The List

I'm going to copy how MeChel did her post the other day because it was direct and to the point by making a list of everything that happened (or should have happened) on Tuesday during clinic.

1) Class 3 = way hard (it's hard for me to feel accomplished when I only get one quad done for the appointment

2) I discovered a new love for my triple bend that I didn't really feel like was very useful before.  I now realize it didn't seem useful because I never had a real reason to use it until today.

3) When seeing a class 3 you may as well open every bag of instruments you have because you are going to need all of them at one time or another.

4) Making sure I can look at the x-rays while scaling really is wonderful and I'm not sure how I forgot to have the x-rays up while working occasionally last semester.

5) When you think you have adapted properly, adapt some more.

6) My afternoon patient was a class 5.  I thought the appointment was going wonderfully because I took x-rays (with no retakes), finished all 4 quads (with no errors), and had a decent discussion with my patient about OH.  Then Pro. Alexander came over and found a lesion in the palate that I had missed and suddenly everything else that had gone so well the whole appointment didn't matter any more because that lesion should have been what caught my eye and taken precedence over the entire cleaning.  Pro. Perry came over to take a look at it and we got out the intraoral camera to take pictures to show my patient what we were looking at.  Then I took a PA of the tooth that the lesion was above and the x-ray showed an abscess.  I showed my patient the x-ray and explained what the dark circle around the root of her tooth was to her.  I also stressed that she needed to see a dentist ASAP to get it taken care of.  I went home yesterday feeling defeated.  I hope that that lesson always stays with me and helps me to make sure I really do make a thorough investigation of each of my patient's mouths.  I want to be a great hygienist and I think yesterday was a very good lesson in how to be a great hygienist.  I really do want to help my patients and I have made a commitment within myself to slow down and really think about what I'm doing.  If my patients were asked to say one thing about me I hope that it will be that I care.