Air Powder Polisher

Today we learned how to use the air powder polisher. I was the patient first. It was working on my and we couldn't figure out what was wrong. So I didn't have the pleasure of having the nasty tasting salt and powder all over my face. I wasn't too disappointed about that. :) We also polished, flossed, and had fluoride put on. The fluoride is nasty! And it's yellow! We had time to practice any skill we wanted so I had my partner scale the fluoride off. Then we switched partners and we figured out that it was the tip that wasn't working. So my partner had the joy of powder in her mouth and experiencing how nasty it is. Then we all did our Dental Screening PE. They are grading it now so hopefully I pass!

Ultrasonic scaler

Today we learned how to use the ultrasonic scaler. We practiced on our typodonts first. Emily was my lucky patient today. We also experimented with the blue boa. I must not know how to use it correctly because as of right now, I'm not a huge fan. I soaked Emily! I was busy working away and I stopped and her face was all wet! And she didn't even say anything! She was a good sport. I tried both of the suctions to see if one was better than the other but they both seemed to drown her. The scaling part wasn't too bad though. Our OHI PE and intraoral camera was due today so I was able to pass those off. Wednesday I will pass off the dental screening PE. Now I'm off to take my Radiology Practical Exam!!

Practice Day #2

Today was another practice day. We pretty much did the same things that we did Monday. We did the HHx, HHxRx, OD-Extra/intra, Dent, Perio. It all starts to be making a little bit more sense after we run through the process. I'm sure I will be so stressed out when I have a real patient in the chair. I thought with a 'practice day' that we would be able to practice anything that we wanted. That wasn't the case. We had to pace ourselves so that we had time to practice what we wanted to. The universal PE was due today so I wanted to practice that. I did pass it off but I'm still not confident with it. I am hoping to look over a couple more PE's so that I can pass 2 off on Monday.

Practice

Today we were practicing on our partners. We went through HHX and HHXRX, extra/intra, and charting. We also disclosed again. It was good to go through everything and write it down and chart. I don't think I have it all down pat but hopefully with the next practice days we have I will get it down. I was hoping to be able to practice the universal instrument and pass it off but we ran out of time. Wednesday I will pass it off and hopefully something else. We also learned the intra-oral camera which is super easy!

Charting

Today we learned how to chart existing work on our form. As Prof. Costley was going over the things that could possibly be existing and how to chart it, I was a little worried. It was a lot of stuff and I was starting to get stressed about it. I was worried that I wouldn't remember how to do any of it. Once we started looking in our partner's mouth it was much simpler. It is a lot of information but when it comes down to it I think I can handle it. That's pretty much all we did today so we had about an hour to practice other skills or go over PE's. Our instrument classsification one was due today so I did that one. Then I wanted to review my Eaglesoft tx plan PE so I would be comfortable to pass it off next Monday. After practicing for a few minutes I said 'What the heck! Let's just pass it off!' Sometimes I just have to have the confidence to do it myself or I will think about it too much and worry myself. So I also passed that one off! The 2 PE's that are due Monday I already did so I can have a free day or try and do another one. Prof. Costley has also been assigning us our partners for the day and I like it! It gives me a chance to work in somebody else's mouth and also to get to know that person better too. I feel like I'm learning the skills pretty well. Monday and Wednesday are practice days so hopefully I can improve my skills.

PFI

Today we calculated each other's PFI (plaque free index). It was a little scary! I was the patient first. We used a disclosing agent and it was not pretty. It turned my whole mouth purple! I didn't think I would be that bad but my PFI said different. I think it was 64% which Prof. Costley said was on the margin. The thing that bugged me was that my maxillary laterals were totally purple! I guess I need to take a little more time on these. My gingiva was generally healthy though. Maybe we will get to do this again and see if I improved. I also passed off my anterior instrument and adaptation and angulation PE's! Woo hoo!

I'm bleeding!

Today we learned how to scale the posterior teeth with the Barnhardt. It is a lot like using the explorer but we go subgingivally, which is kinda scary. I'll admit my gums are a little sore after being the patient. I felt pretty comfortable doing it but I definately don't like using this instrument on the anteriors. We also learned how to do a treatment plan on Eaglesoft. This shouldn't be too bad but we'll see how I do when I don't have the PE in front of me. I passed off my explorer PE today which I was nervous about but it wasn't bad at all. Hopefully Monday I will be able to pass of some more PE's. It's a little boost of confidence when I get one or two out of the way!

Oh scaling!

Yesterday we learned how to use the Sickle scaler for anterior teeth. It wasn't too bad but it definately wasn't easy! Stephanie was my partner today and I made her bleed a little bit. I know I poked her a few times but she was a good partner. I need to work on holding the instrument with a lighter grasp. I had marks in my fingers from gripping it too tight. I was just really into it I guess! The anterior teeth weren't too difficult, it's the posterior teeth that I'm worried about. Hopefully we get lots of time to practice everything we've learned. I feel like we learn a skill, practice it one day, and then we move on to something else and don't come back to it until the day the PE is due. Luckily I've been able to pass my PE's off fine but I want more time with each skill. I was also able to pass off my probe PE. I like probing more than the explorer. Wednesday I need to pass off the explorer PE so hopefully I do well!