11/30/09

Today was a good review day. It is nice to refresh our minds every once in awhile. The test on the manuel was nice, because those will be problems we face next semester in clinic. It was a very good refresher. We learned what to do if an emergency were to happen. We learned how to record PSR in our patient records. Then we learned skill we will need when we are a CA. I'm sure that I will still have many questions next semester. I'm suprised at how much we have accomplished this semester. It went by pretty smoothly and I'm hoping next semester will be the same. I'm worried most about finding patients. So this December I will be looking for patients and try to get as many as I can so next semester will be less stressful!

11/23/09

Wow! today we finally got to work on our real first patient. It was a good experience for me and luckily I had a patient (my sister) that would let me know if I was hurting her. I thought the hardest thing today was probing. For some reason probing takes me such a long time and I'm always so scared I'm hurting my patient. It was really fun to scale and actually see and feel some calculus. When we were practicing on each other we all had really clean mouths so it was harder to see. My goal this week is to work on probing my typodont and see if I can use indirect vision and get a little quicker at that. Overall, today went great! I finished one quadrant of her mouth so she will have to come back for some more fun!

11/18/09

Today was a very nice relaxed day! I got to be the patient today. As I said before it is nice to see it from the patient view and find things that you liked and things you would change. I fill like the dental hygienist are becoming a lot more confident in their work. In turn the patient has more trust in them. I think these mock days have made us prepared for our real patient day. I'm still worried, but feel so much more prepared! Now I'm just worrying about next semester and finding patients every week. I'm amazed at how much I have learned this semester and see how much we have progressed from day 1. My goal is to be prepared with my real patient and know the exact routine and be confident in what I'm doing.

11/16/09

Today was another mock patient day. I felt alot more prepared today and thought it flowed by smoothly. It is always nice to have the cheat sheet to see if you are doing the routine correct. We mainly scaled the opposite side and passed off sealants. I found that it is easier to do sealants on the maxillary teeth because there are no saliva glands getting the teeth all wet. I did not know when placing a sealant you dont have to use much sealant. Today, I got to do my second sealant and it was very nice to feel the difference when using the explorer. I was a little slow on my time when scaling. My goal is to become more time efficient when scaling and using the ultrasonic. Mock patients have helped me feel more prepared for our real patient on Monday. I'm excited to see how it goes!

11/11/09

Today was a nice and relaxed day. I was the patient today and got to lay down all day! It was nice to see it from the patient view. I picked up some things that I would like as a patient. I also learned some new ideas to make it easier for probing the very back teeth. I have always had a hard time with this. The patient just needs to relax their jaw and close their mouth a bit more. That way it will be more accessible for probing and scaling. Also, when probing the back tooth you should increase the angle significantly so that you are not poking the mandibular and maxillary tuberosity. I can't wait until I can probe as fast as the instructors. My goal is to practice probing and do it in an efficient time. That is the main thing that took up most of my time on mock day. I also need to study doing sealants because we will be passing that off next time.

11/09/09

Today was kind of crazy, but I think it was a very good experience for us. We had our mock patients today and had to start from HHx clear down to Status RX. The only things we skipped were two quads, selective polishing, and flouride. So mainly got paperwork done. The hardest and most time consuming thing for me was probing. We had to do the full mouth. I'm sure it is just practice I need and maybe some loupes. The ultrasonic was hard to move from tooth to tooth. I had to keep stopping after each tooth. I guess thats how you learn though. We passed off walking out a patient. That was pretty easy. Overall, it was a good experience and will be very helpful for our real patient day. I'm excited that I get a break and get to be the patient on Wednesday!

10/4/09

Today we mainly passed off air water polishing and flouride. The air water polishing definitly is not the best tasting thing. I prefer polishing over air water. It was nice to practice. I was looking over it yesterday and I learned some new stuff. I learned that the air water polishing works great on tobacco stains and chlorahexadine stains, so I will have to keep that in mind. We learned the correct angles and techniques for sharpening our instruments. We got to use a damaged instrument so it was not as scary. I will be very scared when it come to doing my own and making sure I'm maintaining the shape of my instrument. We learned that automatic sharpeners work great, but you just go through instruments so fast. I'm getting scared for our mock boards. My goal for this week is to study the routine and make sure I have my treatment plan down in the right order.

11/2/09

Today was kind of a fun day! We got to do sealants on each other. I have never done one so it was very new to me. Mine worked out good but was a little high so I had to file it down. I can't wait till I have the routine down and know exactly what I'm doing. On some things I have felt confused on what to do next. So i think by reviewing my manuel like Professor Costley suggested will be very helpful. I cant believe that we are going to have our real patient in two weeks. I do not feel ready! I think that the mock days will be very helpful. My goal for this week is to review the clinic manuel and to pass of air polishing next time. I get to come observe a second year this Thursday. That will also be very helpful to see how the routine is suppose to go.

10/28/09

Today we did the air powder polishing and selective polishing. I had no idea that polishing could take such a toll on your teeth and gums. I have been working as an assistant for two years and that is my main job. In my office it is part of the cleaning! I was so surprised when reading the module that polishing had so many disadvantages. We tried out the air powder polishing today, and that has to create so many aerosols! We use sodium bicarbonate in it and it gives it an off taste. I prefer polishing over using the air powder, but that is probably from more experience with polishing. I also got to practice scaling a little bit more. My main worry is just knowing that I'm adapting and using indirect vision correctly. I'm going to be practicing using the instruments on my typodont this weekend!

10/26/09

Today was so exciting, we actually got to use the ultrasonic. As always it was alot harder then it looks. It was fun practicing on the typodont because you could actually see the calculus coming off. It was kind of scary on a real patient, and I gave Jenny quite the shower. I didn't know that you couldn't use the tip when it came to using the ultrasonic. we have practiced using the leading third with all of our other instruments. So it was kind of confusing switching to using the lateral, face or back. I passed off intraoral camera and OHI PE's. It is going to be alot scarier going over the different types of perio and gingivitis with a real patient. I want to become confident in what I tell my patients. I want to be confident that I'm giving my patients the correct feedback and methods to prevent the disease from progressing.

10/21/09

Today was kind of a repeat of last Monday, but we really went into to depth. This time we had to record everything in each others charts. We got our pts chart and filled out HHx, HHxRx, OD, OHI, and Status Rx. My goal for this week is to learn what goes under everyone of them and be confident in it. I was really slow doing this today and want to get so I don't even have to think about it. I also passed off the Universal PE today. This instrument was a little harder for me then the others. I'm sure with practice that I will eventually get it. I had a hard time locating the composit feelings when recording for Dent. I think it will be alot easier once we have x-rays. I'm going to practice looking for these while I'm at work so it doesn't take me so long. That was the main thing that slowed me down. As a dental assistant I just take x-rays and polish. I have never looked out for these. So I think work will be a great help with this!

10/19/09

Today was a good day! Everything went so smoothly. We got to sit each other down and go through the whole process that we will be doing very soon. We did the HHx and HHxRx on our treatment records. We performed quick extra and intraoral exams. We probed a certain area. We looked for caries and recorded findings in each others charts. I learned that asthma is a medical alert and needs to be listed in the upper right corner in red. If someone has asthma we should ask the duration, when their last attack was, what sets it off, and any medications taken. In HHxRx we would write that they need their inhaler, and to avoid aerosols. I passed off treatment planning on Eaglesoft and Anterior Instrumentation. I need to practice using universal instruments and make sure I have that down for this coming wednesday. Overall, it was nice to be able to see how everything fit together.

10/14/09

Today we got to work on the dental screening. It was nice because now we actually know how to chart. We all had pretty good mouths so not a lot to chart. I got to feel what a cavity feels like. I was amazed to see how much info was on one green sheet. We must have to get pretty good at this to fill that all out within one app. and still have time to do the cleaning. The PE was very helpful in learning how to chart the different existing work and work to be done. I'm used to doing it on the computer so it will be nice to do it by hand and see which one I like better. I passed off my instrument classification and adaptation, angulation, and activation PE. This week my goal is to work on using anterior instruments. I'm very excited for the fall break. We definitely need one!

10/12/09

Today was a busy day, but not as stressful as it has been lately. We got to learn to do OHI in our treatment records. It was nice to put everything we have been learning together. We had to write our HHX and HHxRx in our treatment records. We learned what to write under OD and OHI. we looked over the gingiva and noted if there was any gingivitis. I didn't realize that people with such healthy mouths could have localized gingivitis. It was nice to see where I had it so that I can focus on those areas a little better. Afterwards, we did the disclosing agents and found the PFI. I think the disclosing agents will be very helpful for telling pts. where they need to focus and helping us identify where plaque is. I learned to be very specific with the OHI. For instance, instead of just writing brushing twice a day, you can indicated what TB method they are using. My goal for this week is just to get more familiar with using my instruments and especially my mirror with indirect vision.

10/7/09

Wow lots of information that we have been taking in these last few weeks! Today I passed off probing. I have never been so scared to pass off a PE. Luckily, I was within 1 millimeters on all my quadrant. It took me thirty minutes but I did it. I'm really thinking of getting loupes! Today we used our Universal Curet. It is exciting to start using instruments, but alot harder then it looks. We used the Barnhart and Columbia. I had the hardest time using my wrist and not my fingers. I did not get as much time to practice as I would have liked. I'm going to go home and practice exploring, probing, and using a universal curet on my typodont. We also learned to treatment plan using Eaglesoft. I have used dentrix for two years so that made it a little easier to understand even though they are quite different.

10/5/09

Today we got to finally scale. It was very scary, but very exciting. We learned to use the Nebraska on the anterior teeth. We learned how to properly use adaptation, angulation, and activation. I could actually feel the tartar and see it coming off. We also got to refresh on probing. I'm very scared for this PE. I will have to practice on my typodont and study Nield to make sure I'm doing it correctly. My goal this week is to practice exploring and probing on the typodont. I want to be able to use indirect vision properly. I have noticed that through all the practice with the mirror, I'm getting indirect vision a little more. Just takes practice! It was an exciting day and I learned a lot.

9/30/09

Today was a more layed back day. We really needed one of these after the high stress levels with probing and exploring. We started to learn the instruments dental hygienist used. We learned the terminal shank, functional shank, and the working end. We went over the primary use of each instrument and if to use it subgingivally or supragingivally. I though it was interesting that they could be a rounded toe or a pointed tip. I had no idea and just thought they were all pointed. I will have to definitly review these instruments and the functions of each. I still need to practice probing and using my explorer. I passed off instrument fulcruming and intraoral exam PE's. Overall, today was good and was nice to catch up on everthing!

9/28/09

Wow it has been a busy and kind of stressful day. I'm glad that we finally get to use the instruments, but hope to become better at using indirect vision. We used our explorers today. It is alot harder then it looks. Dental Hygienist just make everything look so easy! I started to get the hang of the procedure for using the explorer. I need to work on putting my pinky in and a lighter grasp. I know that the lighter grasp will make it alot easier to feel calculus. My goal is to practice using both the probe and explorer effectively. I will practice on the typodont a little, and then on my lucky husband! I passed off the extra-oral exam and mirror fulcruming PEs. The extra-oral exam was a great way to end the day!

9/23/09

Today was an exciting day! We actually got to probe each others teeth. As always its a lot harder then it looks. We had a full hour to practice on each other so we got a lot of practice. The hardest part for me was being able to see the probe and maintaining my posture. The positioning of the probe started coming to me after awhile. I tried out some loupes and my posture was so much better, and I could actually see the probe marks. I'm seriously thinking of getting myself a pair. They are expensive, but I'm sure they are well worth the money. Overall, I had a fun day and hope I didn't hurt Ashley too much! I hope that with practice it can become easier for me.

9/21/09

Today we stayed very busy learning how to do intraoral exams, fulcruming with an instrument, and passing off our health history PE. There were quite a few things I never recognized in the mouth such as the Parotid Papilla and Stensen's duct. I hope to learn all of these soon. Fulcruming with two instruments is a lot harder then it looks. I can't wait until it becomes natural. I know I need to work on using indirect vision and concentrate on my posture. My goal this week is to practice vital signs a little more and to pass that off on wednesday. I'm excited to start probing this coming wednesday. Hope Ashley is excited too:)

9/16/09

Wow today was an exciting day. We actually got to use our dental mirror and learned to fulcrum. Dental Hygienist make it look so easy! Now I understand why dental hygienist can have bad posture. It was very hard to hold the mirror in my nondominant hand and fulcrum. I'm sure that the mirror will become my best friend when I get the hang of indirect vision. It will be very useful when it comes to posture. We also got to do extra-oral exams on each other. I got like four great massages, it was a great way to start out the day:) It was nice going to Midtown Clinic because I got a headstart on these. I will definitly need to work on using my mirror and good posture, because I still need to add an instrument in. My goal for this week is to get a headstart on indirect vision. I could try using the mirror at work while polishing. One of the dental hygienist I work with told me to try that out. So I think I will give it a try!

9/14/09

Today in clinic we learned to take vitals on each other and continued to practice doing health histories. It was a good refresher to take blood pressure. I have not taken one since highschool. I found that most of the students were around the normal ranges. I second guessed myself a couple times, and I think that with practice I will have more confidence in my readings. I'm sure my family is going to love me practicing on them all weekend. I think it is very useful doing a health history every once in a while to keep us up to speed when we really have to do one on our pts. I would like to go over the conditions that premedication is needed a little more. It sounds like it is always changing so I would like to get updated on that. I passed off my postioning PE. I think it will be very useful once we get started on the typodont or on real patients. Overall, today was a good productive day!

9/9/09

In clinic we learned all about the health history forms and filling it out correctly. This is a legal form and it is very important that we don't make any mistakes on it. I think it is great that we go into so much depth on each persons health history. Some patients don't think that a knee joint replacement would have anything to do with going to the dentist and may find it unecessary to tell. At Weber State we are more aware of the pts. health by having them fill out the questionare and doing an interview. We would never miss that important medical alert. I also think it is a great idea to stamp the pts. chart and putting medical alerts in the corner of the health history. This will be very useful when seeing the pt. for a second time. It was very helpful to fill out the health history of our pod partner, and I think the case study will be good practice. I hope to learn all the abbreviations and the technical terms we should be using as hygienist. I'm really slow at doing health histories now, but I'm sure with studying and practice I will get the hang of it. I'm sure I will be uncomfortable the first time I actually have to interview a patient and look up medications. I think acting this out in class will be very good for us as students.

9/2/09

Today in clinic we learned of the musculoskeletal disorders seen in dental healthcare providers. We talked about the things we could do to prevent these from happening. My goal is to start using these methods right from the beginning so that it can become habit. I work in an office where a few of the dental hygienist are complaining that they are soar. I don't want to be one of them! We also talked about the four clock positions. I think they will be very helpful once we start working on real patients all day long. We talked about charting afterwards, and what type of things we should make note of. It is important to remember if the pt. has an artificial heart valve they will need to premed. Making phone calls to the pts. physician may be required. Charting seems a little confusing to me right now. I hope to pick up on all the papers needed in the chart and what information should be recorded.

8/31/09

Today was more of a layed back day that we could learn and pass off PE's. We read from Nield, and I learned there are six sextants in the mouth. We learned exposure control for post-appointments, and equipment maintenance. I think it is nice that we maintain and take such good care of all the equipment. We had our first real patient (student) today that we got to practice using the HVE, saliva ejector, and air water syringe. The HVE have alot more power then the ones at the office I work at. I'm sure I will get it with practice. I hope to be able to properly set-up and maintain the pod I work in. My goal for this next week is to learn all the names of the forms we will be using. Professor Costley wen't over them quickly today. Overall, It was a fun day and I learned alot!

8/26/09

Today was a very exciting day. We got to use our typodont and practiced using the saliva ejector, high volume evacuator, and our air/water syringe. It was very nice to get familar with how the equipment in this pod works. Professor Costley taught us personal protective equipment and control set-up process evaluations. I think it will be great to work in such a clean environment. I will have to remember to not pull my mask down under my chin. I'm use to doing that at work. I hope to always keep my pod as clean as possible by disinfecting, dusting and using barriers.

8/24/09

I have made it through the first day of clinicals! It was a busy day, but it went by so quickly and I really enjoyed it. I was excited to meet all of the people I will be doing clinicals with. Looks like we have a fun group. It was great hearing all of your embarrassing moments! I found the equipment identification activity very helpful. It was good to get familiar with where we will be working for the next two years. The Eaglesoft was a little more difficult, because I'm use to Dentrix. I'm sure with practice I will get the hang of it. I felt like we accomplished quite a bit and that the day went by as smoothly as it could have!:)

introduction

Hi my name is Kathy Romer. I will introduce myself later.