Heading into the last week of fall semester...

Well ladies, we're in the home stretch. Tomorrow starts the last day of the last week of our fall semester of senior year. Eeeek! Is anyone else slightly freaked out by how fast dental hygiene school is going by? I can't believe it. It seems like not long ago we were all nervously saying hi to each other at our dental hygiene school orientation. So weird.

This week will be crazy with class, 3 tests, screenings, and the christmas party... but we can do it! Let's all stay positive! (I'm mainly trying to pump myself up.) After this week I can start my study regimen for boards. Yikes!

Last fall clinic day

Last fall clinic day: OVER.

Yeah, baby!

Today was super productive and I learned a ton. My first patient broke most of #8 off and can't afford to get it fixed so guess what he did? He mixed up some glue/cement stuff from his auto shop and slapped it in there.... whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Seriously, people. I can't make this stuff up. He was a... very interesting person. I was glad to get him out of my chair.

My afternoon patient was a guy that leigh found for me. Class 3! I got all 4 quads finished! WOO! I flew through his cleaning. I had a goal to get him finished and I did it with no missed spots. I felt great.

It was a fabulous last day of clinic. I feel like my confidence is really improving. Now I just need to find a mockboard patient for January at our screenings next week.

Dental Materials Lab

Dental materials lab was pretty rockin'. I successfully used block out to improve bleach tray quality, made bleach trays, and made a stylin' red night guard (with Dr. Naylors help). I was covered in dust and red shavings from the night guard by the end of the lab but it was definitely worth it. I was also able to make a nifty temporary crown using a method that I wasn't aware of before. It was a fun learning day! I'm stoked to try out my night guard! ( I might have noticed that I have started to grind my teeth in the last few months. I blame the stress of boards that is looming around me.)

Last VA day of the semester

Yeah, baby. Last VA day of fall semester: over. My morning patient was pretty much the nicest guy in the world. It was a nice change from the mostly grumpy men I usually see. I got 7 injections on him and 9 PAs too so I'm super happy about it. I wish every patient could be like him. My experiences at the VA hospital have been really eye opening for me. I know that most of the patients I will see in "real life" won't be like the ones I've seen at the VA, but it has been a great opportunity for me to realize what is out there and what some people deal with in their every day lives. I wouldn't want to work at the VA, but it has helped me learn a lot.

Tomorrow: LA and dental materials lab. Word.

Clinic Lab

Clinic lab was very informative. It was good to use the VELscope and see the pretty colors it makes. I am glad that I know more about the densensitizing agents that the Weber clinic has. Also, we learned how to transfer people from wheelchairs to dental chairs and vice versa. I need to start lifting some weights. My group had way too much fun in our wheelchair expedition. All in all, good day. Last lab of clinic for the semester! It's going by fast!

1A and diagnodent

This morning I saw an 8 year old girl. She was very timid which I was grateful for because hyper children stress me out. She was super easy to work on but HOLY PLAQUE. I can honestly say that I've never seen more plaque in one mouth since we started this program. This poor little girl had a 6mmx 10mm abscess above tooth B. She's going to have to have it extracted and it's not even loose at all yet. Dr Naylor said that the infection should go away once it is taken out though. I also got to see a tongue thruster today. It was a good learning experience to see what it looks like in the mouth. I also passed off my diagnodent PE.

GUESS WHAT ALL????

I'M DONE WITH MY FALL REQUIREMENTS NOW!!!!!!!!

squee!!!!!

Now i need to start trying to figure out those local anesthesia calculations. ick.

Piercingssssssss

Today was a pretty interesting clinic day for me. Unfortunately, my afternoon patient didn't show up. She was supposed to come in at 1:00 p.m. At 1:15 she called me and said she wouldn't be able to come until 1:30 but that she might just not come at all... (huh?) She then called me again at 1:45 saying she wasn't going to make it because she was tired from work. She was peeved when I told her that I didn't have anymore openings until next semester. Sheesh.

My morning patient was right on time though. She used to have a tongue piercing that chipped and fractured numerous teeth, some of them to the point of needing to be extracted. (mentioned in previous blog). Today she informed me that her motivator for her 8th grade daughter to get good grades is telling her daughter that if she gets a 4.0 GPA she can get a tongue piercing... ( what the heck???) She genuinely wants her daughter to have one. I also got to see the side effects of a lip piercing. It has caused recession and mobility on tooth #5. Since we just talked about piercings in class yesterday it was cool to see. I got to do nitrous on her too. Fabulous.

My only PE that I need to pass off still this semester is the diagnodent PE. Hopefully I can get that done next tuesday.