Scrambling for Patient

Yesterday afternoon my afternoon pt for today canceled and then this morning my morning pt canceled.  I was able to get people in though for the morning and afternoon and was sort of impressed that I pulled it off.  I was able to help MeChel out this morning since she didn't have a pt and I called the wife of the man that I was seeing and she came in.  I love successful days when I get to help people.  I saw a V and 1B today, so I didn't really get a chance to perfect any new skills that require harder classifications of patients.  I did, however, practice my exploring on my easy patients since I had so much time.  I liked being able to practice exploring so that I will continue to be more efficient at it.  I realized that I tend to lay more flat when I explore the premolars for some reason, so from now on I know that is a spot that I need to be extra careful of when I'm exploring. 
Both my morning and afternoon patients were excellent patients, mostly because they were nice people who were really interested in their dental health and wanted answers about a lot of things.  I love people who are interested because then they are much more likely to do what you tell them.  Both patients asked me questions that required more than basic answers, which was nice for me to review cause and effect of different issues.
So, all in all, it turned out to be a great day!  (Except today is the last day that Dr. Hanson will be with us, which is sad.  We love you Dr. Hanson!)

Mockboard #2

I passed!  With that obvious statement I would think that you can tell that this mockboard went a lot better than my last one.  I even finished early.  I missed 3 areas: one that I totally shouldn't have missed and two other areas that I was exploring incorrectly.  Instructor Wold reminded me of a few techniques for exploring correctly.  On a tooth that was tipped a little I was not keeping the shank parallel, which was the cause of me missing the area.  It

Don't Assume

So, I had a 1B in the afternoon and she was super healthy except for a couple teeth.  I thought that I had done a fabulous job and got done fairly quick (she had a lot of black stain that I had to get off), but no, I missed 5 or 6 areas.  That was a humbling/shameful moment since I missed so many areas on a 1B.  It was a good reminder that even 1Bs can have calculus and that I need to be on high alert for those tiny specks (and the big chunk down in her one 6 mm pocket). 

My morning patient was very concerned about the color of his teeth and he thought that his last hygienist didn't do a good job since his teeth didn't get whiter, so it was fun to get to explain that just cleaning the teeth don't make them whiter and that for stains inside the teeth need to be bleached out (using expensive in office tx or even trying something as simple as Crest Whitestrips). 

1st Screening at James Madison Elementary

Yesterday was the first screening I got to be a part of and I really had a good time.  It was a lot of fun to talk to all of the kids.  It was very interesting to me what kind of dental education the kids were getting at home.  Some kids were doing exactly what they should be and some of them didn't know they should be brushing twice a day.  It was nice to know that even though the kids only spent about 5 minutes with us that we were able to at least talk to them about brushing twice a day and show them how to do it so they have at least been exposed to it.  I also had an experience with one of the students while doing the head and neck exam.  While examining his neck I felt a bump by his spine that didn't feel right.  Bossenberger comfirmed that he should be seen by one of the Midtown doctors.  I hope that it isn't anything, but I'm glad that I have been given the skills to notice when something just isn't quite right.  Having that experience also reminded me just how important a head and neck exam is.  When I get into private practice I do not want that to be something that gets "thrown out the window" in order to save time because I may be the first one to find something wrong with a patient and potentially save their life.

So, moral of the story... ALWAYS do a good head and neck exam.

It's January and a New Year

I can't believe it's already January!  I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.  I know I did (well, I had a good time as long as I wasn't thinking about boards and studying at least).  So many things are happening this month: school starts; which means VA, Clinic, regular class, screenings, worrying about boards, studying, sealant clinics, and working on my group's research project.

For my first day back to school I got to go to the VA.  I'm actually at the VA right now, but I have time to blog since my afternoon patient didn't show up.  It's ok though since I had two patients in the morning.  I had a nice, easy morning, which I was grateful for since it was our first day back.  I saw two class 5 patients and happy that I had no errors.  I feel like whenever we have a break from school, even if it's a little one, I become more able to do the things that I need to do, like recognizing problem areas that the doctor needs to check and being able to detect calculus better.  I also am enjoying discussing things with patients more because I know more and feel like I am doing a good job of giving them the information and care they need and deserve.  I am really happy with how well today has gone.  Even  though I don't have a patient this afternoon I am still being productive by studying for local anesthesia. 

I hope everyone that had class stuff to do today has a great day and good luck studying!

Last Post of the Semester

Wow, Fall 2011 semester is already over (almost - I still need to take my local anesthesia final).  Our last VA day for the semester was last Thursday.  It was a scary drive down to Salt Lake with all the wind and debris flying around.  On my last day there I saw 2 patients in the morning, a 5 and a 1B, so nothing too exciting.  One of my patients just returned from Afganistan this last summer and I could tell that he is having a hard time being home.  It was interesting to have to rearrange how I talked with him because most patients seem to want to chat and listen to what you have to say, but this patient just seemed to be going through the motions.  It was a good experience for me to learn how to work with those kinds of patients. 

It also must be noted that we actually left on time for our last day! 

Last Clinic Day

I can't believe that yesterday was already our last clinic day for the semester.  It feels unreal.  Thankfully I had a great day for our last day.  I saw a 1B in the morning who needed a FMX (yes!).  That was the first FMX I have ever done in clinic.  I now am not panicked about PA's.  I only had to redo 2 of my x-rays too.  I think that it is so much fun to watch myself progress.  I remember being scared taking x-rays last year, but now I think it is a lot of fun and I enjoy learning new tricks and improving my own technique.  I have come to really like the Snap-A-Ray to do posterior PA's.  I definitely use the ORA for the anterior PA's.  I also scaled my patient in 20 minutes!  In the afternoon I finished a patient that has generalized moderate perio (I just used my "Patient First Language" skills there).  I got to do 4 injections.  I read through Malamed on Monday night to prepare myself for injections yesterday and it really helped.  Kayla was also kind enough to let me practice on her with a q-tip.  So, I plan on reviewing injections as much as I can so that I can give the best injections possible.