The patients I was able to see today were compliments of 2 of my classmates for doing so research and allowing me to see them! Thank you Sierra and Hailey!
Morning: I was able to see two children during this appointment. They were both boys ages 9 and 10 from a family who's father was beign seen originally by Mark, but since he didn't realize he was CA for the day, he was able to help Ashton out and give him a morning patient. My patients' father spoke Spanish and broken English, so I was very thankful Mark was able to set up the appointments for me and him even though it didn't work out for him. The two boys spoke English very well and soke Spanish to their mother when I wasn't seeing them. They were both very energetic and curious abotu EVERYTHING! Hands were every where! I was trying to help keep them under control with very little help of their mother. I managed to get through :) I saw the youngest first. We were able to do BWX with a little education to the parents and a full cleaning. He did very well and didn't complain much other than when I used the Shick sensor for the second x-ray and when I was scaling. The poor boy had many cavities and didn't have good OH. I felt bad but knew I was doing the best I could for him.
When it was his brother's turn, I found that he had ADHD (which was no surprise to me!). He literally started touching every instrument I had on the tray, the mouse and keyboard for the computer, the safety glasses, other instruments, etc! I tried hard to keep him under control with no success. I speedily got him to the x-ray room thinking this would keep him contained... boy was I wrong! He started pumping the chair, laying it back, opening drawers, etc! AHH! I got his x-rays completed and got him back to the chair. I really had to hurry keeping my hands in his mouth and hid body in the chair or he would be on to the next thing. I was able to complete all the charting and scaling with many bumps along the way but still proud I got that far! I noted a couple sealants and to my surprise mom and dad approved them, and I was able to get that done for him and meet some requirements. When the boy heard he needed sealants, he immediately started crying (not having any idea what sealants were and how they were placed). Oh boy! I really needed to take a step back and help him understand each and every step. I showed him all of them on a 2x2 gauze. I think this actually helped! I was so shocked. He did very well, and I didn't have to repeat any of the steps! He ended up being my friend at the end and said he would come back to get his teeth cleaned again! SUCCESS! :)
Afternoon: My patient was found in a list the Hailey printed, and just by chance, he was able to come in and was happy that I called! I didn't have any success with patients on that list before him and still haven't since him. He spoke very broken English, so I had Wade confirm the appointment for him to make sure he understood everything. I was trying to find my own interpreter to help my patient feel at ease but struggled. Wednesday evening, I received an email from the Spanish department's student who said she would be able to help me! I thought it would be too good to be true, but I asked her if she could help me.... and she said YES! AMAZING! I actually had a reliable interpreter who I could count on to be there for me with my Spanish speaking patients. She said she would be there and she showed up early! My patient was very thankful and didn't know I had an interpreter for him (he didn't ask and I didn't say I would because I had trouble finding one). I was able to do 4 BWX,4 PAX ,and complete 2 quads of Class III scaling today! I am so thankful for wonderful people who are willing to help me succeed! My patient was very sweet to allow me to pass of several PEs (Local Anesthesia of which I gave 5 injecitons, Ultrasonic #2, and Root Debridement). He did very well in the dental chair and plans to come back to complete the other half of his mouth! What a great day to fulfill many of my requirements!
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Week 8 - Mock Boards - Thursday October 18, 2012
Last Thursday was my first Mock Board experience. I found my Mock Board patient Tuesday the week before the week of Mock Boards. I was so nervous that I wasn't going to find one, but a miracle happened and I found one! He was very nice to come in and help me out! I was able to have him pay for all the x-rays necessary and the cost of the one quad of scaling. Some people actually had to pay for these things to get their patient to come. I guess I would too if I had to, but I am so grateful I didn't have to! Any way, enough of the background info...
My Mock Board time was 12:30pm, so I was able to be a student examiner first. This was a great experience to really feel what calculus feels like... and A LOT of it! I had to do a little studying while the patients were being scaled, but once the time was up, it was interesting to see the same patients back without the calculus... well some. There were quite a few who missed a lot of pieces of calculus which really surprised me because I would have complete confidence in all of them. My professor said that this is typical because we don't have added guidance throughout the treatment like we do normally. Makes perfect sense! Obviously, after seeing some patients, I felt a bit nervous for my time to do it. I wanted to do well, and thought I would but I also thought my fellow classmates would do better than they did. Soo 12:30pm comes around... My patient showed up early like I had asked, so there was less stress. I was able to go through all of the paperwork one more time, but since he spoke Spanish, it made it a little difficult.
I was the first student to submit my patient to the student examiners like I thought I would since I had experience being the Clinic Assistant during WREB last March. I was still nervous waiting to see if my patient qualified even though I knew there was no doubt. I guess the nerves still get to you! Once my patient came back, I got right to it. I started with my ultrasonic, then went to my Graceys, then to my regular posterior and anterior scalers, back to my ultrasonic, charted, and then explored, scaled, explored, scaled, explored, scaled, etc etc! I felt pretty confident with my submission other than tooth #3. I couldn't seem to get that tooth smooth. I knew I needed to just submit because I did the best I could, so I did!
Results... well, I didn't do horrible, but I didn't do super great either. I missed 2 clicks of calculus, 1 probe reading (really 3, but they only recorded certain ones), and 1 recession point (which I knew I should've marked!). Not too bad for my first time. The probing area seemed a little weird to me though. I got a 5mm and the examiner got 3mm. I'm not really sure how that works. Oh well! It was a great experience, and I am so glad I had a patient who was able to help me learn and actually go through the process before the actual exam.
My Mock Board time was 12:30pm, so I was able to be a student examiner first. This was a great experience to really feel what calculus feels like... and A LOT of it! I had to do a little studying while the patients were being scaled, but once the time was up, it was interesting to see the same patients back without the calculus... well some. There were quite a few who missed a lot of pieces of calculus which really surprised me because I would have complete confidence in all of them. My professor said that this is typical because we don't have added guidance throughout the treatment like we do normally. Makes perfect sense! Obviously, after seeing some patients, I felt a bit nervous for my time to do it. I wanted to do well, and thought I would but I also thought my fellow classmates would do better than they did. Soo 12:30pm comes around... My patient showed up early like I had asked, so there was less stress. I was able to go through all of the paperwork one more time, but since he spoke Spanish, it made it a little difficult.
I was the first student to submit my patient to the student examiners like I thought I would since I had experience being the Clinic Assistant during WREB last March. I was still nervous waiting to see if my patient qualified even though I knew there was no doubt. I guess the nerves still get to you! Once my patient came back, I got right to it. I started with my ultrasonic, then went to my Graceys, then to my regular posterior and anterior scalers, back to my ultrasonic, charted, and then explored, scaled, explored, scaled, explored, scaled, etc etc! I felt pretty confident with my submission other than tooth #3. I couldn't seem to get that tooth smooth. I knew I needed to just submit because I did the best I could, so I did!
Results... well, I didn't do horrible, but I didn't do super great either. I missed 2 clicks of calculus, 1 probe reading (really 3, but they only recorded certain ones), and 1 recession point (which I knew I should've marked!). Not too bad for my first time. The probing area seemed a little weird to me though. I got a 5mm and the examiner got 3mm. I'm not really sure how that works. Oh well! It was a great experience, and I am so glad I had a patient who was able to help me learn and actually go through the process before the actual exam.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Week 7- Thursday October 11, 2012
I can't believe my 8:00am patients that I schedule! Another cancellation! I was frantically trying to find a patient to schedule when I remembered my herpic lesion patient wanted to be bumped if I had a cancellation. I called him and my IA patient and they were both able to come this morning! YAY! Today ended up being very productive which was nice to have considering yesterday was emotionally exhausting after a funeral of my husband's dear friend.
Morning: I was able to see my Class III 2 quads and complete him quickly. I was also able to see my Class IA patient during the same session which was nice to double book. My Class III patient was so sweet. I connected with him instantly during the last appointment. He was so sweet to always ask about my dad and give me pointers to help him quit his battle of smoking since he was able to quit a couple of years ago. He was so genuine when my instructor came to check him. He definitely gave me the boost I needed. My Class IA was a little difficult. I know her from my ward, so I thought it would go smoother than it did. It took a lot of bribing and finally dinosaur stickers did the trick! Who would've thought? She opened wide and let me do what I needed to do :)
Afternoon: I was able to see a patient that was seen by a previous dental hygiene student that I worked with over the summer. She knows this patient personally, so it was very nice to have her come! She showed up a little late because she got lost but I was glad she actually came. She, too, was a sweetheart. She did so well in my chair and complimented me every chance she could. I am so grateful for wonderful people in this world to help build me up and change my day into a great one and to help me on my road to becoming a dental hygienist!
Morning: I was able to see my Class III 2 quads and complete him quickly. I was also able to see my Class IA patient during the same session which was nice to double book. My Class III patient was so sweet. I connected with him instantly during the last appointment. He was so sweet to always ask about my dad and give me pointers to help him quit his battle of smoking since he was able to quit a couple of years ago. He was so genuine when my instructor came to check him. He definitely gave me the boost I needed. My Class IA was a little difficult. I know her from my ward, so I thought it would go smoother than it did. It took a lot of bribing and finally dinosaur stickers did the trick! Who would've thought? She opened wide and let me do what I needed to do :)
Afternoon: I was able to see a patient that was seen by a previous dental hygiene student that I worked with over the summer. She knows this patient personally, so it was very nice to have her come! She showed up a little late because she got lost but I was glad she actually came. She, too, was a sweetheart. She did so well in my chair and complimented me every chance she could. I am so grateful for wonderful people in this world to help build me up and change my day into a great one and to help me on my road to becoming a dental hygienist!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Week 6- Thursday October 4, 2012
Today was the first day I actually had no issues with patients cancelling or no-showing! YAY! I am exhausted though....
Morning:
I was able to see a patient that my peer pal saw as her board patient! I wasn't sure what I thought I would get as far as classifications go, but I knew it shouldn't be too bad since it had only been 7 months. Boy was I wrong! He definitely wasn't as bad as he was for boards, but it was still tough for me to remove some of the calculus. In fact, I missed some areas :( This appointment made me question if I really know what calculus feels like because I couldn't feel it when I was told to try. Bummer..
Afternoon:
I found this patient on the recall list when I was trying to fill a different day. I made this appointment and was a little nervous she wouldn't show up because she was concerned about missing her lunch time at the home she lives in. To my surprise, she confirmed her appointment and showed up... late of course. The juniors were observing the clinic this afternoon, and lucky for me, the one in my pod followed me through the whole appointment and helped throughout the whole thing! My patient had many medications which took a long time. She agreed to have a full mouth x-ray, but gagged, cried, and sweat during the whole thing. She didn't have a bad attitude, and she tried to be compliant during the whole thing, but her mouth was small. I struggled! The junior observing me knew it too. My instructor ended up giving my patient 4 of the 14 PAs for free. My patient, to my astonishment, felt very bad about it and was willing to try yet again. She really was such a trooper but very difficult to work on. When I started probing, I was hoping she would be a mock board patient. Although she hasn't been seen at the clinic for 8 years, she didn't have enough calculus to qualify. I started scaling right away and noticed she had a lot of calculus and it was going to be a struggle to get it all off. I was grateful to have a good patient for my observer to see! I ended up missing 2 areas of calculus, but given how much she had, I was very proud I only missed that much.
One day, I will be able to see a patient like I did today and actually complete them without any missed areas. That is one of my goals. . . one day!
Morning:
I was able to see a patient that my peer pal saw as her board patient! I wasn't sure what I thought I would get as far as classifications go, but I knew it shouldn't be too bad since it had only been 7 months. Boy was I wrong! He definitely wasn't as bad as he was for boards, but it was still tough for me to remove some of the calculus. In fact, I missed some areas :( This appointment made me question if I really know what calculus feels like because I couldn't feel it when I was told to try. Bummer..
Afternoon:
I found this patient on the recall list when I was trying to fill a different day. I made this appointment and was a little nervous she wouldn't show up because she was concerned about missing her lunch time at the home she lives in. To my surprise, she confirmed her appointment and showed up... late of course. The juniors were observing the clinic this afternoon, and lucky for me, the one in my pod followed me through the whole appointment and helped throughout the whole thing! My patient had many medications which took a long time. She agreed to have a full mouth x-ray, but gagged, cried, and sweat during the whole thing. She didn't have a bad attitude, and she tried to be compliant during the whole thing, but her mouth was small. I struggled! The junior observing me knew it too. My instructor ended up giving my patient 4 of the 14 PAs for free. My patient, to my astonishment, felt very bad about it and was willing to try yet again. She really was such a trooper but very difficult to work on. When I started probing, I was hoping she would be a mock board patient. Although she hasn't been seen at the clinic for 8 years, she didn't have enough calculus to qualify. I started scaling right away and noticed she had a lot of calculus and it was going to be a struggle to get it all off. I was grateful to have a good patient for my observer to see! I ended up missing 2 areas of calculus, but given how much she had, I was very proud I only missed that much.
One day, I will be able to see a patient like I did today and actually complete them without any missed areas. That is one of my goals. . . one day!
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