long appointments, i finally got him all scaled! So another goal is to work on my spead on probing, hopefully i can invest in the loops and that will help on time.

JUST MY FREAKING LUCK

So my husband had a cold sore all weekend and I made sure he caked that sucker with medication day and night and he was even taking oral medication to get rid of it in time for his appointment monday. So, sunday night it looked great, scabbed up and looking good. So he shows up for clinic, I seat him, decide I better have Costley take a look at the cold sore before I get started, and she bared tidings of great joy, it went something like this, "He needs to reschedule"...what? Oh don't you worry, sometime between the time I said good night to him the night before, and the time he arrived at clinic, a new piece of crap cold sore had developed. So, I very calmly, proceeded to bite my cheek to preoccupy myself so I wouldn't burst into tears, walked him out of the clinic, and very casually walked around the corner and started crying. What do I do? No patient? So I call everyone I know and most people wouldn't answer and didn't leave a message, cause lets face it, they needed to be here a HALF HOUR AGO! So I get a hold of my daddio and I'm holding it together and ask him what he has going and he says he has a bunch of meetings, so I start crying and tell him i need a pt. and he cancels all his appointments and makes it by 9:00! HERO OF THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I ended up getting his OD done and OHI and, he turned out to be a class 5!! Nice. He will be back next week to finish up. Hellish day turned good. thanks dad!

Nice and smooth

So today went perfectly. I felt so good about it. My pt. was my sister, who was a class 1B thankfully, and she was so easy to probe, chart and scale. She maybe had 3 areas where I actually needed to scale. So I was able to get her entire appointment done, beginning to end. I really needed this after my husbands appointment last time I was wondering if I even knew what the heck I was doing. Just goes to show each apt. will be different and you will learn new things for each.

Class 2 LR Quad

So my husband was my patient today, I was so happy he came cause I am soooooooooooooo scared to work on a stranger. So before he got there, I was like, maybe I'll have time to scale his whole mouth and take a full mouth radiographs? It was a returning visit so i thought i could do it. Well, i was very mistaken. Let's just say it took me 47 min. to finish ONE QUAD!!!! You heard me right, one quad. I used the ultra sonic so that was fun but awquard. Still need to practice with that. I missed 3 spots subgingivly and 2 spots supra and i actually felt good about that considering how much freaking calculus he had. So, move forward, learn from it and move forward. My goal for his next visit, finish 2 quads!

welcome back

back to school. break was pure heaven. just not having to study or take tests made the break amazing. so first clinic day felt good. felt good to be back. we learned how to use the ultra sonic scaler and i have been looking forward to using it so it didn't let me down, it was fun. i'm excited to try it on my hubby tomorrow. he's probably not, considering we got to practice it for about ten minutes, but hey, apparently that's all we need. we also learned about all the different gracey's so that was good info, good instruments that make our jobs easier. always nice. am i scared for patient's you ask? hell yes. my goal is to remain calm. consistantly use my oils and calm down.

Real Pt. Day

So...Kyle my husband was my patient. It was overall, a good appointment. Except I never want to take digital bitewings ever again. I was having trouble getting the contacts open, I like using my rin kit much better.Charting and probing ended up being quite an ordeal on Kyle. He has had a stainless steel crown on for 8 years!!! You heard me right, 8 YEARS!!! So you can imagine the problems it has caused. Anyways, it was good practice for me on charting and probing. I gave him the super floss and interdental brush for the ridiculouse temporary and he has been very diligent with them, so hopefully we can get him a new crown that will allow the attachment fibers to re-attach. Overall it was a good appointment and I felt pretty good about it.

GOOD JOB KARA

So I was Kara's pt. and she was awesome! She was so confident and everything went very smooth. She was very prepared and everything was great. I have a weird thing going on in my mouth these days. The central frena above the Max. centrals has been so sore and swollen and it has now migrated to my canines and also #3 and #20 and now I have noticed 2 palpable nodes under my mandible on the right and another one just to the right of my ramus. What the? Yeah so kara suggested I swish with warm salt water so it has been helping. Anyways, great job Kara!

YIKES

So monday was my mock pt. day but I was so happy to see that Kara Hall was my patient:) I know I can learn a lot from her so I was happy to have her in my chair just in case I needed a few reminders (just a few). But overall, I felt pretty good. I got one quad done and Kara only jumped once during probing! ha sorry about that. However, I felt like I was constantly asking questions. I need to get confident in myself and do what I been taught and everything I have studied so hard about! So that will be my new goal, BE MORE CONFIDENT!

SHUT THE HECK UP!! 2 WEEKS LEFT!!

Yee Haw it's almost time for a BREAK!!!! Wow it's funny how excited I am about it. One semester down, I was getting worried there that I wasn't going to make it through but here I am still truckin along:) So, clinic was good, we mostly just passed off our P.E.'s which went very well. Clinic is so fun, and can i just say how much I love my class? Seriously, everyone is so cool everyone just makes it so fun, I really do love school it just kicks my butt sometimes. So I'm getting stoked about having patient day!! Fun fun

Sealants

So I feel so official now that we learned how to do sealants. They were easier than I thought. We also learned how to use the air-powder polisher. I think I will appreciate that more when I get some more pt.'s with some more stain. I passed off some P.E's and have 3 for wednesday so wish me luck with that.

First Official appointment

So today I worked on Mindy and she was a great patient, thanks Mindy! I felt good about everything except for probing the linguals!!! Gosh, I thought I had a hang on them but apparetly not, she kept saying ouch so thats not good:( But I did well on scaling, I only missed two small places so I felt good about that and it was an overall good experience so I'm glad we were able to do this before jumping in with a real pt. I aslo passed off universal and polishing P.E's and the light is now being seen at the end of the tunnel. Some nights I just DREAD studying! It is getting harder to do it these days, 4 and a half more weeks till break!

Sit back and relax...well kinda

So monday I was Katie Gibbons patient and she did sooooo good! I was so proud of her, she finished the entire appointment:) It was awesome to see that we actually know what we are doing and peicing all of our P.E.'s together to make an actual appointment! For wednesday my goal is to complete the entire appointment and try to do it all from memorization withouth having to look at anything. I know what I am doing I just need some confidence. And I also have to pass of my universal and polishing P.E.'s so that should be easy.

Adaptation, angulation and articulation, what the?

So I like had a mind freaze today passing off my P.E. but Kim had mercy on me and helped me out. Once I remembered what the heck it was suppose to look like it came back, just like riding a bike:) I like when Prof. Costley helps in our pod, I feel like I really learn everything like posture and movements. I passed off my P.E.'s today with flying colors, yipee, and now my life is focused on radiology. Yeah this class is my very LEAST fav, I wished I liked it better but I just don't. So I decided I will always have an assistant who will take my x-rays for me, that's cool right? So does that mean I don't have to take radiology anymore? ha I wish.

Passed

Yay so I passed my charting P.E. so that was a relief and I actually did really good:) I also passed my instrument design so I am on track, not ahead just on track but that's ok, (it really freaks me out not to be ahead but I just have to do what I can do, give it my best) Ok and we worked with the Barnhart today and I love it! It really does fit perfectly around the tooth and I am feeling more comfortable with my indirect vision on the linguals, I really really enjoy clinic.

Dental Screening P.E.

So I was so worried for the Dental Screening P.E. today but I feel pretty confident about it after actually doing it. I need to give myself more credit and trust myself and my abilities. I studied and practiced and read the clinic manual so there is no reason why I wouldn't do great so I just need to relax, take a deep breath, do my best and my best is enough. I also was able to work on Alisha today and it was so fun, it started clicking today, the scaling and exploring. I really really enjoyed it. Goal for next time, pass of my Instrument design P.E. and it should be a cake walk.

Yay for scaling

Today we actually got to scale, I have been so excited for this day and left a little let down:( jk I just thought it looked so simple and IT IS NOT! There is much more to it then you would think. I am trying to use my index finger for directing the scaler when it should really be my index finger and thumb and my middle finger is only used for support so I don't slip. So I need to practice using my rist for movement rather than the middle finger, and also focus on keeping the blade in the right direction. I was kind of hooking it instead of bringing it in an upward motion. So, those are my goals. I brought some tools home to practice on my typodont.

Instruments and mixed dentition

So today we talked about our instruments and learned how to distinguish between them, what to use them for and when they are used. I felt good about this, it all made sense to me and it was easy to see the diff. However, earlier in class we looked at a picture of mixed dentition and we were suppose to be able to chart it. Which were primary or deciduose and also, what numbers or letters they were. Yeah, this I don't know. But since I have WAY too much to focus on for now, I will just worry about it when it comes up in my P.E. or on a test. Until then, I can't stress about it. Some things come easy and I am able to remember them well, and somethings, even though I have learned and read about them, for some reason, will NOT stay put in my storage space in my brain. Those things I have to go over and over and over and over until I feel confident it is stored in my brain for good. I passed off my explorer P.E. and it went well, Professor Costley taught me some good tricks in determining which end to use. My goal for wednesday is to get ahead!!!!!!!! I feel so much better when I am atleast ONE P.E. ahead of the due date.

Clinic Fun

So kids are so easily entertained. We developed my sisters film and apparently her 4 year old got a hold of the camera. We have been cracking up. He took a picture of his nose, then his 1 year old sisters nose, then his ear, her ear, his belly button, her belly button, his toes, her toes, ha ha i just thought it was so funny. Anyways, so clinic is my fav. today I passed of instrument grasp and it finally feels natural to me. At first it was so awkward and I was totally blanching but now it just feels right and I don't want to do it any other way. I worked on Pamela today and it was nice to see in someone else's mouth, I usually work on Kelsie so I got so use to her mouth, it was good to change it up a little. I like OHI. I think it is so important to communicate to our patients what they are doing right and what areas could use some improvement. I like that we set a goal with each of them and that they demo the way they have been brushing so we can help them make modifications or changes that can make the most of their daily brushing. It's so cool all the different kinds of brushing aids that are out there, they have thought of everything to help make cleaning our mouths more convienient and also, for the more difficult mouths, a more successful way of cleaning.

HITTING THE WALL

In work out terms, when you have pushed it to the limit, given it all you can give, there is no more left, you have just HIT THE WALL. You just simply run out of energy and have nothing left. This my friends, is exactly what I have been trying to avoid since the first day of school. Some days I get pretty close and I have to take a step back, calm my racing mind and catch my breath. Just stay focused on today and tomorrow. That is as far ahead as I can allow myself to look. ONE DAY AT A TIME. I have to stay on top of things so I don't drowned in it all. I must Stay organized. Utilize my time wisely. Get plenty of sleep. Exercise. Crockpot. (thank goodness for the invention of this bugger) These are key to NOT hitting the wall. This is all efforts being taken to control my stress and anxiety. Ok, now thats out of the way, Clinic today was a success. I passed off my intra-oral PE and my Eagle Soft tx plan PE. They went really smooth. We learned about PFI and how to calculate it using the disclosing tablets. They were awesome, I think that is the greatest way to show your patient what is going on in their mouths and I believe it will motivate them to do better. My goal for wednesday is to pass off 2 PE's.

ChArTiNg

Today in clinic was good,this is my favorite thing about the hygiene program, CLINIC! You just see...and do:) over and over till it's engraved into your mind, it's not stressful and complicated like the other classes around here!jk thats just the best way I learn, see and do. We charted using the green form today and I had a hard time distinguishing between a composit and a sealant. I kept thinking there were composits and Mindy would tell me no, that one is another sealant. So Kelsie didn't have any fillings at all so hopefully I will be able to work on someone who does so I can tell the diff. between them. Today I passed of the Extra Oral P.E. so next week my goal is to pass off the intra.

HE'S HOME!!!!!

Hip hip hooray my hubby is home! Phew, that takes a lot of worry and stress away right there. Today was awesome in Clinic, we are moving along and learning so much. Today we learned how to chart our findings. As everything else, we will need to do it over and over to fully understand so I'm not too worried about not doing it perfect the first time, I felt good about it, felt like I learned and understood, now I just need to do it a couple times to get it exactly right. My goal for next week is to pass of the Extra oral and intra oral P.E.'s, this should be easy.

Probe, get it?

So can anybody say FRUSTRATING!? So it's like I know what they want me to do, I GET IT, they tell me over and over, they show me over and over, I know what its suppose to feel like and look like but for some reason i just can't do it! Its our first time so I'll cut myself some slack today but not for long, the col area is whats getting me. Practice makes perfect. I passed off my 2 PE's today, the HHX and the vitals and I could finally hear the systolic! hip hip hooray! So my next goal is to practice probing and get confident with the col area, I should probably take my probe home and practice on whoever will let me in their mouths until Kyle gets home and can be my permanent study buddy, bet he can't wait:)

Open wide! Adapt and roll

This was the key for todays clinic, adapt the working end, walk walk walk and roll. Not too difficult, I really liked it. It just made sense once I was in the mouth and could actually put what I learned to use. I had to keep telling Kelsey to open bigger, she was probably like uh...my mouth doesn't get wider than this! Sorry, kels. So I found that when it didn't seem right, it was because my fulcrum was off, so once I figures that out it made sense:) So didn't pass off any P.E.'s today, apparently we didn't plan enough time to pass them off which really puts a damper on my schedule this week, I just wanted to get the Vitals and HHX PE done and out of the way so I could focus on my tests and DH quiz's but no, now I need to continue refreshing my memory and worry about passing them off. Hate to stray from my agenda when every minute of every day is accounted for, could ya tell? So my goal for wed. is to pass them both off.

HOLD UP

So take a deep breath, keep breathing. That is my new goal for the week. I am super stressed about all the tests next week, I need to get studying! Once I do, I will feel better about it, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear" good line to keep in mind. Today in clinic was awesome:) I really liked using our instruments, felt like a hygienist. So my goal for Monday is to pass off 2 PE's I need to get going on them. Say ahead.

CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE? UH NO, JUST AN OVER SIZED FRENULUM

Ok, trying to put on the brakes and learn what has been taught to me the last couple clinics. I seem to be struggling with vitals(still trying to actually hear with my stethescope), health history (uh...what do I write and where do I put it) intra-oral exam (familiarizing myself with the names of the structures in mouth) and the extra-oral I feel okay about, I just still need to work on remembering everything that needs to be checked. Soooo much to learn, how do I fit it all in? My days are devoted to hygiene and I still can't find enough time to learn it all. Just keep truckin I guess. My goal is to pass off my Vitals P.E. on Wednesday. My family is sick of me taking their blood pressures but hey, that's the price they have to pay for being related to me:) they're great, gotta love em.

p.s. also found out today that I am "tongue tied" a little condition called ankyloglossia

Hair net shmair net

Today in clinic was our first day of actually looking in a mouth! So today was probably my favorite day so far. Except for the fact that I had to wear a hair net and barely passed my post-apt. PE. So my goal for next clinic and from now on, it to have appropriate hair:) It's just hard for me cause I look like a dude when my hair is completely slicked back. So yes, my new goal is to NEVER NEED THE HAIR NET AGAIN! I passed off the chair positioning PE also and that one I feel really confident with. Another goal of mine is to always stay at least one PE ahead of the due dates. That should help me keep my sanity.

Sept. 8th 08

Today I passed off my Eagle Soft P.E. so that was nice to get done:) I'm the type that likes to stay ahead because I'm so panicked to fall behind so I am all up to date today, yeehaw. We also practiced taking vital today and wow, struggles once again. I could not hear the heart for the life of me. Poor Pamela, I kept having to do it over and over, her arm was numb, sorry Pamela! She was a good sport, she helped me. So yeah, I came home and did it to my parents and I did very faintly hear it so guess I need to take a trip to the doc and get the ol' ears cleaned out. I really think that would help. My stupid allergies get me all stuffed up so maybe that could be it? Probably not but lets just pretend. So thanks for everyone's help and patience with me today!

Clinic Day 3

So...today I passed off exposure control set-up PE and the personal protective equipment PE. It was good, still learning, can't wait till this all makes sense.

Clinic Day 2

Day 2 in clinic was pretty cool, we got all suited up in our dental gear and learned some new PE's. Today we learned how to set up and tear down and the positioning of the chair when working with a patient. It makes sense but I just need to keep reviewing it. I feel like I have soooo much to review, learn and read that it's like when I get home, I don't know where to start. I just need to take things one day at a time. Get those things done each day and try not to look too far ahead or else thats when I panick. So, taking it one day at a time. That is my first goal for the program.

Clinic Day 1

So first day in clinic was much better than I had expected actually. We were taught what PE's even were so that was good, and they seem pretty basic so I want to pass them off asap so I can get them behind me and on to the next. It's just overwhelming, I think if I can stay up on everything and keep organized I will feel alot better about things.

Yikes

School starts monday. Not sure how to feel about it yet, I'm stoked to be in the program but I'm not gonna lie, scared to death.