Air. Powder. Polisher.

My peer pal was kind enough to give me one of her patients (a Class V) that LOVES to use the air powder polisher, so I could pass off the PE.  I know, right?  Is this person feeling okay?!  That thing is terrible!  But then I understood why, when she opened up her mouth.  Stain. Everywhere!   

My pt. claimed that she loved eating blueberries and tea, and wondered why they stain her teeth so bad. .  (I felt smart when I informed her that natural products/foods stain teeth more than artificial. . Like coffee, berries, etc.  Thanks Perry!  I have learned something ;)).  She was such a sweet lady to work with.  She literally fell asleep in my chair 3 times, and I had to PRY her mouth open so I could see what I was doing.  I took that as a good sign. . That I wasn't hurting her, and she was relaxed :) REALLY relaxed.  She snored a few times, too.  We laughed about that. . Anyway-- Using the air-powder polisher helped get a lot of the stain off, which I was happy about.  I wish I would have used it longer, though, because I had put it away and set up the ultrasonic, and had to try to use that to get the remaining stain off.  It was a beast.  I could have finished her up in NO time had she not had that much stain, because her calculus was nothing to be concerned about.  That stain just didn't want to get off.  It was hard work, but looked awesome after I was done.  Phew-- i was exhausted!  I didn't miss any spots in her whole mouth, which I was thrilled about, and Costley said, "Phenomenal job removing that tough stain!"  That always is nice to hear :) 

Today was great- I finished up another patient in one appt. . but still have YET to see a class 3.  Or even have a prospect.  Yikes.  Only 4 more clinic days. . . I will be praying harder than ever the next few days.  Ohhhhh heaven help me.

Scotty "dont".

Today (as in on Monday).. I saw my husband's little brother, Scotty "dont".  (I believe this nickname came from a movie. . ?  I haven't ever seen it, but everyone calls him that, so I do too. haha!)  Boy is he great!  He had tennis practice at noon, (yes-- he is on the Weber tennis team with my hubby..cute, huh?!)  so I told him he could show up around 1:15 since we weren't going to be cleaning his mouth..just taking some x-rays and doing other random requirements :).  Yes-- he was my ginny-pig.  Thanks sir!

So- he showed up and I put his cute little retainer in the container to start-a-soakin, so I could pass off my Removable Appliance PE.  Then- I dragged him into the x-ray room to take a FMX on him.  He was a great sport, and his mouth was perfect and large, for that dang HUGE schick sensor.  I only had 2 retakes, because I cut off the 2 molar roots on the mandibular PA's, (Gosh-- I can only shove that brick back in his mouth so far!  He nearly threw up all over me!) but other than that-- they turned out great.  It was nice to get all my PA's out of the way-- and we even saw some "suspicious lesions" that needs to get taken care of before he heads to GHANA, AFRICA for his mish in a couple months!  Crazy, huh?!  

Then- after that fun experience, I dragged him back to my chair so I could place a sealant on him.  (I hadn't ever looked in his mouth, so I was PRAYING he had a tooth that could use one...sure enough, he did).  Vining taught me something when placing sealants..He said most hygienists put SOOO much sealant material on and it goes everywhere, and end up having to scrape most of it off because it's too high, or it just is covering the WHOLE tooth, and dentists don't like that too much.  So he taught me to do a very thin, delicate line just across the pit/fissure before I placed it, so it would turn out perfect and thin.  Sure enough-- it worked!  He said that is the way sealants should be done, but most just gob that stuff on so much, instead of just putting it where it needs to be (which is just in the pit and fissure, very thin and neat).  MAKES SENSE!  Thanks Vining :)  

Today was great-- I just got a lot of things checked off my "to-do" list and Scotty "dont" was great, as usual.  (Candice thinks he and her little sister should get married.  The marriage preparations are in order ;))     

::.:Class Two::.:

Last wednesday was great in that I finished up my class 2 patient.  At the beginning of the appointment, I disclosed him to see what progress he had made in a week.  He nearly DOUBLED his PFI score.  He (and I) was SOOOO excited-- His tissues looked so great and he could tell the difference, too.  I even saw him texting his wife telling her, "My PFI score went from ___ to ___."  It was so gosh darn great.  He was super excited at the end of the appointment when he saw the results, too.  I know why I chose hygiene :)  I love changing people's health for the better-- Some patients will not be as receptive to OHI and change their habits like this patient did, but when you find those special patients, they make your day/profession so rewarding.  He was great-- I did miss more spots than I wanted to for the remaining 3 quads, but hey-- learning experiences are what will make me a better hygienist I suppose.  All in all, it was a good day. . .    

Ohhh no you ditt - n't !!

I think I jinxed myself this week when I was telling a friend, "Luckily I haven't ever had anyone cancel on me yet."  Note to self:  Never say that ever again.  Ever.

So a few days ago, I confirmed my appointment this morning with my class 2 patient, to finish up his remaining 3 quads.  Easy Cheesy.  Then.  Last Night.

11:30 at NIGHT, mind you.  My class 2 patient texts me saying he got called into work in the morning, so he can't come in.  BUDDY!  It's 11:30 at night!  How could you do this?  I was freaking out. . . To say the least.

Luckily I have the best husband ever.  And he's a pretty calm guy and can solve problems for me.  He said, "I'll just text all of the tennis guys and will see if one can come in!"  So. . he did, and one replied saying that he didn't have class until 10:30, and he'd be willing to help me out.  

Prayer answered.  Isn't that like....the billionth time now?  I am so blessed.  Anyway- because it was such late notice, I told Dave's teammate that I would pay for him to come help me out, if he would just be there.  That's it :)

So today I worked on one of Dave's teammates.  Nicest kid in the whole world.  Before I got to clinic, I told myself I'd finish him today.  I'd done a 1B in 1 appt. before, and I was going to do it again.  Today.  I did a whole OD and scaled all 4 quads of his mouth.  Darn those 2 distal line angles of the upper molars.  I missed 2 spots, but hey-- another learning experience.  I'm all about it.  He was in and out quick, and I got him to class on time at 10:30.  Phew!  So relieved.  Today was so perfect and smooth.  When last night, I thought I was going to crawl in a hole and cry my life away.  

Things work out.  They really do.  I am a lucky gal and feel so blessed to be in this program.  Even though we do some pretty silly things, and have some pretty silly rules and requirements, I'd be silly not to feel lucky to be experiencing all the silliness.  Period.   

Just another day--

Today (as in March 7th), I saw my class 2 pt. again.  He is a real treat.  He takes everything to heart, and really was excited to get his teeth cleaned today, since we weren't able to do it last time.  He was late again, so right when he arrived, I hopped onto OHI and taught him about periodontal disease and caries and everything else that was exciting to him.  He asked me if he had periodontal disease, and I told him he was in the mild-moderate stages of it.  He asked if he was a bad person.  NO!! i told him.  It was neat seeing him soak everything in-- he wanted to learn so much and couldn't wait to put some techniques to use at home.  

I began scaling-- and boy was it fun.  Calculus galore!  I loved the ultrasonic, once again.  It does wonders for a gal.  I only got one quad done because he was so late, and OHI took forever, but I was okay with how the day turned out.  I missed a couple spots, which I'm happy about.  (weird, i know.)  But it was THEE best learning experience for me.  Especially since this is my first "hard" patient, i really wanted to feel like I learned something and could walk away feeling like I know how to do better the next time.  If I hadn't missed anything, I really would have questioned my skills (or maybe my instructor- haha).  But now that I know what to do next time and the time after, I know that I'm improving each and every time I step into clinic.  

After cleaning his one quad, i had him look in the mirror.  His smile on his face was so rewarding to me.  I LOVE HYGIENE.  He said, "WOW!  My teeth are whiter now!  They look so good!  I can't wait to show my wife!"  He was so excited.  Which made ME excited.  I wanted to just plop him right back down in the chair so I could finish him.  Oh well.  Next time :)  He literally stared in that mirror for about 5 minutes examining each individual tooth as I printed off his walkout, etc.  It was great.  He final words as I said, "Okay lets go!" were, "Man-- If I'd have known how good my smile would look after doing this, I'd have come here years ago!!"  Priceless. 

I seriously know why I'm doing this profession.  It's so exciting to be able to make a positive change in someone's life, and see them get excited about such a simple thing.  (Well, maybe not so simple for them--but it can get to be that way!)  I love hygiene.  It is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  My. Life. Is. The. Best.

3 children.. 1 Appointment... Insane.

Today I set myself up for a big challenge.  I knew I'd survive.  I knew I'd finish what I had set in mind.  I knew it'd be fun and challenging. I knew it'd probably be insane. .  Yep.  It was.


Luckily, last night as I couldn't go to sleep, I thought of a variety of things that I could bring with me to clinic to keep the little munchkins busy.  I came to school early to print off some papers for them to color, and brought crayons so they could color pictures of teeth, etc. . and they loved it.  I also took with me my typodont, and a toothbrush so they could practice brushing its teeth, some snacks, and the cute children's flip chart that we got from the Oral B lady.  It kept them occupied for a bit, but pretty soon they were wanting rides in the chair, and to run all over the place.  Luckily their mom is great, and could keep them under control while I worked on the children one at a time.

So---->  The story.  This morning at 8:30 a.m., (yes, they were late..oops!) I saw the most adorable little children.  Did i mention that there were 3, yes THREE, of them?  It was pure craziness.  3 1A's in one appointment.  Wow!  The first adorable little patient was 7 years old.  She had great oral hygiene, and some new permanent teeth coming in.  It was such a new experience for me looking into a "mixed dentition" mouth, and playing with wiggly teeth :)  She was such a cutie, and even let me take a set of conventional BWX on her. . of which I had no retakes.  She was so good at opening her mouth and doing what I asked her to-- thank heavens!

Then.... I saw her little brother.  He also was SUCH a great patient, which I was so impressed with-- because he's only 4 years old!  He opened so big, and let me look inside his mouth and scale away (at a little bit of plaque here and there).  He also let me take a set of conventional BWX on him, and was so great, however, it was very hard to place the size 0 film inside his little mouth.  His tongue was going everywhere, and he'd bite my fingers, etc. . So luckily Instructor Vining helped me with placement, etc.  They turned out perfect and I didn't need retakes.  (Thank heavens. . conventional is a beast!)

And THEN.......I saw their tiny little sister, who is 2 years of age.  Yes.  TWO!  She seriously was the cutest little thing and let me look inside her mouth too. . only for about 3.5 seconds at a time :)  I even got to polish her teeth with toothpaste and she giggled as the rubber cup tickled her teeth.  It was adorable.  Slash craziness.  She was rolling around, playing with my instruments, talking, screaming, wanting drinks of water from the syringe.  Phew.  I am totally exhausted.  And she even let Instructor Wold check her mouth for about 2.5 second intervals.  She was so great.  And i was SOOOOO beyond happy that she was cooperative, so I could pass off 3 1A patients today.  Praise the land!

HUGE shout out to my pod peeps for helping me out.  I couldn't have done it without them.  I learned so much today.  Seriously.  Seeing kids is a challenge, but very very fun.  I learned that it is SO important to make "going to the dentist or hygienist" for children a fun experience, so they want to come back.  I think by me having them color, play with the typodont, etc, kept them entertained and interested in teeth.  I hope they had a good time.  I know they loved their "2 minute timers" they received at the end of the appointment.  Kids are entertained easily :)  I know it was sure an adventure for me!  3 1A requirements:  CHECK!
 
      

..Look at you! You're a class 2!

Today in clinic I was freaking out.  Okay- freaking out is an understatement.  I was SO flippin scared to see my class 2!  All I've seen so far this semester are "healthy" patients for the most part. . I haven't had much of a challenge yet- But I was ready for it.   .. ok.    Sort of.  Probing scares me to death still, because for some reason I'm so scared of hurting my patients.  I hate seeing them flinch, whince, close their eyes in pain, etc.  It just isn't my favorite thing.  I don't like seeing people experience even a TINY bit of pain.  Ever.  I need to get past that.

So my patient was over 30 minutes late which was a bit frustrating.  And then his health history took about that long, so it was quite a process to even begin starting something.  Finally-- I began his OD and boy was it exciting.  I'd never seen my probe go down so much, and seen so much bleeding upon probing.  It was a new experience that I was glad I was able to have.  I think some of my probe readings were off because I kept hitting a lot of calculus- but it was fine.  I really hope my patient is up for the challenge in getting his oral hygiene in check. . One of the first things he said to me was, "Is there any way I could ever get my smile to look as good as yours?"  What a compliment!  And what a great way to realize that he does want to make a change.  I can't wait for it to happen!  That's what hygiene is all about!  He doesn't know what I've got in store for him :)

So-- we finished up his OD and we were all out of time. .  Dang.  Hopefully he's on time next time! I hope he comes back in the next week, and so I can get to scaling that mouth of his.  I'm excited to see the end results :)  All in all, today was a good day.  I can't complain.  Life treats me way too good sometimes.  I must be doin' something right.