Mr. Daniel James Laneri... My first patient!

Today was our patient day in clinic... The real deal--where we brought in someone unfamiliar with clinic to begin the treatment process... First, shout out to my older brother Danny who saved me!!! Fairly last minute he rearranged some things and came up this way to help a sista out! What a saint! Danny, if you're reading this, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! I love you, and you were a rockin patient! (not to mention a stylish one ;))






This patient experience was pretty much a final clinical exam for me, and made me a little bit nervous... For those not in dental hygiene school, here's a rundown of what we did.

We started out at 8 am taking some vitals... Good news... Danny is very healthy and made my life very easy! Then we moved to an "extra-oral" exam which is basically a cancer screening. The "extra-oral" was followed by an "intra-oral" exam. (Again, a cancer screening--this time, inside the mouth ;)). After that I "probed" around each tooth with one 0f these bad boys...

Well, the good news is I didn't hurt him. He snored through most of it!! haha... I couldn't help but giggle a little bit when he would fall asleep and his mouth would close a bit on my fingers! (I'd have to gently remind him to open for me) Crazy boy... :) Then we disclosed his teeth and went over some oral hygiene instructions that were specific for him, and we moved on to scaling. The one bummer was that I didn't have time to finish a quad. Cleaning his teeth was so fun!! I know I'm so weird, but I really do love this stuff! It's fun to clean calculus!

We took four BWX x-rays later in the treatment... I used the new Phosphor Plate system which I had not used before... They are digital films which means less esposure and faster development :), but they fit just like a conventional film, rather than having a big, bulky sensor. It was nice to actually do x-rays on a patient, be able to take them quickly, and have no retakes! They weren't by any means my greatest films, but they passed "inspection," if you will!

(these are not danny's x-rays)

I knew I wouldn't have time to finish so I brushed the purple disclosing solution off of his teeth and let him go 8$ later... (i payed :)--the charge was for the x-rays $2 each) ... Hopefully sometime he'll be willing to come back for the actual cleaning, polishing, and fluoride treatment!

As for me, my goal was not necessarily to get A LOT done, but to do what I did, with confidence and ease. Everything went really well for me... I need to get faster at probing, but I know that will come with time... My biggest issue IS time! There never seems to be enough of it... I know I will get better, but right now it's hard to imagine actually finishing a patient in the time alloted!

My instructor, Instructor Hansen (not my usual instructor), was very helpful and very encouraging! She was a great confindence booster and gave me lots of positive feedback! I think i definitely learn more through positivity!

Things I'd like to improve for next time: better/more thorough assesment of gingiva, faster probe time, keeping track of how long it takes to do each portion (with that, keeping myself on track without looking over to see how far along my pod people are)

All in all, I was pleased, and I had a lot of fun! This will definitely help prepare me to see patients next semester!

Pulse? check. Respiration? check.

Yesterday was my turn... Mock patient day... 30 minutes early to clinic never seems to be long enough when you are going to see a patient. So much to do! Of course, the clinic temperature was less than comfortable, and it wasn't long before beads of sweat lined my glove--(unfortunate? not so much for a girl with dry skin... disgusting? absolutely!) Luckily for me, I had the best patient around! Natalie Burghardt :) What a cute girl! Also a treat... Alisha Barber assisting! That was probably the only way I maintained any composure.

My goal for clinic today was to remain calm, cool, and collected ;) I didn't mind if I didn't get very far in the process, I just wanted to do everything I had time to do well. I would say I almost reached my goal... For the most part I was very calm, but I wouldn't say I did EVERYTHING well! There are definitely things that I will get better at as time goes on, but all in all, I don't think it went too poorly! The part I was most nervous for was probing... I just didn't want to hurt her!! Before clinic I had reviewed in my head all of the procedures, and reminded myself to be gentle! I actually did well with the probe! I was proud when she said that I didn't really poke her! (even though I'm pretty sure I may have once or twice--:)) She was a good sport through it all, and was a great patient to work on because I was able to see and identify a lot of dental work! It was a good experience, and I know it will help me for Monday when I see my first real patient!!!

Productivity... Or So it Seemed...

Wednesday clinic was great because we passed off a bunch (3) of PE's... Sealants, Air/Powder Polish, and Instrument Sharpening!

Surprisingly, the air/poweder polishing was much better the second time! Although I did nic the floor of my partners mouth and saw a tiny bit of blood :S eek... sorry Candace!! But when I passed off my sealant PE the instructor told me it looked like I must have done them a bunch before :) That was a great compliment because it was the second sealant I had ever done!

The yuckiest so far....

Today in clinic we learned the air/powder polisher... This is a little device that is great for removing stain...HOWEVER...it tastes really bad, it makes the biggest mess, and it stings a little! Wanna try it?! Well, let's just say I'm lucky that Candace is such a tough patient because I didn't understand how awful it was until I had my turn in the chair! Yuck! It's essentially baking soda, water, and air blasting in your mouth... hence the bad taste(sodium bicarbonate), mess(air+water), and sting(blast)...

Anyway, another not so happy thing today... It looks like I might have yet another cavity! I don't understand how I've never had them, and now I for sure have two, maybe three! I go to the dentist thursday to figure it out, and get some fillings...

Okay, so now that my pessimism about the day is out, there were good things that happened! Today I placed my first sealant! We learned later that my air/water syringe was blowing water when it was only supposed to blow air which put a little damper on the drying of the tooth--(no pun intended) ;) But, I ended up drying it with a cotton roll, and it stayed... We'll see how long it lasts! I also learned how to take a pano today! And, I learned how to duplicate x-rays! So a lot of good things happened today, but starting it out with the air/powder polisher made it a little harder to get going...

This is my group learning sealants in class!
(L to R: Pam, Candace, me, Katie)

Also, I volunteered to try in an aid to keep the mouth dry during sealant placement!
I don't know what made me volunteer for this?! It just came out of me...

Professor Costley trying to help me put it in...

And the finished product... how cute :)

Have a Seat...

Today was a relaxing day... I got to be the patient the entire time! It was good to sit back and not worry about much--except of course if my gums would be poked :) (Luckilly they weren't much today) But I definitely learned a lot from watching Tandem work on me! I always learn so much from the people who work on me! Tandem did a great job though, and I was glad to be her patient. Oh and in other news, the cavity that was so devastating a month ago has gone missing... No one can seem to find it anymore... Is there hope for remineralization?? haha... Probably not... But still, it's weird that no one can find it now.

*p.s. this IS me in the chair, but it is Candace in the background... not Tandem

Whirlwind & It's Over!

Today we had a mock patient day in clinic. I was hoping when I got to class that I would luck out and be able to be the patient for the day... Well, of course, I was the clinician. BUT, in hindsight, I'm really glad I was able to get my turn over with today!
I feel fairly good about it. I worked on Tandem (she's darling), and I felt fairly good in my skills. Probing & scaling are coming along nicely. My prophy angle broke during my polishing PE! haha.. So i put on another one, and a few teeth later, it broke too! Talk about a way to wig out a nervous first year student during a PE! haha
Time is the hardest thing for me. It's hard for me to manage my time and make correct estimations of how much time I will need... Overall, it was a great learning experience for me! It makes me even more excited for Wednesday, when I get to relax in the chair!