Looking Back and Moving Forward

This semester was amazing I learned so much! It has been great to learn about something I love and to get to know so many great people! I really feel blessed! I am a bit nervous for next semester, mostly trying to find patients and having my requirements done. Talking to my peer pal Camille has helped. She gave me some tips and calmed my fears. I know we will all make it if we work together so it'll be okay. The unknown is just a bit scary sometimes.

First Real Patient Day!!!

Today before clinic I was a bit nervous. This is something I have been wanting to do for like five years and now I actually get to start treating actual patients. Not to mix religion with school but I really felt like I had some help today. So many nice people were praying for me. I was so greatful to have such a nice patient patient. He was great! I just took it slow and tried not to panic. I was able to finish the OD. The next thing I would have done was to disclose. It wasnt a ton but having him write the probe depths for me helped. For the radiology portion of the day I had to take one bitewing over again cause it wasnt distal enough. I totally forgot to give him his x-ray and to do a BFI but I think that was it. ( I hope ) I am glad everyone was so willing to help it was great! This makes me feel so much better about spring clinic now I at least know more of what is to come. It was a good experience overall. Thanks for all of your help whoever reads this!

Sit back and relax

It was so nice to get patient treatment overwith so I could just be the patient Wednesday. I liked it a lot. It was a good learning experience for me. Its a great review of what happened Monday and its good to feel what you will be doing to someone so you can empathize with them. I think me being a patient to will help me others feel better when they are in my chair. I know how it feels and know a little more about things that make it not as uncomfortable as it could be. She did a great job by the way, it was just good to experience being a pt for myself.

Mock patient day

It was good again to go through all the motions before actual patient treatment on someone who is not my classmate. It was fun to work on my patient. I think probing an actual mouth helps a lot so you can get a feel for how things go. We had an incident with the fluoride that was hilarious! I put the overfilled tray in her mouth and went to sit the chair up more, but I pushed the wrong button and the chair went all the way up! We both started laughing pretty hard and before I knew it fluoride spewed everywhere! It was on my glasses and everything! That was the highlight of the whole appointment.

Its sealin time!

Today I passed off my air powder polishing and sealant PE's as well as instrument sharpening. My stone broke into three pieces so that was a bummer. Now I am paranoid about being careful though so I hope I wont break anything again. I never knew that you should do a fluoride treatment after doing sealants. It totally makes sense that after you etch something you try to remineralize it! What if you didn't seal over part of what you etched? Its a problem definitely so the fluoride idea was smart. Anyway I can't believe that this semester is almost over! Its crazy! We are like one fourth of the way through the program! Its fun to think I'll be Meagan Ferrin RDH someday! Well bye for now! =)

Air Powder Polishing/Sealants

Yesterday in clinic I got to try the air powder polisher for the first time. Its pretty cool I really liked doing sealants. I couldn't complain at all I was able to get free sealants on my teeth then too. Really I just cant believe we have come this far! Its amazing! I have learned sooo much its been great! Its cool and it makes me nervous that we get to work on actual patients so soon! I just think its neat that we getto do what I've been seeing hygienists do for years. I am so thrilled to be here!

Sharpen/Being a Patient day

Today I got to sharpen instruments for the first time. At first I thought I was doing more damage than good but then it started getting sharper and catching on the test stick. I took that as a good sign. Hopefully I will get this down soon. I'm sure we all will. For the rest of clinic and half of radiology I was a patient. It was nice and its really good to see what the patients side of it is like. Especially with x-rays they poke into your mouth so I tried to get those side cushion things. (I cant remember what they're called now) Those help. It turned out alright I had to do a few retakes but I am going to get there. Thats what I'm here for is to learn right. There are those times though I just wish I did it right already, but I guess I'll appreciate it more when I get there. Bye for now! =)

Putting it all together

In clinic today we got to do everything from start to finish. It was really good to have that experience before actually getting into patient treatment. It was like going through a ton of PE's all at once. I was greatful I got to work on an instructor because I got good feedback. It helps so much! You can think you're doing it right, but really you are missing something. Its nice to know so you don't practice the wrong thing. This program is really good I have learned soooo much! Thanks to everyone thats helped me with that. I really do appreciate it!

To polish or not to polish?

In class yesterday we went over polishing and today in clinic we practiced with a prophy angle and a toothbrush. I wish somone would have told me how to brush when I was little. Its not like my teeth are horrible but it would have been nice to know. I definitely want my patients to know this early. I never knew til yesterday that polishing with prophy paste actually removes enamel! Yet we still do it all the time. It does remove stain and plaque though so I am trying to decide how I am going to go about this when I am in private practice. The prophy cup seemed to get more plaque off than by toothbrush polishing. We tried both today. It wasn't a drastic difference though so I am thinking of maybe trying to just polish with toothpaste instead and see if I get the same effect without removing tooth structure. I am glad I got to learn about this instead of just doing something because everyone else has for such a long time.

First day working on braces!

Today was cool cause I got to work on braces for the first time. It was alright I hope I did a good job. It is so nice to have people around to help you know what to do. I need to get into the col area further. I wasn't quite getting it. I guess I just need to be more agressive about that, but nice at the same time of course! I really want to just do this for homework and practice. I really like it a lot. Well whoever reads this I hope it wasn't too boring, and that you have a good day. =)

Posterior Instrumentation

Today we did posterior instrumentation for the first time. It was weird at first, but after awhile it got better. I really like that we always have someone there to help us out. It helps so much or I'd be practicing the wrong way and not even know. I am glad I am here its been a really good thing for me and Ive just loved it! The girls in the program are way awesome too! Its fun to do something Ive wanted to do for such a long time!

Practice

Today in clinic we used the disclosing tablets and then practiced scaling anteriors. It was good practice. It was also cool to get to use the intraoral camera those things are so good for patient education. I like it when they can see what you can. I think it will make OHI so much more effective! Anyway today was crazy cause I drove from my parents house this morning and would have been on time except for the fact that I either missed the exit to get on 89 from Legacy or Legacy only connects to I-15. Anyway it set me back and I was late sadly, so I am sorry for anyone who was impacted by that. I will have to plan for that type of thing next time, if I ever drive back from home before class again.

Oral Cancer Screenings

After clinic today I went down and helped do oral cancer screenings in the union building. It was a really good experience. I felt like we helped make people aware that oral cancer is out there. I don't think it is something most people really think about. I also feel a lot more comfortable doing intra and extraoral examinations. It was awesome and I realized again how much I love what I am going into. Its great to help people and I just love helping out this way. I think I like it even more now than I did before.

Instruments

Monday we went over all our instruments. It was good to actually find out what they are I was kind of wondering. Im sure by the end Ill know what they are just at a glance, but for now I will just have to study them. It was also good to go over exploring again. That definitely helped.

1st day scaling!

Today was our very first day of scaling anterior teeth! I was pretty excited. I told my dad what we were doing today on the phone last night. I think I did okay I need to work on getting up on my fulcrum and being parallel to the tooth I am scaling. It was getting better by the end. I think I definitely am going to have to do exercises for all my muscles and maybe marry a massage therapist. =) No, I think itll be fine after awhile.

Marathon

I decided to title this one marathon cause it felt like we had to do everything today in a short amount of time. It wasn't too bad though, in all honesty it was probably pretty good practice to work within a time constraint because that is what we will be doing later in private practice. Lately I have been paying very close attention to how I brush and floss my teeth they feel cleaner already! Hopefully my PFI will go up soon. It was good to go over things again. I think if I just learned it, passed it off, and didn't do it again or for awhile I would forget it. Well ta ta for now.

Purple teeth!

Today we disclosed the plaque on out teeth it was interesting to see where I need to improve. It was also fun to see everyone with purple and pink teeth! I think this is going to be good with patients because they can see for themselves where they need to improve. Now if I could figure out who my first patient is that would be good. =)

Charting

I liked charting today. I am so glad I was an assistant before coming into this! I just feel more comfortable with the whole atmosphere. What a blessing! We had our second SADHA meeting today it went pretty good I hope that the oral cancer screening activity coming up has a good turnout. I think clinic is one of my favorite parts of this whole thing its cool to get into it and actually practice skills I will need for the rest of my life. Well I guess thats enough random thoughts for now. I am sure I will come up with some later.

Probing

Today was our first day probing. It was cool to see what to do plus we got to play with marshmallows, bubble paper, and candy corn! Ya just cant beat that! I thought it was a smart idea. I think I got most of it okay thank heavens. It was just hard to reach behind the very back molar while fulcruming where I was. I will have to work on that one. Thanks Kim for being my ginea pig!(I hope I spelled that right ;) You were awesome! Thanks again!

First day really exploring

Today we learned the right way to use an explorer to check for calculus etc. I was excited to start working in the mouth again. Really I just love clinic, sure its not perfect and i don't always catch on that fast, but I really like learning about this stuff! I feel so blessed to be in the program period! Its great what were learning but all of you make it even better. So thanks girls for making Dental Hygiene awesome! I hope you all have a good one. Whoever will be reading this! =)

Fulcrum

Today we learned how to fulcrum properly. It got better after practicing I think. I was thinking how many times I had to clean cement from around temp crowns and how it would've been so good if I had known then what I know now. Its funny too after Katie mentioned how people get hygienists mixed up with assistants. I've already had at least one I think maybe more people think that I am going to be a dental assistant. Totally not the same thing! Anyway I thought it was funny. Have a great day everyone!

Today's clinic

Today I was happy in clinic cause the patient positioning stuff began to make sense. I am curious to know how this whole indirect vision thing will play out, but I'm sure we will all get it. Anyway I felt like x-rays were going better today also. Boy am I grateful for the experiences I had as a dental assistant! Well I am out for now. Random thought my legs totally feel like rubber now. I guess the gym does that to ya! Oh well.

Vital Signs

Today in clinic we took vital signs it wasn't too bad. I felt like I was going to turn everyone's arms blue! Thank heavens it wasn't too bad. =) I guess the girls I practiced on could tell you better. Anyway after Friday I am so excited about SADHA. The group that was elected is going to do such a great job. Its going to be a blast! Thanks for voting for me for all who did. I wasn't going to be heartbroken if I lost. I think Brandy would have done awesome, but really I am so excited to try and make this the best I can with help of course. I want us to have a good time and get as much out of the program as possible. As well as help others as much as possible. Well I'm out for now. TTYL =)

I love teeth!

Today was the second day of clinic it was pretty good. I am still trying to keep the positioning straight. I am a pretty happy camper though cause finally I get to learn about something I love! Everytime we went over the digestive system in Biomed and they barely covered teeth I was always bummed, but now I have a whole class devoted to learning about them! Really I think I am a total dental nerd. Last year going to UDA convention just thrilled me. Well thats it for now. Have a good one everybody!

My First Blog Ever!

Well this is my first blog obviously. I think I'll get the hang of this, hopefully. Anyway orientation has been pretty good. I am looking forward to checking out all the stuff in my instrument issue actually. I think I am a total dental nerd! Well thats it for now I guess. Bye!