Real Patient Day!

Today my goal was to understand how an appointment goes when it's with a real patient instead of my pod partner. I was really nervous because my mom thought she had a cold sore and so I made her and my sister come just in case. It turned out not to even be a cold sore. I was also nervous that I would have enough time but, things went just fine. I started by having my instructor check my health history then I was approved to take 4 bwx and I went to take them and my mom has the craziest teeth. She is missing her maxillary cuspids, her right mandibular premolar. Plus she has enormous mandibular tori, like they are almost touching and the stick up like huge balls. However, I got the bwx on the first try:) Then we proceeded to the extra and intra oral exam. Then I did a full mouth probe and I missed a few depths and I'm still struggling a bit with that then we went over OHI and that took a lot of time because she was really interested and we discussed a lot of different things. Then it was time to dismiss her and chart. The day went very well. I didn't have time to scale but she's going to come back next semester and I will get some good practice then:)

Me as a Patient

Today I was the patient and that was a nice change. It was good to go through the check in process as the patient so that I know what to tell my patients what to expect. It was good to be the patient and hear all the things that they were told to do. It was a good reminder for the whole appointment process. Next time is real patient day and I'm way nervous to have a real patient in my chair even if it's just my mom:)

11-17-08

Today was Mock Patient day and I worked on Candace. I was so nervous I was sweating the second they told me my pt was ready. Then I felt like I couldn't remember how to go through and appointment from start to finish. As I started it came back to me for the most part. I probed the entire mouth and that took forever and I still am not great at it but I feel like I'm getting better. Then I scaled the lower right quad and I didn't realize we were suppose to try and scale as many quads as we could so I was just taking my time and practicing positioning and the different strokes and trying out different instruments and then I got marked down for the amount of time it took me to scale one quad...oops!:). I feel like I learned alot and I'm excited for my real patient day on next Monday.

PE's anyone?

Today my goal was to understand the PSR. We went over it as a pod and filled out the chart. Then we started to pass of PE's. Shalyce and I were the only two over in our pod and at first we couldn't get a single instructor to come over and pass our PE's. Then finally Prof. Costley came over and we were able to pass off three of our PE's. We passed of instrument sharpening. Even though my stone broke while being sterilized. This made me quite upset because I wasn't told to put them up since they were fragile and I had asked before. Also, I always set mine up straight however it still got broken and it's still my responsibility. Anyway I also passed of sealants and the air-powder polisher which was way better today then last time. I think last time the water and spray was turned up too high. Next time we will pass off our PSR PE and that is our last PE. WAHOO!!!

salty

Today my goal was to learn how to use the air powder polisher and to practice placing sealants on a real patient. First we watched a instructor demo the air powder polisher then we used it on each other and placed sealants on each other. I felt really good about both of these skills. It was the first thing all semester that I understood the first day that we did them. However, the air powder polisher hurts and you end up with salt spray everywhere and I didn't like the feel of that.

Practice Day

Today my goal was to practice an entire appointment. My partner was Jenny and she was a great patient. We started the clinic by learning and practicing instrument sharpening. Then we started the appointment. First I checked the health history and did the intra and extra oral exam. Then I probed the UR quadrant and my probe depths were within 1mm of the check but, I still feel I need to practice reading the lines on the perio probe. After that I did a treatment plan and then had the OD check. Then I disclosed my patient and calculated the PFI then I practiced scaling. I scaled different areas and focused on areas that I haven't practiced as much. Then I toothbrush polished half the mouth and then selective polished the other half and then I flossed the whole mouth. After that I did a fluoride treatment with gel in a tray for the maxillary teeth and varnish on the mandibular teeth. Then I finished my chart while my amazing patient cleaned up my area. I wish we could have that every time. I had made so many mistakes on my chart that I had to fill alot of it out again and fix my mistakes. It was a really good learning experience and I am feeling much more comfortable with the overall appointment procedures.

11-3-08

Today my goal was to learn to apply the different types of fluoride. I planned to listen to the demo and practice with my partner. However, today was a mock patient day and I was the patient so I just sat there while my partner practiced. I just listened and observed so that I can know what to do next time. Next time I get to be the operator and practice a complete patient day.

10-29-08

Today my goal was to learn the technique for selective polishing. Since I learned this in an office I worked in previously I wanted to make sure that I knew how to do it correctly. I planned on practicing and getting familiar with my unit. I also planned to use the toothbrush polishing. Natalie was my partner and we practice selective polishing on each other. I feel comfortable with selective and toothbrush polishing. I think the most difficult part is controlling the rheostat since I think mine is fairly touchy. Next time we will be learning fluoride.