Last day!!!!!!

There is no better feeling then knowing i made it through this first semester alive. Just five finals this week and i can get a breather! Today was very chill which i love, we learned about emergency preparedness and STAT situations!! Then we learned about our CA duties for the next year and a half. Then we reflected on the semester and wrote a little bit about what worked well for us, what we would change, etc. Well blog...i am signing off for now...i will see you again January 3rd as i begin the second semester of my dental hygiene journey!

Real Patient Day=Mixed Emotions

It was scary, chaotic, enlightening, embarrassing, fun, and frustrating all in one. It was so fun to have Kelly there to see what we do each day in school. Thank goodness he was my first patient because i feel like i made a million dumb mistakes, but he assures me that i am the best...biased. But i learned a lot, the instructors were very helpful i just hope that i can really do this stuff when i am seeing patients other than my husband who has to love me. It was fun to see everyones husbands and family there! All i have to say is....Bring on Christmas Break!!! This girl needs some time to regain her sanity!!!!!!!

I scaled!!

Today was really great, Kelsey is such a fun patient and i sure kept her entertained with my sound effects as i worked. Scaling is such an intense skill! I had a lot of help today and i feel much better about it, today i realized that i love the Nevi! I learned that i will definitely have to pick up the pace when i have a real patient, but i actually had fun so i hope to just gain more confidence to add to my enthusiasm! The end is so near...and i could not be happier...i need a break. A long, joyful, relaxing, Christmas, break.

My Pretend Real Patient

So today went a little smoother than i imagined...i was deathly afraid to probe the entire mouth since i thought it would take an eternity, it did take a while, but i kept up with the rest of the girls. I also practiced OHI and realized how awkward i can sound when i am trying to find the right words to describe caries to the patient, i will work on that. I also learned that my posture must have sucked today because my neck is killing me so i really need to work on that when i am the operator again on Wednesday! I am getting pretty excited for our real patient day, its gonna be fun to have Kelly be there!! I am soooo glad its the end of the semester but there is TOO MUCH TO DO!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I'm the Patient: Day 2

I knew the day was gonna be a good one when Prof. Allen let us watch like 2 minutes of Moulin Rouge in Radiology after we watched the movie about Pano's. We were all singing our hearts out and the day just could not be bad. Once again i got to lay there for 4 hours while Kelsey did an amazing job scaling, placing a sealant, trying out the ultrasonic scaler, etc! She thinks she did really bad, but she was awesome, and she has no idea what she is in for next week as my patient...lets all pray for her that i do well!
The official countdown begins....14 more days of school!

I'm the Patient: Day 1

This day was seriously sweet! I got to wake up actually do my hair, wear normal clothes, show up at school, and lay there for 3 hours then go home (well actually to work :( but still....Good times!) Kelsey did a great job, today she got through everything all the way up to scaling which she will do on Wednesday! Even being the patient, i feel like a learned a lot about the order of things and when the instructors are needed to check on things and sign things. Until next time my friends, i am enjoying this week of relaxation so far!

Instrument Sharpening and Flouride

Today was so laid back in Clinic, i loved it! I think its because the next three weeks in there are going to be chaos! (Our mock and REAL patient days are here...its crazy that they think i can actually handle this stuff already)! We learned how to sharpen our instruments using the moving stone, stationary instrument method. It is kindof tricky, but i think it just takes some getting used to. Then we passed off our air powder polish PE, me and Ashley were smart thinkers this time and turned the salt way down so it would not make me almost puke this time. Speaking of puking, I gave Jodie a real hard time in Radiology Lab today because i gag everytime someone tries to take an x ray on me! That digital sensor it bigger than my entire mouth, it just doesnt work out so well. They were trying all these methods, everyone was shouting for me to breathe out my nose, and count to 20, and hold my leg in the air, and they even tried to put salt on my tongue! But that is where i drew the line, because we all know how i feel about salt after all this air powder polishing business! Fun times in the dental hygiene program, that is for sure.

Sealants

I don't know why but i think sealants are scary little things...i was very nervous about actually placing them on my real live classmate Ashley! But she was a good sport and did not even get mad about the bulky little blob of a sealant that i did on her premolar. (Don't worry we got it taken care of). Lesson learned, use a VERY little amount of sealant material. Also, if i were to grow two more arms, i would be the master of sealants! I will work on that.

Air Powder Barf!

Today we learned how to air powder polish off stains. That stuff is straight up salt and it was pretty awful...i was kindof dramatic about the whole situation but it turned out being a fun day it kept us laughing, with our fancy hair nets and all! We also learned how to rubber cup polish.(which i learned yesterday is only for looks, it has nothing to do with the actual "cleaning", which is actually the scaling part...i had no idea). I also learned that it is a whole lot harder than it looks! Once again i am being too soft and timid because i am worried that my speed will be too high, and that petal is touchy!! But it was fun, i am feeling more like a hygienist each day and i know i am gonna love it!

More Practice

Today we did more practice with scaling which i really needed, i got some great pointers from Proffessor Hansen, and she told me i was doing really good and not to worry cause it takes a while to get the hang of it, so she made me feel better. So all in all today was great except for i am sick and i felt like i was gonna die the entire time....My immune system has the fighting power of a flee! Its not working out so well for me during this program! Only 5 more weeks of school though after this week and i can hardly believe it........WOOT WOOT!!!!!!

The Patient

Today was freakin sweet...i just got to lay there! Karen did the same thing on me that i got to do on Monday and it went great...i feel like i always learn a lot from whoever is working on my teeth, and today was no exception...i have so much to learn from these girls who have all had a ton of experience in an office. It has been really really hard not having the experience that they do and i know i am having to work harder, but its good for me and i know i will get through this! I passed off scaling the posteriors which used to be mission impossible for me, i just need a ton of practice still. Well just 2 more days of this crazy week and one big fat test on Monday! EEEEEK!

The Dental Hygienist

Today i got to be the clinician and Karen was my patient. I loved actually getting to practice the OD steps in order and learning how to write them and where to write them etc. We went over the extra oral and intra oral exam again (which i had kinda forgotten) as well as the tx planning, the gingival descriptors, charting, probing, etc. It took me the whole time to do this! I realized that i really need to step us my game and step on the gas if i ever want to finish on a real patient. But it was fun and i cant believe we are only about a month away from our REAL patient day....0h boy i cant wait!

Today we learned how to chart on the "green sheet". Mine ended up being pretty intense with my veneer, bridge, baby tooth and randomly missing premolars! Then we had the rest of class to practice and pass of PE's. I redeemed myself and passed off that dang exploring PE. I am feeling a lot more confident about that now...Now its just the dreaded probing PE that has been haunting my dreams for weeks and weeks! I just need to get that beast over with!

Disclosing Agents

Today we did the disclosing agents in each others mouth's which was actually pretty fun! We had to find out where the plaque was and teach our "patients" how to get it off. That stuff is serious! Very serious and very purple. I had a hard time believing my tongue would ever turn back to pink! It was pretty enlightening to learn which places are getting missed when i brushed. I realized i am missing the lingual side of my very back molars...and i found out the reason for that is cause its right near my gag reflex! So i will have to work on that one!! I am excited about a short week this week, however, deep down inside i know it would be the smart thing to do to use it studying for the next week since we have tests!! We'll see how it all goes!

Scaling the Posteriors: Misson Impossible

I cant do it! For some reason, nothing about scaling the posteriors makes sense to me! The blade angle does not make sense, or the doorknob motion with my wrist, nothin! I am going to have to do some serious practice on my typodant for this one and hopefully a light bulb will turn on...i thought the anteriors were just dandy so lets hope i was doing that right last time! I am excited because we are at midterm in the semester meaning that pretty much the rest of the semester, we are just practicing what we have learned this far and adding on a few more, simpler skills! Time is flying by!!!!!

Scaling the Anteriors

I have to admit, it wasnt all that bad. There is only one end that you have to remember to use, which is the correct end the entire time. It was pretty scary going subgingivally with such a sharp object but it was kinda fun! I made Jodie bleed big time, but i didnt sweat it too much, cause its just Jodie (I tell ya, i need her as a partner everytime). I got a lot of one on one help with Costley today which helped so much, i need that every time, but dont we all??

I am gonna use all these?

Holy cow, who thought there were so many instruments with different names and uses and different ends to be worked on different surfaces of different teeth!!! Today helped clear a lot of that up, but this is gonna take some getting used to. I do not feel too confident with probing or exploring yet so i am a little hesitant to move on to anything else, but what can i do? I just gotta keep on truckin and keep practicing any chance i get. It is hard not having a dental chair to practice with someone at home and my dang typodant is not too cooperative without the nifty stand we have in clinic...but luckily we got a little more practice today on each other and the TA's were able to help us. My main critique was that i was being much too soft and much too hesitant to get in there and just make my mistakes and learn! So i am gonna try to be less soft on Monday, and we will see how that goes!

Bad Day

Just one of those days...fighting back tears, so badly needing a nap, and emotionally at my breaking point. I started the day off going to radiology since i missed last week when i was sick. We had a lot to do and only one instructor and i felt rushed and anxious so i messed up a million times and had ten minutes to eat lunch before going into clinic. We learned how to use the explorer. And i thought probing was bad??? It was tough and i could not figure out how to explore backwards in my mirror to save my life! After all, we are talking about me, the most uncoordinated person on earth. Karlie was my lovely patient and i did get my PE's passed off....Somehow i just have to find some confidence inside me, i know its there!!! The second i left school i let all those tears out and that is pretty much all i needed.

Marshmallows are like Gingiva

Today, not even food poisoning (which i am convinced i got from Beto's and i will never be eating there again) can keep me from Clinic, and i stumbled in there with a belly full of pepto and ready to go! We learned how to probe, which was something we were all a little nervous about! Kayla worked on me first and she did an amazing job! Then it was my turn to try it on her and it was pretty hard just like everything else was on the first day it was introduced. Luckily we first practiced on marshmallows because the bounciness (if you will) of them is comparable to the gums and what they would feel like when we have stuck the probe into the sulcus. We also practiced on our typodants and it was a pretty dang good clinic day, i made it through without puking or running to the bathroom and that my friends is success after the morning and night i had!

Still Trying to Find That Fulcrum...

This is hard! Remembering to keep perfect form and to use modified pen grasp and to be in the right clock position and to not poke my classmates gums with the probe as i am trying to find a fulcrum...i am hoping one of these days a light bulb will just come on and it will all just make sense. So today we practiced more fulcruming and we did intra-oral exams on eachother. We then had a guest speaker from UDHA who talked about what we can do as a UDHA member to support the profession of Dental Hygiene. Between that presentation and the student forum last weekend, i have become quite passionate about protecting the dental hygiene profession because i am working pretty stinkin' hard to get there! The end for today.

Finding a Fulcrum

It's like finding Nemo, just much much more difficult. A fulcrum is a place to anchor your hand while working inside someones mouth. I have to implement clock positions and tooth surfaces and 2 tools into this which makes my head feel like it is going to explode. I am so so timid when i am working on the other girls, i wish Jodie was my partner so i would just dig right in there and not worry about hurting them. But everyone is helping me out a ton and they are great sports, so thanks Heather and Adrienne! We also practiced extra oral exams which are pretty fun to do and even more fun to get, it is a mini massage i tell ya, my patients will love me for it one day. I better go cause I have a lot of PE's to practice on Kelly tonight!!

Vitals...

Today we took vitals on each other as part of the health history. We practiced more with blood pressure, i am getting a little bit better, its just that dang systolic i cant hear it, so once again i will be checking anyone's and everyone's until i get the hang of it!! They checked mine a couple times today and it was 125/80, so they had to put a medical alert stamp on my file saying i was pre-hypertensive and it kinda freaked me out. But oh well, that is so the least of my worries because this week is going to be intense. 3 tests! My brain is so full and soooo tired!! But...
I can do this, i can do this, i can do this, stop being a baby!
(This is my daily pep talk).

HHX...Dun Dun Dun

Today we learned a ton about filling out a health history on a patient, something i was really stressed about, but it actually turned out to be a pretty good clinic day. It can be quite time consuming, especially now that we are just learning. It is something that will get easier as i go along and i am hoping that i don't freak out every time i see a medical alert on someones chart. We also practiced taking blood pressure a little bit, and i had a hard time with that so i will be taking Kelly's (my gracious assistant/husband) blood pressure all weekend, it should be great! I think that is all i can write for today cause Wednesdays kick my bum, thats for sure!

Day 8

Today i did my very first set of x rays! It is a lot harder than it looks and thankfully we are not being graded on our first attempt because my bitewings came out a little iffy. I am really liking radiology though, i hope i start getting better at it!
I have also noticed that over the past two weeks i have become obsessed with teeth! When people are talking to me i cant stop looking at their mouth, and their canines, and the way they bite down, etc. It's fascinating to me now that i am learning all about it.
In clinic today we learned all about the different positions we are supposed to sit in while working on different sides and different surfaces of the teeth. It is a clock like system where you work at either 8, 9, 10-11, or 12 o' clock. I had no idea that it mattered where i was positioned while cleaning but it is super important along with very good posture, which i am glad i am required to make a habit out of. It was an overall great day and i have an overall exhausted brain.

Practicing on a REAL PERSON??!

Today we practiced using the saliva ejector and the high volume evacuator along with the air water syringe. My typodant was safe this time, it was Heather who had to deal with me struggling to use all of these things that are so foreign to me. The HVE is really awkward to use and it scares me slightly. But i had fun learning on an actual person, i just need to gain a little more confidence somehow. Dental Hygienists make it look so easy!
That will be me one day...Cleaning teeth like it's nothin'.
We also learned how to barrier and prepare for a patient as well as how to clean up or "tear down" after a patient has left. I like the tear down part because i am a clean freak and i love wiping things down and sanitizing the heck out of everything!

Dear Blog:

I made it through the dreaded Wednesday! I passed off my Eagle Soft PE, and now feel dumb for how stressed out i was over it! I learned how to use the air/water syringe today as well as the Blue Boa, which is a suction that a Weber State Dental Hygiene Graduate actually invented, it was pretty neat! Again, i had a lot of basic things to learn today like knowing how to hold everything or where to put my legs or elbows when working on a patient. Luckily today my patient was my typodant who did not mind that i was drowning him in water and awkward trying to use the suction in his mouth.
These first 3 days have been really stressful, and i'm tired and overwhelmed, but i will not forget how lucky i am to be in this program.
It's going to be exciting and I am gonna live it up!!

"What the Heck is a Pod?"

This question and many others were finally answered on my first day of dental hygiene!!

Pod [pod] noun: where Kayla, Julie, Heather, and I will be hanging every Monday and Wednesday.

Today was actually really good. It went by fast, and i did not feel too overwhelmed. I learned that the locker room is a bit crowded and so did the girl that i hit in the face with my purse on accident trying to get to my locker (I will be downsizing to a smaller purse tonight). We then went into the Dental Hygiene Clinic and started out with some get to know you stuff and getting to know our way around. I know i am a little bit behind most the girls who already know how to work all of the equipment at the dentist chair, but i had fun learning today and the girls helped me out a lot...Including Jodie who was keeping an eye on me. I am so glad she is here with me and i am so excited to get going and get to know all of these fun girls! My first PE is due next week so lets hope i am an Eagle Soft expert by then!

First Post...

I am getting graded to blog? Sweet!