I was at Midtown Dental Clinic today for my Tuesday clinic rotation. I was expecting an uneventful regular Midtown day. I was hoping today wouldn't be much different than the other days...
Even though we got word that Midtown quads now count toward regular clinic requirements, I wasn't expecting much. I'll be honest when I got word that quads counted I had mixed emotions. I felt like the students (of which I am a part of) who go to Midtown this semester got the crappy hand because we worked all the kinks and difficulties out while being there. The students going to the VA this semester will walk into Midtown with the first day seeing patients and having all work smoothly. I'm trying not to harbor hard feelings about this because, let's be honest, no one has control over this. Someone has to be the first one. I am trying to go with the flow and not let it bother me. For the most part, I don't worry about it because I know everything will work out, and I know I will graduate like the other thousand of people who graduated from WSU Dental Hygiene program. The only time that it bothers me is when someone asks for my opinion. I try to be short and sweet because it does raise my blood pressure a bit but then I get over it and move on with my day. Thank goodness I was raised by my mom and married someone just like her! Water on a duck's back ;)
Tangent over. Back to the topic...
This morning I was given a child to see first thing. She was very sweet and timid. She came with her mother for a dental cleaning. She did well for the most part but struggled when I had to wait for my instructor, the dentist, etc. I was able to clean her teeth and did x-rays in less than an hour. The next hour took the longest! I was waiting most of the time, but then I was able to get one sealant done for her and let her be on her way. She was very patient and didn't give me a bit of problems.
My next morning patient was the big BANG! I brought him back and immediately smelled his breath just from talking to him. This isn't abnormal, and I have noticed it before so that wasn't something that made me think too hard. In talking he mentioned it had been years since he had his teeth cleaned (again, not a shocker being at Midtown Dental Clinic). This is the answer I get with most patients. Since he was young, I didn't think anything of it. I just made note of it and continued with the appointment. It was when he agreed to take x-rays and the first one popped up on the computer....
WOW! Look at that bone loss! Is that even possible? "My teeth are a little loose." Thinking to myself, " A little? Jeez! That looks painful!"
My face was composed, and he didn't noticed that I was totally shocked at what I saw.
One of my classmates offered to help me chart the probing. Thank goodness! I knew this was going to be rough. My heart was racing because I was nervous to work on such a periodontally involved patient.
First tooth...
Of course this patient had all of his teeth. Wisdom teeth included which are impossible to probe around. Tooth #1 8-18-15.... oh jeez! I was in for it! Thankfully, this was the wiggly tooth that he was talking about. Although the probe depths were deep compared to the average patient, they weren't this deep generalized in his mouth!
Well, I got through the probing and knew without a doubt that my patient was a Class IV. Everyone was pretty excited for me, and so was I but deep inside I was terrified to start scaling. It seemed as though my instructor had complete confidence in me (I'm glad she did!). I got started. We agreed to get started on one quad and go from there. My instructor insisted that my patient get half of the mouth cleaned today, so that would limit dental office appointments. This meant that I would work through my lunch break, then have one of my classmates clean a quad so I could eat and then reschedule him. I wasn't super happy about sharing him because he was such a good experience, but I went with it for the same reason I went with the Midtown quads counting. I couldn't control the situation so there is no reason to get upset about it. I am able to clean 3 of the 4 quads, and I just deal with it.
I was able to administer 3 injections which was a great experience, and scale 1 quad only missing 1 area of calculus! GO me! This ended my day at Midtown. I am grateful for the experiences I get at Midtown. They have such a variety of patients that I am able to see. From Class IA to Class IV. I feel like with this experience I will become a better dental hygienist for the real world and have the ability to stay on schedule and do a great job!
Today was a great experience. I'm grateful for the things I learn at Midtown and for the people who help me succeed in dental hygiene.
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