happy halloween...

we got to polish each other's teeth today and we had a really great time.. I can't believe how difficult it was for me to control the pedal.. i'll really have to get a feel for that.. I am glad that Jessica was my partner because she is such a great patient. we also did fluoride treatments and the varnish is still not my favorite!! oh.. I passed the anterior scaling PE and even found some calculus to scrape off!! awesome..

no burnishing!

When you have the correct angulation, adaptation and activation the calculus comes right off.. but when you don't.. it pokes the poor patient right in the gums and makes you look bad.. it also can burnish the calculus.. that means that you are basically sanding the stuff and making it nice and smooth but it is still on the tooth.. I felt more like a hygienist today because I actually got some plaque and calculus off and could see the difference in good and bad angulation. I have really been working on rolling my instrument.. i still feel awkward in my fulcrums and my hands get really tired...

sore fingertips

Posterior instruments were what we got out today. I was really grateful for the one on one teaching that I had. It was great to hear of experiences and fulcrums that make getting to one surface or another much easier. I couldn't believe how sore my fingertips got (and still are) from fulcruming and reaching and scaling. I didn't pass off my PE last week on Dental Screening, so i did it again and did much better. I also passed off the PE for knowing my instruments.. that was good..

as fast as you can...

we went through every thing that we learned today starting from the 'hello, go ahead and swish this for 30sec--to scaling the anterior teeth. I still don't know if i am taking the blood pressure just right and i really need to be better at adaptation when i probe and scale.. and probably when i explore too. One thing that I haven't done before is the DENT. I looked at every restoration and pit and groove on the teeth.. that was interesting. .

roll roll roll!!

Typodonts with white-out all over the anteriors is definately a beginning to scaling for the first time. The entire time, I felt that I was slipping and losing control of my fulcrum; I was frightened for my future patients. Surprisingly, when I did have a patient in my chair it was much easier to place my finger rest and to adapt and roll my instruments. We are getting much more one on one instruction and at times it makes me nervous, and other times, I find myself learning a lot from knowing that I am being watched. I really like that we are always checking on one another..

going through it all..

I really liked that today we were partnered up with someone we have never worked on before.. It was good to hear that other pods are learning and struggling with the same things as we do.. I also really loved going through an 'entire appointment'. For us, of course, that gets us through the HHx, Extra and intra oral exam, and a little probing and exploring for Calculus.. I hear that on Wednesday we will be using scalers!!! That will be a thrilling clinic!!

disclosed..

As we practiced disclosing, I thought about whether or not this technique is really acurate with measuring PFI. Although you may clean your teeth really well, you could still end up with plaque on several surfaces, thus receiving a negative PFI reading. A Pt who also has plaque on all surfaces because of not cleaning their teeth may have significantly more plaque on those same surfaces and yet still receives the same PFI as our cleaner pt. I think there needs to be a better way of measuring this. For a relatively clean pt to hear that they have a low PFI would be discouraging rather than helpful, and for a dirty pt to hear that they are at a decent PFI without even trying doesn't seem useful either.

over loaded and forgetting

Clinic is becoming more and more valuable to me as we learn and apply technique and time with a 'patient'. I am concerned with how much I am learning and how much I am retaining.. I think it is important to have more review so that these lessons become a part of my everyday practice and not something of which I am constantly reminding myself. My biggest struggle today was chair possitions for reaching certain parts of the mouth.. I felt that when I left I had forgotten all correct possitions and was just where ever I could be to see.. I need to go through it again, step by step.

we found a find!!

Last week in Clinic, we started from the very beginning with BP, HHX, and Extra/Intra oral exams. All was going great.. I secretly knew that I had some lesions on my palate that were glowing red and painful. I still don't really know what caused them. My partner was going through the motions and rubbed my palate and then said,"Everything looks normal.". I was hesitant, but then asked," So, did you see those sores on the roof of my mouth?" She then was a little taken back and took her mirror and LOOKED. There they were and because she had rubbed them, were a bit more inflamed than before. I was excited too because she could reflect the image at my mirror and, for the first time, I got to see them too.. We called over the other students and instructors to see our 'find'. I now know how very easy it is to miss a find when you are going through motions. I need to be more observant and alert.

probe away, my friend!

ok, we had such a good day. I felt like we got right to the point, (pun intended) and started probing. It was really fun to see the different probe depths.. I was facinated at how BOP happens so easily. BOP even happens on seemingly beautiful-healthy gums. Janet and I finished early enough to even pass off a few PE's. It is good to be on top of this class; I don't stress so much and even feel more focused. The radio station that we have playing during this class is really awesome.. lovin' it!
ps.. i should eat more before this class.. i get so hungry!!