polishing, floss, and yucky yucky varnish!

I was so excited for today when i walked into clinic. I LOVE getting my teeth polished... and then I met the air powder polishing and I changed my mind! That is the most uncomfortable bad tasting thing ever! Then I was polished with a prophy angle and it felt better until they put the dang varnish on my teeth! That stuff is sick! I felt like I hadn't brushed for weeks! so maybe it wasn't as enjoyable as I thought it was going to be, but I learned a new skill and had 20 minutes to practice my scaling and probing! If I were to balance out the negatives and positives I would say today was a great day!
I practiced adapting more and I think that I did pretty well. I can't wait till we get to use exterior fulcrums... that will be a great day!!

ultra sonic

Monday we used the ultra sonic tip but I still don't feel like I know how to use it! when I was an assistant I would observe the hygienist and the ultrasonic would work wonders! But since my partner had nothing to get off in the first place I felt like I was just going through the motions.
I'm starting to get nervous for our first patient because I can't think of one person on my family that could give up a monday morning. I don't know what I'm gonna do! If I can't find one how am I supposed to get two! I really hope some miracles happen between now and two weeks!

what is posterior scaling again?

I went to pass off my universal scalers PE today and I grabbed my instrument and my mind shut down! I could only remember what the correct end was! I had Sarah sit in the chair and demonstrate and luckily it all came back to me! that was a scary moment!
Besides that the day was great! I got to practice all of our typical first appointment things and I think that it went well. I think that I made pretty good time and I was thorough my probing depths today were almost right on! I can see how an appointment can take multiple four hour appointments! ;0) I have no idea who is going to be my first patient! I don't know anybody with free time in the middle of the day! I just keep tellin myself that it will all work out.
I did watch my posture closer today and I tried to adapt sooner (still needs work though). Day by day I'm puttin it all together in my little mind! I think that by the time I have observed a second year it will all be solidifying.

practice day!!

Today was so great! We got to practice most of the skills that we've learned this far. I didn't get to scaling but I felt pretty confident with my HH, Extra/intra, probing, and charting.I had no idea that i even remembered all that! I thought that i would totally bomb but it is just nice to know that my brain is containing the info. I think a little bit of it was that I made my partner go first so I got to see it all first ;0).
We also used the intra oral camera. That is cool! I got to show my partner some things that she didn't know about and talk to her about how to fix it! like a real patient!
On the downside I didn't have time to pass off any PE's. So much for being ahead! also I forgot to work on my four goals! oops.

A day of PE's

I passed off three PE's today! Three! I feel like they went well. Sometimes I feel like I'm kind of guessing my way through... I really do know the information but the technique is still very very far from perfect! things I need to remember...
1. adapt more than i think i need to.
2. work on strengthening my thumb muscle to when I roll the handle I'm not so weak.
3. WORK ON POSTURE!
4. practice with indirect vision
there are plenty more but I'm going to focus on these four things and work on another four when I feel like I'm getting ahold of them. Hopefully this will be a good way for me to improve instead of coming to clinic and doing the same things with the same bad habits, causing me to be less then my best! I want to be the best hygienist for my patients. That means some definite changes need to be made.

Purple pride!

Disclosing agents are great! (taste gross... but great!) . It was all so clear to see, but the bad news was that I had tons! I swear that I brush well! Anyway, It was nice because we got to perform a procedure, obtain the signatures, and chart, and clean. I wish we would do that everytime so that I could understand clinic procedure better. I'm gonna rock at the OD and OHI section at least! ;0)
More good news, I passed my explorer PE and I looked on the schedule and noticed that next week we have a practice day. It like all my dreams are coming true! Falling behind in everything... wish I had more time... I'm just so glad for the patient instructors and classmates that I work on! (Did I mention I skewered a lip today?! OOPS!) That will never happen again!

More scaling

Coming into clinic each day my feelings are exactly the same... I'm terrified to go and scale, probe, explore (whatever the day calls for) on a live patient, but when they day is over I think it was fun. We did posterior scaling on wednesday and it was not very easy at all! I felt like all the other things just took a little time and I sort of got it, but this I still feel lost. My goal for the next week is to practice my loose modified pen grasp and using a rocking motion with my whole hand and arm instead of just a digital motion. I also had a hard time seeing the angulation. I really need to practice my indirect vision! Its all going by so fast! in just a few weeks we will be doing mock patients and I still don't quite understand how I'm going to clean a mouth with only one or two time experience with each skill. I really don't understand the flow of the clinic yet either. I'm afriad I'm going to get in trouble for not following protocol when I wasn't even sure what it was! I'm trying to listen and catch on! I wish there was more time to go over things. This is a great program though, and hundreds have gone on before me and made it through just fine. Am I really that slow, or do students just fake it through their first couple patients... I will find out in a few weeks I guess! Until then I'll be studying my brains out!

finally scaling!

Okay so maybe "finally" wasn't the right word because everything has been going by so fast and I'm just trying to keep my head above water! I loved scaling today! I was sooo scared at first and I was dreading clinic, but after I practiced a little it was so much fun! I think I got a little bit of adrenaline rush when I pulled my first piece of calculus off the typodont and definitley when I could feel a little bit on my partner. I definitely picked the right profession because I love it! I just hope that I can match up to the profession... time will tell I guess. One scaler down, 50 (at least it feels that way) left to go!

a day of relief!

Clinic was so laid back and I needed it! We went over somethings that I already understood from the reading and then had the rest of the time to pass of PE's. I am a little ahead but I'm so scared for wednesday! I really am not ready to pass off the probe PE. I love clinic but I wish we had more time to practice the harder things before we had to pass them off! It's so stressful! I did alright when we practiced the first time... who knows how it will go?! I might get my first do-over. Sad!