Sealants

I was nervous about doing sealants, but it was a lot easier than I expected. It was fun. I really enjoyed doing sealants. I've never had a sealant before, so I can get 14 of them. Two of my teeth can't have them because of staining in the grooves, but the rest of them can. I only got three done though; I was the patient first, so it took a while for the dentist to get to us since we all needed him at the same time. When I was the operator he got to us a lot faster; I was able to to five sealants on my partner. I did four occlusal and one buccal.

Air powder polishing

We did air powder polishing. I didn't really like it. I don't know if I was getting the angles right. I really didn't like it being done on me. It tasted aweful and it stung my lips and tongue. It worked good though. Before we did it on each other we tried it on a penny; it made it really shiney. It was cool. When we were finished everything was covered with salt. It made a mess.

sharpening & ultrasonic

Today we learned how to sharpen instruments and how to use the ultrasonic. It was a fun day. We didn't work on each other, just on the typodonts. I was nervous about sharpening my instruments; I didn't want to ruin them. It was pretty easy though (hopefully I did it right). I'm glad we learned the ultrasonic this semester it will help when we have patients (from what I've heard anyway; I haven't actually done it on a person yet). My chair is broken. I joined the Emily pod today. I hope it gets fixed soon. It's nice having all of my stuff in the same area!

polishing and fluoride

Today we polished and did fluoride. I was the odd person, so I was working on a TA. It was nice because I had plenty of time. I did want some fluoride though; my teeth have been so sensitive lately. After I was done Gina put some fluoride varnish on my teeth.

Scaling

We practiced scaling on each other. It was the first time doing the posterior scaling on a person. It was harder obviously. For the most part I think it went pretty good, but I have a lot of improvement to make on my posterior scaling.

posterior scaling

On wednesday we learned posterior scaling. We didn't practice on each other, just on Dexter. It's a lot harder than anterior I think. I don't feel like I'm getting the angulation right. Hopefully it will all come with practice. My dad might be able to get off of work to be my first patient. He has high blood pressure though, so I'm going to take my cuff home today to see if it will be a problem.

Intraoral camera

On monday we practiced everything from the start. We also learned how to use the intraoral camera. It was fun. I liked using the camera. Scaling went well too.

anterior scaling

We learned anterior scaling. It was fun. It was actually easier than exploring. I'm nervous having some of my teeth scaled though. I have some white spots that are remineralizing. The people I've worked with so far have been pretty careful though.

practice exploring

On Monday we got to practice everything. It was good; I needed practice with exploriong. I was able to get enough practice to pass off my PE, and I'm feeling better about it now. Next we are going to be scaling. Scary! It will be fun.

OHI

On wednesday we did OHI. It was fun. It was nice to have an easier clinic session in order to pass off some PEs. I've tried to stay ahead, but we haven't had time to pass any off for the past 2 clinics. We had 2 due today, so it was good to have the extra time. When we disclosed I had more plaque than I thought I would. It wasn't bad, but I am missing some spots.

dental screening

On monday we practiced charting, extra & intraoral exams, and probing. It all went well. I couldn't really see composite fillings though. My partner had one, but she couldn't remember where it was and I don't know if I could see it for sure. I think I found it, but I don't know. Overall, clinic is going pretty good.

OD & probing

Today we started from the begining and did HHx to probing. It was very helpful. I'm feeling more confident. We also went over the blue sheet. Yeah! I was so glad; I had no clue how do fill that sheet out and we need to do one for our case study. We were given more time for the OD section of our case study. That was a relief!

Probing

Today we probed. It went well. My partner didn't have any higher than 3 or any bleeding. I didn't have any higher than 3, but I did have some bleeding. My BFI was 93%. Overall, my gums were pretty healthy, but they could be better. Probing seemed easier than exploring to me.

Exploring

On Wednesday we did exploring. I felt a little awkward and I poked her once. I think it's getting better though (I hope so anyway).

Instrumentation

We are learning instrumentation. We practiced on each other with explorers. It went well. I definitely need more practice, but at least I didn't jab her gums. My partner did really well. She seemed to be a lot more comfortable with it than I was.

intraoral exam

On wednesday we learned how to do an intraoral exam. It wasn't hard to do; I just have to learn the names of all the structures. We practiced extraoral exams too. I like practicing that. I'll take a face and neck massage anytime!

mirror

Today we learned about using mirrors and fulcruming. I always forget to fulcrum. I need to work on that. We just used q-tips, so I didn't hajve to worry about hurting anyone with a sharp instrument for my first time in someone's mouth. I was able to practice positioning again. It was helpful. I'm getting it all down now.

vitals

Today we took vital signs. It went well. I've never taken blood pressure before, but I didn't have any problems with it. We also talked a lot about scheduling patients. It was helpful. I didn't know where they were supposed to get parking passes from and I never realized that they were free. That stuff is good to know; even if it is just for future reference. I reviewed patient positioning with my pod and it seems a lot easier now. We were all able to pass the PE off today.

Health Histories

I feel a lot more confident with health histories now. We did a practice one and then did each others. I'm not so worried about them any more. Ours were easy to do. Probably a lot easier than most of our patient's will be, but I feel good about looking up the drugs from the practice health history we did. I've ordered my drug reference book, so it's on the way.

Charting

We talked a lot about charting today. There was so much information; I hope I'm able to remember it all. We also learned what we will do when we are CA's next semester. Our CA's talked about getting patients and last minute cancellations. I'm nervous for that, but they said not to stress about it now; I need to focus on this semester. Now I'm going to pass off a PE!

PE's

I past off two PE's today. I'm going to get the next two ready for next wednesday so I can pass them off then. I didn't have any problems with what we learned today. Hopefully it will stay that way for at least a couple more weeks.

1st Clinic

My first dental hygiene clinic went great! Eaglesoft is pretty easy to navigate and I have a lot of experience cleaning and setting up. Now I just have to review all my PE's to make sure I don't skip anything when I pass them off.

First Post

I just bought all my instruments. Goodbye savings!