Class IV

My class IV patient is such a trooper! He came in this morning and we did both quads on the left side. This afternoon he is coming in to complete the right side. A few weeks ago we did the lower right and we're finishing the upper right this afternoon. Its pretty nice being able to complete a patient in one day. This way his whole mouth is in the same state and we can give him a fresh start.
Today, I fell in love with my curved inserts. I hadn't really used them until today. Instructor Wold helped me to use them on the straight facials and linguals and it was so nifty! I also loved how they wrapped around the distals of the molars. He has his 3rd molars and it was so easy to clean back there with the inserts. I love finding out new things!
Wish me luck this afternoon!

LA Mockboard

Mercy! I wish I would have been first on the list this morning. The worst part of the LA mockboard was the waiting.And the waiting...I was one of the last ones to give my injections. Once I was able to sit down with my patient I feel like things went well. If anything, today was a good learning experience. It was good for all of us to go through this and to share our experiences so that we could make sure NOT to do that!
I passed! Woot! Woot! But they did tell me to watch the final degree on my PSA injection. That blasted 45!! It will be the death of me! The IA went well too. I felt like today was a good learning experience. Now I know what to work on!!!

Busy Day!

This morning I saw my friend Jordan for a cleaning and then Mike came in for a full mouth series. Bless his heart...he is my little guinea pig!  Things went well this morning, but I feel like I've been running a marathon! I'm so tired. At lunch I was ready to call it a day.
My afternoon patient ended up being my class IV! YAY! Last year I saw this patient and Instructor Hafen classified him as a Class III so that I could get my requirements. She mentioned that he should be a IV, but that she would give it to me. This time, when he came in, I was able to get a class IV requirement. Thank heavens! I was only able to get one quad done today, but he is scheduled to come back.
Miracles to happen!!!!

One of those days...

Do you ever have those days when you call a new patient and your hoping that they will be a difficult classification? Then lo and behold they sit down in your chair and they're a 1B....Great. Such is my life! It seems like every new patient that I have come in is either a 1B or a class V. I have class II's and V's coming out of my ears! My patient had never been to the dentist before, so my hopes were high! Alas, my wishes were in vain. I am in desperate need of class III/IV patients and injections. I'm hoping that the dental hygiene gods will send some harder classifications my way. Keep me in your thoughts!!

Mockboard Day

Oh goodness...its mockboard day....I don't know why I get so nervous for these days. We have wonderful teachers that prepare us and I'm so grateful that I have this mockboard experience to prepare me for the real deal. Still, its super nerve racking!
I felt much better once I got in and got started. As soon as I sat down to scale I felt more confident. Its all the waiting in the beginning that gets to me! I feel like things went pretty well this morning. Now I'm just sitting here waiting to her my results. Cross your fingers for me!!
I just have to remember that this is a learning experience. If I miss something I have to remember that his is put together so that I can learn. Way to think positive Karlie! ha ha 

Success!

I went into today being so stressed out! I didn't have a mockboard  patient for next week and I was starting to feel the pressure. My good friend Charlotte came in this morning and she was a really quick cleaning, but she loved me enough to chew on a piece of wax and let me do a couple pe's on her. So, the morning wasn't a total waste.
AND....Julie found a patient that was a mockboard pt and I made sure to go over and introduce myself. She agreed to come in and I was able to take 12 xrays in 10 minutes with Julie's help. Record time! With no retakes mind you... :)
This afternoon I had a new patient that was a Class II but he didn't have enough calculus to qualify for boards. I was hoping to find someone for Jodie or anyone that didn't have one. Darn it! He was a great patient and he wanted to make sure that when he came back in three months that he had me for a hygienist. It always makes you feel good when your patient WANTS to come back and see you! ha ha

Last Semester of College!!!

Oh... its been a long day. Its always tough coming back after a long break. But...It is my last semester of college and I am stoked! Only 15 more weeks til we graduate!!!
This morning I saw two children. The 11 year old was bleeding more than my perio patients. Needless to say we talked about her OH habits and the importance of flossing. She was a super cute girl, but man! I was able to get a pano with her too...Only two more to go!
Her older brother was  my next patient. I took xrays before I did the OD. While I was taking the films I noticed that he had a cold sore....so his appointment was over pretty quick. I scheduled him back in a couple weeks.
This afternoon was pretty basic, yet another class V. Story of my life... She was a super nice lady though. She was 83 and in excellent health.
Today was a good day. It went by pretty quickly, but man am I beat! I'm so excited that I don't have class tomorrow! Woot! Woot!!