Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Happy Halloween!
Today at Midtown we celebrated Halloween which was a good time- I was able to scale a class 2 patient and i did TERRIBLY! It was not good. Not fun. Not anything. I wanted to go home and never pick up a scaler again. I missed so many spots and I realized AFTER that I had the wrong ultrasonic tip and it was barely doing anything. So my instructor busted out the BIG guy and set me off to work again. It removed pretty much everything I'd missed-- how embarassing! But in the afternoon I redeemed myself and cleaned a Class V. Thank heavens I didn't miss any spots on her- I really need to think of each patient differently and clean them according to the mouths they present with. I will never make that mistake. Again.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Praise the land!
Today was my day. . I have previously only seen ZERO quads of a class 2, so I was desperate for some in my chair. I looked on the resource list and chose two people whose "history" in their chart was a Class 2, so I called 'em up and hoped for the best. Well, that is what I got! Two class 2's baby! It was so nice to clean some quads and get more of my requirements done-- (of which I had none of before). I will be finishing them next week which I'm excited about!!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
*magasti*
I decided the name of this post was going to be called magasti.
It is a new word I [just] made up and am considering submitting it to Webster's.
or not.
Anyway: Magasti stands for...
Make A Goal And Stick To It!
(story later)
So: I called a pt. off the resource list on Monday afternoon to come see me in the morning (last minute. again. oops!)
Luckily she said YES!
And I was PRAYING she was a class 2 because I have not ONE single quad of a class 2 yet. Not one! And she said she hadn't been to the dentist for a long time, and her teeth were, quote: "really bad"
Note to self: DO NOT trust people.
:)
So...she comes and I look into her mouth and probe and do all those fun things and guess what:
1B.
Sound familiar? This happened a few weeks ago!
I was so sad. But happy, too, cuz 1B's are confidence boosters!
Who doesn't need one of those every once in awhile?
I finished her up and all was well.
And then my patient for the afternoon came in whom I was aware was already a 1B: someone Kayla had given me. Cool beans!
He was a nice guy, and after my OD check, Liz said,
"Okay: make a goal right now as to how fast you are going to scale his mouth". (Probably because she realized how long my morning 1B appt. had gone).
I gasped. Ok I didn't really, but I hadn't ever really considered making a goal like that and actually doing (nor sticking to) it. Stupid, I know.
So I blurted out, "45 minutes!"
"OK!" She said. "Time starts now!"
[This is the part where I felt like I was on a game show!]
And I literally looked at the clock and started scaling away.
As fast as my little hands could go.
They made me so proud that day.
I actually stuck to my goal and was finished with him in 45 minutes.
Have I ever done a scale that fast?
No.
Was I proud of myself?
Yes.
Is making goals a good idea?
Definitely yes.
And better yet: telling someone, because it MADE me do it. If I would have said it in my head, I probably would have given me an extra 5, 10,...ahh heck, THIRTY minutes.
I am going to do this from now on, (ok..I'll try to more often) because it made me very efficient, and really scale like I meant it! Usually I just go around scaling, feel for any last remains. . Go exploring. I might go around a few more random spots again. Floss and polish. Maybe grab my scaler one more time. Go on an exploration, AGAIN. It's just a joke. I need to hike up my big girl panties and get a move-on!
Phew. It was a great day. . and I learned a lot.
And..kayla was a doll-face and let me pass off my last sealant experience on her patient: holla girlfriend!
*MAGASTI*
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
i got a feelin'.
that mockboards is going to be the death of me.
but first: i'll start off with something more positive.
Yesterday in clinic I saw an easy cheesy 1B patient in the morning.
She presented with a mouth full of crooked teeth screaming: braces!
(Fitting, how we just had that guest speaker on Monday).
Anyway- she is getting all geared up for those soon.
I scaled her up in about 35 min. and was hoping to make good use of my extra time.
She had a few teeth that could have used sealants,
but we couldn't take x-rays, and my instructor said that wouldn't be a wise idea.
darn.
So instead, I passed off the diagnodent on her, and sent her on her way.
good 'nuff.
Then...
and then.
The afternoon came.
I was seeing a new patient who had never ever been to the dentist or had a cleaning.
she was 20 years old.
and she had a mouth full. full of calculus. radiographic and everything!
(with very little bone loss).
are you thinking what i'm thinking??
future board patient.
I was going to start cleaning her, but she informed me that she wouldn't be able to come back for quite awhile to be finished, because she was starting a new job this next week and didn't want to start off the job by taking time off-- that wouldn't look good on her part!
so. . i presented to her a plan.
i told her how we have to take this really important test in the spring, and it helps us graduate, and we look for people who have a mouth JUST like hers. she felt special.
and she said: yes. that she would do it.
I talked to Perry about everything to make sure it was ethically "sound", and he said yes.
"If she has waited 20 years to get her teeth cleaned, she can wait a few more months".
Also: This was a patient miss acord gave me, so i told her about what happened and come springtime, we may share her, or it may work out that we each find someone else.
honestly, it's just too far away to be able to know what will happen-
who knows if this girl will even be able to do it, come springtime. but it was exciting anyway.
Oh yes-- and miss acord also let me feel my mockboard patient's calculus and it is TENACIOUS. she is a class III and has a TON of radiographic calculus, and very sensitive.
This mockboard is going to be the death of me.
I'm not setting my expectations too high for this first one: I actually hope I don't pass, so that I know what to do for the next ones (and REAL one), and have it be a great learning experience.
Anyway- this is forever long. I'm heading to Wisconsin in the morning for a HUGE race.
the top 19 (out of 30) nationally ranked teams will be there.
we are number 13.
so we must dominate.
GO WILDCATS!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
..another day in paradise. or something.
I survived another day in clinic.
I woke up with a sore throat and two stuffed nostrils, so that was SUPER awesome!
But. . I saw 3 patients today, whom I called the day before.
and it was a success, so I can't complain.
Too much.
(Don't ask me why I keep waiting until Monday to schedule my patients. I am not
very stressed this year, and I just keep saying, "I'll find someone").
And somehow I always do.
I saw a very cute old man in the morning.
He had a crazy health history, and I got to pass off my blood-glucose PE on him.
He presented to me three quads of a class III.
He was missing multiple teeth, so I didn't get to count 4 quads, but I can live with that!
He had a lot of decay and lots of restorations and crowns, so that was tricky.
But, I only missed one spot in his mouth, so that was a good feeling!
Somehow I feel like I am starting to get a hang of this thing.
Or....maybe the mini graceys just saved my life :)
Anyway- so I finished him all up in one appointment.
The afternoon was a bit crazy.
I saw two very cute little boys: both 1A's.
They were great patients and I was able to do some sealants on the older one.
While being at Midtown lately, I have screened a lot of mixed-dentitions.
So, I feel like that has helped me a lot, and it was a breeze charting their mouths.
The best part of the appointment was when the older brother said,
"I'm so glad I got to skip school to come here!"
And then. . . . . . 30 minutes (ish) went by, and.....
We placed sealants which tasted yuckkkky. . and he said,
"I changed my mind. I'd rather be in school than taste this stuff!"
I laughed so hard. It was great. Hopefully he wasn't too traumatized.
Today was a good day, all in all.
Except for this awesome headcold, flu, bronchititis coughing, feeling.
Not sure how I want to diagnose myself.
I kind of want to die.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)