El Fin

Yes I completed my first year of the dental hygiene program and boy did it go by fast! Looking back on this year I feel like I've learned so much yet I still have so much to learn. It has been great so far though, I am definitely ready for a break but hopefully after a couple months I'll be ready to come back in full swing. Well I finished my last patient on Wednesday. It was a senior and she needed everything done (including sealants) except xrays because she is pregged. I was a little nervous- It was morning clinic, she was 45 minutes late, and I really needed to clean all her quads for the credit, and I needed one more experience of sealants. But guess what? I finished! It was a great feeling. She was an easy patient and didn't really have any calculus but for the first time I think I didn't miss any spots on my scale check. It was a good way to end the semester! Now I'm ready for summer, smiling and amazed that I made it through this first year in one piece :)

The Return of the "Classy" Class IV

He came back!!!! And yes it is close to a miracle. He told me last week at his appointment his phone may be getting shut off because he hasn't paid the bill so I might not be able to get a hold of him to confirm his appointment. I tried to call him this last Friday and lo and behold.. The phone had been shut off. So all weekend I was worried he wasn't going to come in and trying to figure out another way to find a Class III by Wednesday. Luckily I had a little faith he would come in because he did and he was right on time. I could have cried I was so happy. And another wonderful thing about today was I talked to Demmings right before clinic because I wanted to see if there was any way my Class IV with 3 quads could be counted as a Class III with 4 quads- I was skeptical she would do it but she did and she was so nice about it! As lame as it sounds that was a tender mercy. So all that started the day off just great. I had 2 quads to scale and boy were they tough. Tenacious calculus combined with tobacco stains makes my job hard. It was a really good experience though and Demmings was great. She spent a lot of one on one time with me giving me tips and suggestions to improve my instrumentation techniques. I was reminded today that I definitely haven't mastered all this yet so it's a good thing I'm coming back next year. I have learned a lot though and made a ton of improvement. AND... I'm still smiling because I finished my Class IV, school is almost over, and I'm done with clinic for today. The combination makes for one happy girl :)

Seal Away

Well today Chelsey so kindly gave me her patient that I gave her so I could do sealants on her. I have been struggling with sealants this semester (as in getting patients that need them) so now that it comes to the end I've got to get them all done! This patient needed 11 sealants so I definitely got a lot of practice. I still feel a little awkward when I do them and I can see the benefits of having an assistant but nontheless I can do them. It's quite the task to keep the mandibular teeth dry but I managed. I'll keep sealing away until I'm done and I am still smiling :)

My "Classy" Class IV

Well well well, the day finally came I got my Class III and he actually came in! And lo and behold he was a Class IV! I knew that this patient probably wasn't going to be the classiest of my patients considering I was told he lives in a trailer park and hitch hikes to all of his appointments. But luckily he got a girlfriend to drive him around so there was no hitchhiking to this appointment. This patient had severe bone loss, furcations, mobility, calculus, and plenty of missing teeth- and that is what may cause a problem. He only has 6 teeth on the top so there is no way that is two quads but I'm hoping since he is a Class IV my instructor will be a little more giving with him. For his first appointment he was great- we took some PAs and got a quad scaled. He didn't want anesthetic so that made it hard as the operator because I knew he was uncomfortable. I used Oraquix for the first time though and that was neat and fun to use. It was really gratifying to see the quad I had done compared to the ones I haven't- it looked good! I still missed more spots than I would have liked though and I think I'm getting a little discouraged because I spent a lot of time on that one quad. But hopefully it comes with more time and practice. My "classy" patient is going to come back this coming Monday, well I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he will. I'm paying for his cleaning so he better! He did tell me that his phone may be shut off by that time because he hasn't paid the bill so I'm just praying he remembers and shows up! It was a good experience for me to work on a harder patient and I look forward to the day I can do it with ease. Well until next time we'll keep it classy and we won't stop smiling :)