Patient Managment

Today I had a really hard patient and boy or oh did it test my patience. My patient had a very low pain tolerance and was really anxious just making the whole appointment nerve racking for me.  It was a very patience testing experience.  I ended up finishing her though because I did not want to have to bring her back for her sake and mine.  I know that I missed lots of spots on her anteriors but there was only so much I could do to make her comfortable and get my job done. Then in the afternoon I saw a deaf patient and that was really hard as well because she was really hard to communicate with.  I felt bad that she did not understand me but again there was only so much I could do. I felt like today was a good learning experience throughout the whole day.  I have come to realize that dental hygiene is not only about cleaning teeth but it is also about people skills, patient management, teaching, sometimes counseling and so many more things.  I didnt know that my career path would have so many traits associated with it but I like it! It gives me a variety of things to do throughout the day and not just cleaning teeth!

Mockboards

Well mockboards were a great learning experience for me.  I really learned what kind of patient I would want to take into the test with me.  My patient was really nice and tolerant to everything I had to do to her so that was a great thing but as for her calculus levels and tenacity it was really hard.  She had lots of calculus and so I felt like I had to so much more to take off than I had time for!  That hour and a half goes really fast. i am so glad that we do so many mockboards to really get me prepared and ready for the real thing, I cant imagine going into the test and not knowing what to expect.  I really appreciate how prepared Weber State gets us for boards.  When I see that it makes me think they really do care about our success.  I ended up not passing my first mockboard because I missed 5 spots but like I said I felt fine about that because I had so much to get off in the first place. Also the highlighter really killed me because every spot I missed just so happened to be a highlighted area.  Darn it. But better luck for me next time. I just have to remember it is a journey and I have to enjoy it while it lasts.

class 2

today i finally found a class 2!  hooray!  now i only have to finish 8 more quads!  I missed some areas though because she was a really hard patient. she hadnt had her teeth cleaned in 10 years and so her calculus was tenacious.  At least i finished her though!  I really hope that I find more class 2 patients!

Seeing three patients in a day!

Today I saw more patients than i ever thought i would.  I saw three patients. I saw a class 5 in the morning and she was the nicest lady i have ever met! Then in the afternoon I saw a 1B and a 1A.  It was a really busy day but i felt really accomplished because by the time i finished clinic i had completed 12 quads.  This is a good way to get requirements but i felt that i didnt have the time to do PEs.  Which is also a stress that I have to worry about for requirements. I am sure that I will be able to get them all done but still it makes me wonder how i will ever finish.  my goal is completing PEs next week and to still be very productive.  I am seeing lots of patients next week too so it will be a good way to test my skills.

screening and class 5

So today I pushed myself with time.  I saw a screening and a class 5. It was good for my time management.  I found a class 3 during my screening! I am happy about that!  I also finished a class 5 during the rest of clinic which was really hard because I only had like 45 minutes left to scale him.  It was a good experience though.  I really felt like today was a good day even though i missed a lot of spots on my class 5. But I saw a patient from last semester and he looked so much better, so that is always fun to see improvement!

class 4 patient

Today was a very educational day.  I was able to see a class 4 patient.  It was a great experience for me to get tough calculus off. I also did really well because I only missed 2 spots which for me is a huge step up from last year. I can feel myself getting better and better each clinic session. I was able to finish 1 quad today and I rescheduled him to come back.  It was a challenge because he couldnt lay flat so i basically had to clean his teeth sitting up.  It was quite the experience.  I am excited for next week because i am CA which will give me break from seeing patients.  NOw my goal is to find a mock board patient

Patient no show

So today was a fun day....NOT.  My patient did not show up this morning and I had just talked to them last night.  I was so frustrated because it is a wasted clinic session and I need all I can get in order to get all my requirements.  Luckily my mom was nice enough to come in and be my back up patient.  I started crying and had a back down.  I told myself I would not cry this year but sometimes you just need it. This afternoon I have a class 4 patient and so i hope i have a better afternoon.  We shall see though.... At least I am doing well with time management though because my mom got here around 8:45 and i was still able to finish her which is an improvement from last year. I know that everything will work out but it is hard to constantly feel that when you have days like today. I am just hoping that I am getting all of the crazy stuff out of the way early...

Class 5 Patient

This afternoon I was able to see a class 5 patient.  It was a pretty easy day for me except my patient had a full mouth of crowns which made it hard for me distinguish between the margin and calculus.  I was able to do 2 bwx and 2 pas. My goal for today was to finish my patient in a timely manner and get my chart in before checkout and I was able to succeed with that!  My patient was really nice and also rescheduled for next semester.  My goal for next week is to get through all the ODs and at least scale a quad because next week will be a hard week.  I am seeing a lot harder patients.

Back to School!

Today was the first day back in clinic where we are seeing patients.  I had quite the experience today, my patients wife went into labor and so that an obstacle I had to work around.  I was able to do an OD check and that was all I had time for before he had to jump out of my chair and get to his wife to get her to the hospital.  I tried to call other patients to come in but everyone that I called said that it was the worst day for them and they couldn't.  So I felt like I had a wasted morning.  Especially because he was really easy and I would have had him done really quick. The positive I got out of the morning was that I had to do an OD quickly, so that helped with my speed.  For the afternoon I have a class 5 patient and so I hope i can finish that patient all in one appointment. My goal for this afternoon is to finish quickly with effective work.

last day of clinic!

well today was the last day of my junior year clinic. I have to say that this semester has been full of learning experiences that have really helped me be a better hygienist.  At the beginning of the semester I felt like I was so incompetent and that I would never be a good hygienist and time goes to show that this is not true.  I am getting better and better each clinic session this is not to say that there will not be hard days and hard patients but it does give me hope that I will be a good or maybe even a great hygienist at the end of this program.  I didnt miss anything today which was great! I also finished my PEs which was also great! I felt today was a successful day! My goals for next semester are to keep improving in skill and in time

last monday clinic

today I saw a 1a which was really easy.  I really like seeing kids because they are so easy. I was able to finish really early today and i tried to get someone else to come in but nobody could so thats ok.  I only have one more clinic day left.  i have a class 2 coming in on wed. and i only have one more pe to pass off so that is my goal.

class 2!

Today I was able to see my grandma which was a good experience.  I was really nervous because she has some mobile teeth and i didnt want it to be me that extracted them.  She was a class two which was nice to clean because I feel like i am getting much better.  I really feel like i am getting the hang out this which kind of stinks because it is the end of the semester.  But that is ok I will feel really good next year!  I was also able to clean a denture which was nice to do again. I tried to give it to someone else but no one needed it so that worked out ok. My goals for clinic are to finish up my last requirements and pe.  I hope that it will work out!

class 1 a

Today I saw a class 1a which was nice because she was really easy!  I was able to also see my sister to do a pano and 4 bwx.  It was quite a quick clinic session because I had tow people to see today which was a good thing for me to get faster! Luckily it was my sister I saw today as my second patient because I was behind 30 mins.  or so.  I am glad that I pushed myself because I have not pushed that hard yet.  I felt like today was a good day because I made attainable goals that were hard but not too hard.  I am excited to see my grandma on wednesday!  My goal for wednesday is to complete her appointment with xrays and all!

today was a good day!

Today was a great day! I was able to finish another 1B and was able to do a sealant and my a/p polish pe.  I felt pretty accomplished.  I didnt miss anything today which will be the second clinic day in a row!  Hooray!  I feel like I am starting to know what I am doing and it is a good change!  I am now almost done with all of my requirements.  I feel pretty good about that!  Just need two more quads of a 1B and 8 quads of a 1A which i have scheduled.  So that is nice.  I cant wait for summer and it is coming closer and closer everyday! I only have 4 more clinic sessions before summer! my goal for next week is to finish my 1A requirement!

finishing another 1B!

Today was a much better day because I had a bit more confidence with my 1b patient.  I didnt miss anything which was a nice change to my clinic experiences.  I really liked that feeling!  I felt that I was pretty productive today because I was able to get my diagnodent PE done and I also placed a sealant.  So today I got a lot done.  It makes me excited the closer and closer we get to the end of the semester.  I really can not wait for the summer! It makes me happy that at least I am getting better with my easier patients because if not then I would be a bit more concerned. One wednesday I have another 1B patient which should hopefully be a better experience again!

class 4

Last wednesday I saw a class 4 which was the hardest thing i have ever done! I did not know that someone could have that hard of calculus!  It was really hard for me to use enough lateral pressure to get the calculus off.  That day was kind of a discouraging one because on that monday I had seen a class 3 and had the same problems.  So after last week I was feeling pretty unsure of myself.  The class 4 though had pus coming out the pocket and it was so crazy to see that because I had never seen that before.  I also used my graceys and I have never had an instrument go that far down into the pocket as I this patient did.  I was really suprised that I could put it down that far.  I was also cleaning teeth that were mobile and that was scary to do, because I wasnt sure if they were going to fall out!  It was a real eye opeing experience to me becuase I had never had such an experience before.  Hopefully next time I can do a better job at missing less calculus. 

class 3!

Today I was able to clean a class 3 and let me tell you it was hard!  I just felt like the calculus was so tenacious and it would not come off!  I really had a hard time that.  I have to remember not to get discouraged with myself because I know that this patient is my first class 3 experience.  I am hoping that next time I will be able to get it all of and only miss a couple spots.  Today I got my first X which was hard for me because i dont like those, but I have to realistic with myself and I know that I deserved to get that check because I did not get enough calculus off to get a check.  My goal for next clinic is to get all of the calculus off because I am seeing another class 3 on wednesday.  I hope that this one is easier for me now that I have had experience with a class 3. Seeing these class 3 patients makes me not excited for next year because I have to see lots more of them!  But practice makes perfect! 

finishing my class 2

on monday i was able to finish my class 2 which was a great experience. My patient said that it felt like it went much smoother which was a great feeling.  I also didnt miss any spots.  I feel like I am really starting to get how to do this.  I am getting better as time is going on.  I know that it just takes time and patients to perfect what I am doing.  I just need to not be so hard on myself on hard days.  But thankfully today was not one of these.   I am really happy that i was able to scale 2 quads and not miss anything.  I am glad that I made my patient feel more at ease with what was going on.  I also feel like i am doing better at OHI because my patient have a significantly lower PFI at this second visit.  I really was happy about that.  my goal for my next appt. is to cut my scale time down and to not miss spots.  I just have to keep telling myself that I will continue to get better as I go. 

Class 3!

Today I was able to find a class three! At least 2 quads of a class 3!  I was very happy about that!  Now I just need to find 2 more!  It was a good experience for me and it as really hard!  I missed quite a few areas and felt that if i had more time I would have done much better.  I was really happy that I had this experience though.  the calculus was extremely hard to get off and i know that i need to use more lateral pressure.  That is something i will have to learn and build up my muscles for.  Non the less it was a good experience and i think the day you miss lots of areas is the best day to learn. It makes me nervous though because that means i have to get much better for next year because that is most of what we see are class 3's!  My goal for next appt. is to use more lateral pressure and not miss as many spots. My perfect goal would be to not miss any spots but I dont want to get to hard on myself. 

class 5 yet again!

Today I was able to finish my class 5 patient and it was such a great experience.  I loved my patient and he was the sweetest guy!  It was funny to talk to him and realize how many people he knew that i knew i guess the world is smaller than we ever knew.  I really appreciated having him as a patient.  I was able to finish him today with plenty of time which was great because it allowed me to accomplish my goal. Today was a good day which is what I needed because I have been kind of discouraged the past week or so worried about my requirements.  But I have to tell myself it will work out! I just have to believe that.  Today I didnt miss anything! which was a great confidence booster! My goal for next time is to finish my class 2 and to help him have a better experience.  I hope to finish him in plenty of time!

class 5 patient!

This blog is for my monday patient which was the same patient that I saw today!  So Monday in clinic I saw the sweetest patient! He was so funny and I had an awesome experience with him.  I loved that he was my patient because he was always on my side and he wanted me to have a great experience.  He was so funny.  I was able to finish 1 quad on him and it was a good thing I only did one because he was a talker which was fine with me because I wanted him to have a good experience. He had lots of plaque which was a new experience for me because so far I have not had a patient with as much plaque as he had.  It was a great experience for OHI because he really needed help.  My goal for next his next appointment was to finish him with plenty of time left over.

another 1B!!

Today I was able to clean another 1B and it was a good experience.  I was really nervous for some reason because it was my peer pal and so i guess I felt like i had to do everything perfect and i ended up taking too much time to make sure i was doing everything the best i could.  I did take xrays though and did not need any retakes which was a great thing!  I fulfilled one of my goals from last time.  The next patient I am seeing is a class 5 and so I hope to finish him in two appointments.  This would be great!  At least that is my goal but we will have to see!

my first patient I finished in one appointment!

Today I was able to finish a whole appointment! I was so proud of myself!  It was an easy appointment but I still felt really good about it!  And to top it off I didnt miss anything!  I felt like today was a great day!  I really enjoyed this appointment.  I had a really great patient.  I didnt even have any retakes! This is an accomplishment for me!  My next goal is to do just as good of a job with my next patient!  I hope this is attainable! I was just proud of myself because I fulfilled a goal for the first time this semester!  I feel like I am really becoming a great hygienist.  Which is a change in mood and attitude from last week!  On wednesday I have a lab so I wont have a patient until next wednesday because of presidents day on  monday which kind of worries me that i will miss two clinic sessions. but all i can do is try right. 

my first 1A

Today I was able to finish my first 1A and it was a great experience.  I was really happy that my first 1A patient was so good!  I thought I did a good job because I was able to not miss any spots!  I didnt really have to do much with scaling because I was able to polish most of the build up off.  Overall my patient did really well and was a good sport!  For my next 1A I want to make a goal to finish them a little faster I took a little longer to finish her but I also did a PE!  My other goal is to not have any retakes as well. 

another 1b

So on monday I was able to see a 1B patient.  It went really well!  I took a little longer on the health history because it was a bit more complex but that is ok because it was great practice!  I really liked to work with this patient!  It was a great experience!  I was able to finish two quads which was great for me.  I did miss some spots so i wish that I only did one quad instead of doing two but that is ok it was a good learning experience.  Now i know for next time that I need to be a little bit better on my time management.  My goal for next time is to finish her other quads without missing spots and better use of my time.

class 2 finishing 2 quads!

Today I was able to finish 2 quads on my class 2 and it was hard work!!  The calculus doesnt come off as easy as I thought it would.  I am ready for the day to be over!!  Not because I had a bad patient but because i worked really hard!  It was a great experience for me to clean this patient because I had to use different techniques I havent had to use yet.  I actually really learned a lot today!  My goal for my next appointment is to finish my patient! I hope to do that because I think my next patient on monday is a 1B! I hope that is attainable!!

finshing another patient!

I am on my way to finishing more and more patients! I finished another patient today which was a good feeling! It was a class 2 classification and a 1B classification on the lower arch.  Today I seemed to have a few problem areas where I missed spots.  I really wish I wouldnt of miss those areas but my patient was a little bit harder because he has shorter teeth which is harder for me to adapt and get the right angles.  The more of those kinds of patients I see though the better I will be familiar to shorter teeth and the easier and easier it will become.  Well that is my plan at least!  I hope that I can start to get better sooner than later!  My goal for next clinic session on wednesday is to help my patient feel comfortable with the appointment because he is really nervous.  He is my class 2 with lots of calculus so it may be a hard appointment and I hope to finish him if he is willing and the appointment goes smoothly without the use of anesthesia.  I really hope to finish him though.  But I want to make the patient comfortable.  Back to today though I did feel good about the appointment I just wish I had not missed those dreaded spots!!

class 2 once again!

So today I as able to OD a class two and it was a great learning experience!  I was able to also complete a full mouth xray series.  It was a very educational experience.  I felt kind of down on myself because I did not get to the scaling but after talking to my instructor I felt a bit better about myself after she reassured me that I did a great job by completely doing an OD and taking a full mouth.  My goals for this patient is to complete at least half a mouth of scaling or maybe more if it happens! I will be proud of myself if I can get this done!!

2nd class 1B finished

Today I was able to finish my class 1B!  It was great because he wasnt able to come until 8:30 and was late so I really didnt get started until 9:00 today and I finished 3 quads so I was very happy!!  I even finished early which was great!  I am starting to feel really good about class 1Bs but I am excited to start working harder patients!  I was able to accomplish my goal from last week and have a faster scale time! I had a scale time of 60 minutes today which was 20 minutes per quad which was great because when he came in last time I scaled one quad and it took me 45 minutes so I really did well with time management today!  I was very happy about that!  On Wednesday I have a patient coming in that has not been in for a long time and so I am excited to see what kind of build up they have! It will be great!! My goal for Wednesday is to get the OD done with at least a quad scale or maybe 2!

First Patient that was not an aquintance

So today I was able to treat a patient that I did not know.  It was a great experience and I had a very nice patient.  He was very patient and was a great first experience!  I was able to scale one quad which I was hoping to do more but it is what is it is I guess.  He is coming back on Monday and so I am hoping to finish him up!  I really enjoy doing dental hygiene and love helping people get to their optimal oral health.  My goal for monday is to finish him up and have a faster scale time.  I really hope I can start scaling faster!!

Class 2!!

Today I was able to clean a class 2!! it was hard work but very fun!  It was quite and educational experience for me because I missed two spots and then I was able to feel the spots I missed and I could really feel the spots I missed!  I really enjoyed learning!  My goal for when this patient comes back to miss no spots and decrease my scale time.  I hope to finish him at his next appointment.  I really like dental hygiene it is so fun!

first pat of the semester!

Today I saw the same patient as i did the last semester!  I really felt good about how the appointment went today I did miss some spots but I am almost happy to have missed them because I was able to have a learning experience.  It feels good to keep learning through the semester and to know that I have things that I can work on.  I am excited to see my next patient on wednesday. I am a little nervous because it is a child and i have never worked on a child before.  My goal is to finish the child on wednesday! 

first day back!

Today was our first day back and it was fun to get back into the swing of things.  I really enjoyed using the ultrasonic today. i decided i really like the swivel tip one.  it is much easier to use that one because the tip moved with you and you did not have to move it manually. I really liked that part.  We also learned how to use graceys and that was good to know also.  I kind of struggled with the distal gracey because i could not quite get the perfect angle.  so the next day i will be in the clinic i will be working on a patient!