First real pt!!

Today was stressful but very informative/productive. My wonderful husband came in today to be my first pt. I was a little frantic at times but overall it went well and I feel better about how my apts will go. I'm getting more comfortable with charting, I feel like I'm getting used to the flow. I still have a lot to learn. I really like working on pt and today I noticed a few things like: they don't just know what to do like your student partners do! I had to explain a lot more and i took a lot longer. I feel like I'm very slow but I'm hoping that will improve with more pts. It was nice to do x-rays today and see how they fit into the appointment. I loved having a really pt and I'm so excited for January!!

One pt Complete 1 million more to go!

Tanya was my first official pt I finished her apt. today. She actually had a very small amount of calculus and I'm prod to say that I successfully removed all of it! It was totally awesome! I found that My back started to hurt and I got tired fast. I know I need to develop better posture and build some serious muscle! I really feel a lot more confident with how each apt. will go. I love being the operator and feel I have really developed my skills. Tanya was a great pt who was encouraging and easy to work on. I feels great having a whole apt finished now i just need a lot more pts!! Bring on my first pt on Monday and good luck to me in the spring!

My first Official Pt!

Today was so fun and exciting! At first I was really nervous about our mock pt days but once I got going I really enjoyed myself. I could feel myself getting into the flow of things. All my knowledge was put to the test and It was nice to see I really did retain all that information. I loved doing my mock pt day after doing my 2nd year observation I feel like between the two I really had an opportunity to solidify everything. Tanya was an excellent pt who was very easy to work on. She was so relaxed that while I was printing her treatment plan she fell asleep. It was funny. I loved putting everything in order and feel a lot more confident. The OHI was fun and I think that being able to expand your pts knowledge will be useful and fun. I was most worried about the charting but I feel like I did well it all came rather quickly and hopefully instructor Demmings will agree. Overall It was a productive exciting day.

2nd mock pt day

I was still the pt today and again I felt it was really beneficial as the pt to learn the order of an apt. Today tanya got to scale and disclosed. I'm excited my pfi went up to 75% thanks to my sonicare. I was nice learning how to watch each other scale. She also got to try the ultrasonic scaler and It looked like al ot of fun. I'm excited for next week.

being the pt

Today was nice i didn't have to have anything prepared I simply sat in the pt chair all day!
I was nice to see Taynya work through an actual apt and i feel I'm getting a better grasp for what I will need to be doing for my pt apt. It was interesting seeing how long everything will take. I liked watching tanya and seeing some of her techniques. Today she did her health history, HHXRX, OD, OHI, she also got to explore a little and did a great job. I feel like it has been forever since we did probing and I may need a review. So this mock pt day will really help.

Sealants

Today we did sealants! They were a lot of fun! I worked on Karlie Willard and she had a lot of teeth that needed sealed which made me happy! I however only had 1 tooth that she could seal (I felt really bad) She did a great job on my sealant. It was tooth # 15 on the distal and was a hard sealant to do. It was really funny I had to keep my law wide open and it locked and when instructor Demmings told my to close I could not close my mouth at all she had to tell me like 3 times and finally I got it unlocked but I still have a headache and its like 3 days later! I liked doing the sealants and I also passed off my PE for selective polishing! I was a really busy day and I feel a little out of order and I'm hoping that by the time we see our pts we will be more organized!

air powder polish

Today was crazy we learned how to air powder polish and yeah I don't think I'll want salt for a long time it was gross. I liked learning how to do it and feel it can help the pt instead of rubber cup polishing. I thought it was funny how the powder got all over your face and it was starting to burn. We also had to pass off our dental screening PE and the verdict is still out as to how I did. I'm a little nervous about it. I think I did most things right but I did start to get a little confused. I worked on Whitney again and it was fun using the air powder polisher.

Practice Day #2

Today was great I really love practice days. I passed off both my intraoral PE and my OHI PE is was great. I feel like I'm finally getting more comfortable with using the correct angles. I tried the 204S on the premolars and professor Costly gave my a great way to angle for the mesial aspect! It felt really good to get a good angle. I really like the Nevi and feel very comfortable with it. I worked on Whitney today and she had great teeth and was a really good pt. It was I nice easy day where we could just practice. I think that the intra-oral camera was a cool way to show your pt something they cant see directly. I'm learning how to do a great OHI I feel like this is an important part for your pts that can often be skiped. I want to really be able to educate my pts in the future!

PT day

Today was really relaxing I was the pt all day! I felt like I could fall asleep! Sam worked on me and did an excellent job! I also passed off my universal PE but feel I could use a little more work on this area! I would like to feel more confident but I'm sure that will come with time and practice! While Sam was working on me she noticed that I had some areas with marginal gingivitis and I'm glad she told me so that I could work to keep those particular areas clean. I can really see the benefit to teaching your pt and actually showing them how to brush those areas!

Practice Day

Today was awesome we got to practice all day on each other. I worked on Sam and did almost everything we did health history's, charting, OHI, Dental screenings, treatment plans, disclosed and then got to practice our scaling! All of this was much needed It was nice to be able to put everything into a good working order. I really felt like I accomplished a lot today. It would be so nice if we had this much time every clinic. I passed off 3 PE and feel I did well and I'm getting more comfortable with anterior scaling but I need more work on the posterior. I found that it is really important to sit right my back and neck were killing me after 3 1/2 hrs being the operator! Over all it was a great day!

Dental screeing!

It was good to chart today Sarah hardly had any cavities and I was envious of her! I feel fairly comfortable with charting but would like to practice it some more. It is hard to see some of the composite if they are small. I got to practice my anterior scaling and feel like each time I practice I get better. I think I finally got the angles down. The posterior is another story though I still feel akward and can't wait for the day that I feel comfortable and confident with myself. I still wonder if maybe I'm doing it right! Hope I get it soon. I need practice practice oh and then some more practice!

Blue Teeth!

Today was so fun we got to disclose each other! Wow I had know idea I had so much plaque is really is a little crazy. I found that I'm brushing correctly but I need to brush for longer periods of time. It was good to actually do the PFI it made more sense to me once we did it in clinic. If was fun practicing the OHI and feel a little more prepared in that area.

Scaling

Today we learned how to scale and I had a really hard time keeping my stack together! I wanted to use my fingers to move up and down instead of my wrist! I feel like I need a hole lot more practice and then i might get it. I had a lot of fun but wish that I did a little better with the lingual aspect. I hope I van practice a little more this week. I also feel like I need to review all of out other pe's like probing. If only there was more time in the day!

Monday again

Mondays are hard to come back from the weekend but because I only have clinic i really enjoy them. Today we got to learn how to use out explorers and go subgingivaly on pts. It was a little nerve racking but I felt like I got the hang of it. The angles are hard and I'm still struggling keeping my stack together but I'm a lot better then the first time I tried it! Marieann was a great pt and gave me a lot of direction and good info. I hope I didn't hurt her to much. Over all I felt good about it but I DO NEED TO PRACTICE! It was relaxing being a pt. Clinic was a lot of fun.

Probeing

Clinic was awesome today! I got to probe Marcy and It was the coolest PE yet. I loved it it was so fun to work inside someones mouth. It was hard to feel how deep you should go but I think on a few I could tell the difference. I think I want to go home and practice on any willing participants! I really feel like I need to tape my pinkie to my ring finger so that my "stack" will be perfect, I keep sticking my pinkie out:) I'm feeling a major bad habit coming on. I also passed off my vitals PE and totally rocked it Woot Woot! I'm so getting used to being in clinic and feel more comfortable here. I did have a moment when I realized " I'm going to be a hygienist and it was the best feeling ever!

Health History PE Done!

I finally got to pass off my health history pe and I'm so glad its done. I feel like I did well but I guess if theres something I missed I'll find out soon. We learned out to use a fulcrum and I struggled with keeping all my fingers together guess I'll have to practice. We also learned how to do an intra-oral exam and I realized that there very detailed I also need to study those. Over all today was good and fun.

How to use a mirror

Today was awesome it went by so fast we got to work in peoples mouthes and do extra-oral exams on each other. I feel like i;m getting a good routine down and we also got to practice the Health History PE.I'm feeling good about passing that off next monday. I'm getting more comfortable using the instruments and working inside of peoples mouths. I really enjoyed clinic today it flew by and we all totally rock it.

Vitals

Today we learned how to take vital signs: BP, Pulse and respiration. I thought it was cool to hear and take your first BP and I fairly sure I got it down. I also passed off PEs and feel really good about them. although Professor Costly tricked me With tooth number 27 but over all it was good. We also learned about chemical exposere it was awesome!

clock work

Today we learned how to properly sit as a hygienist I think the adjustment will be difficult to make a habit of but will profit me in the future. The clock positions were a little confusing but once I sat down in the seat and actually saw/did it things became a lot more clear. I also passed off 2 PE's successfully woot woot! I really enjoy the clinic days they are full and busy but productive and the day goes by so fast. I feel like we learn so much in such a short time. The key will be for it to acctually stay in my head instead of passing me by. The other PE we learned was maintenance and we had to clean our the suction traps yuck! Mine was full of prophy paste lol. overall it was another great day!

First Human Patient!!

Today was awesome! We got to work on our neighbor and I saw my first really human pt in my opp. Merianne was a great pt who helped instruct me on my super suctioning skills! we used the HVE, saliva ejector, and the blue boa. It was over all Fun. I also passed off my 2nd PE woot woot I think I managed to pass! they are still a little never recking but I'm sure I"ll get the hang of it! I realized the blue boa was a lot stronger suction then I thought. It was kinda funny the first time I closed my mouth all the way around it. Overall it was a good day and very productive.

Blue Boa, PE's, Suction what else?

Man It was so early when I got up this morning though the time dose fly by in clinic. Today we learned how to do our PPE/PE and I sure I can pass of that PE I also Completed my first ever PE and passed woot! woot! It was a little nerve racking but went well. Its nice to learn/see the process of everything. The Blue boa is a great idea I think once I get used to the idea of it I will like it. I love how its hands-free I think I'll need all and any extra help I can get. We also got to practice suctioning on our Typodonts I have the feeling I'm really gunna need to sit properly so my back wont hurt so much. It was cool and we also learned about pt charts they are a little confusing but I love the cheet sheet!

First Clinic Day!!

Clinic was great for the first day I learned my way around met some awesome girls in my clinic. We mostly checked off items in our pod and thourghout the clinic. We also learned a little more about what is expected of us and I feel like the program is off to a good start. It was interesting watching Mechel and Meriann practice on each other it was great!! The lab was hotand my lab coat only made it worse. I fear I may pass out in the future from the heat. I was fun the hear everyones most embarrassing stories and we had a good laugh. Overall I think it was a great day and I'm looking forward to Wendsday.

This will be one of our last days together before the crazy busy semester starts. Good thing it was fun!

Orientation day!! I feel so much better about the program and can't wait to start!