What a Week

During clinic on Thurday I had such a fun patient.  He wanted to know about everything and told me about everything.  He would say things like, "McCall, what's this?"  "McCall, this is my new CD player."  "McCall, do you want to listen to my CD?"  It was a good experience learning how to work with a patient who likes to talk.  We also would have to take periodic breaks for a couple minutes, which was a good lesson in patience.  It reminded me that people aren't the same and that as a hygienist I need to do whatever I can to make my patients comfortable.

Yesterday = found a board patient who is also going to be my mockboard!  Yes!  Thank you Sam for helping me.  I also practiced the PSA on my dad again since I failed it on Thursday.  I went more posterior like Pro. Alexander told me to do and everything worked perfectly!  I am now confident for LA clinicals.  A big thanks to my dad for being my patient.  :)

This week=studying like I've never studied before.  I was crazy enough (which I am now grateful for since it's all over) to take my board this weekend.  I have never studied so much in my whole life.  I felt good knowing that I could actually do it.  I took it this morning and feel so much lighter now that it's all done.

Dental Days... aka Give Kids a Smile

It has been fun helping out at this event.  Like I said in my earlier post, Sam and I were doing data entry.  I was happy to get to know Eaglesoft a little bit better and learn my codes better.  I am glad that I was able to be a part of this event.  I think that it is so cool that so many people (dentists, assistants, and hygienists) come together to do so much service for our community. 

A Week Long Summary

This is probably going to be a long blog... you've been warned.  So this week was/still is (today is the Give Kids a Smile Event and I am at the front desk doing data entry) a week full of clinic.  On Tuesday I saw 3 class V patients and was still done early.  I am amazed at how my skills have improved and I have gotten faster.  I think that having awesome teachers who really take the time to show me how to be a better hygienist have made all the difference in my skills improving.  I love how each teacher really has an area they focus on or a trick that they use all of the time that they share because then once I learn it I can use it and be better. 
On Thursday my whole day was full of 1Bs (not intentionally though).  I was able to pass off my caries risk assessment on my willing friend, which was nice.
Yesterday we did 2 sealant clinics.  One of the clinics was for James Madison Elementart and the other one was for Odessy Elementary.  Sam and I got to be in Radiology for the whole thing.  Being in charge of processing, cleaning up, and breaking down is a lot more work than it sounds.  By the time we were done I was exhausted, but it was a good experience.  I love being able to participate in these activities since we are getting to serve these kids.  Being a part of service activities reminds me that being a hygienist isn't just about working in private practice, it's about serving in the community too.

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.