I am a hygienist...sortof

Today Molly got to be my mock patient. Everything went relatively well until I found out that I don't actually know how to scale teeth. It is fun anyway though. Molly was very nice to me. I love having smart patients who can give good feedback. I wish all of my patients were that knowledgeable.

So fun being mock patient

Today was my last day to relax. Blast.

Molly the amazing hygienist-A poem by leigh for molly

Molly was my hygienist today.
She made it all seem like play.
She was so grand.
She had it all planned.
The probing just flew by.
The only thing that would have made it better is pie.
OHI I learned so much.
Brushing, flossing, caries, all before lunch.
The purple was gone before I could count to three.
And she was so nice saying "great job Leigh"
It was so much fun I will be back for sure.
To hang out with Molly Wednesday I don't even need a lure.

Guido loves to Brush

Love Wednesdays

Today was great. Way more relaxed than Monday. Learned how to sharpen instruments. Got to take 4BWX on someone other than Dex. Only one more PE left for this class this semester. Almost to mock patient day. It's a good feeling. Also raced Karen down the hall on our chairs, got a cookie, and a tooth carved from a bar of soap, awesome.

Nice and rushed, just the way we like it.

It's so much fun having one instructor that has to be in 12 places at once. It's also fun being the student waiting for them. Today was a little bit hectic. Me and Julie were speeding away at sealants. She is a pro sealant applicator. It was pretty much a party in the corner. Good times. I like sealants a lot actually. They are fun. Air/powder, not so much fun just salty.

AIR POWDER!!!

Today we learned the air powder polisher. I don't think I would ever actually use that on a patient unless I REALLY disliked them. That thing does NOT taste like mint at all. It is not fun to have done on you at all, too much salt and sand. You feel like you just went swimming in the ocean after except that there was an extreme sand storm on the beach as you went swimming that. Karlie likes it up her nose too. FYI the foot pedal is slightly more sensitive than you would think. It's been a while since I polished anyone too so that was a fun reminder of how to do that. Good times at the clinic...

Fun times in the clinic

Nothing to particular to blog about today except that I forgot my camera for the millionth time. I will remember eventually. The sonicare is doing it's job and I had a not quite as purple mouth today. Scaling is starting to make some sense even if I still go at the speed of a snail. Professor Hanson is brilliant. I hate 9 o'clock position and would do everything in 8 if I could. Got lucky and had Karlie as a partner again, wouldn't mind if that happened every time.

Karlie the amazing dental hygienist

Today I was a dummy, just like good old typodont, so I will blog about Karlie instead. She did great, I would highly recommend her as your hygienist. Passed off four PE's like a champ. And she really loved that I didn't brush my teeth today, nice and purple. Also I found out I repeat myself a lot in OHI. That pretty much covers it. Also bisecting is lame. And so is Dex 3. But Kayla is cool. The end

Wowza

Today was awesome. Mostly cause I got to hang out with Karlie and that makes me feel cool, even if she is forced to sit in my chair. Today we ran through all of the skills we have been learning in one day and guess what it makes a lot more sense when they are put all together. It was fun. I still need tons and tons and tons of practice on all things scaling but its all good. So glad my first real patient is Todd. He has to love me no matter what haha and I will test him.

Tragedy

I have a 4 pocket! And calculus! You know it's bad when the student working on you gets a huge smile on their face like they just got a present. Yeah I'm going to be even more paranoid when I flossing 20 times a day now than I regularly am. And Todd thinks I am embarrassing when I pull the floss out of my purse in the car now, it's about to get worse. Today was so fun other than the tragic pocket. Someday I might get the hang of scaling. Yeah for fall break. Guess I better go take my radiology test so it can start.

Purple everywhere

Well today was a little bit embarrassing. Luckily Jodie is nice and didn't make fun of my purple mouth too much. Disclosing agent will be a great patient education tool and I'm glad I won't have to be disclosing in front of the patient. They might just walk out and tell me I have no idea what I am doing if they had seen my mouth today. I also learned that I am going to have to remember the number of surfaces I'm counting a lot better. I kept having to ask Jodie how many surfaces I had just barely said. I'm glad we are getting closer to the practice days. I really need to cement some of this stuff before my brain yells overload and dumps it all.

Passed off the probe and I didn't have a heartattack

Today we learned the universal blue scaler. I thought it was a bit hard to get the angling down. Working stroke is also a lot harder than it sounds. You would think it is pretty straight forward to know that you have to use the blade end of the instrument to get the calculus off but when you actually put the instrument in the mouth you suddenly cant find the blade. Fun stuff. Today was a good day in radiology too. Love it when the long day goes relatively smoothly.

anterior scaling is so much fun...

Today was cool. We are dressed in purple, and got to learn how to use the purple anterior scaler, feeling a little too much school spirit. First time with a blade. It was actually really cool. I can't wait until next year when all of this is second nature, but until then I will enjoy learning and poking my patient.

Millions of instruments...

We got to go over all of our new instruments that have been hanging out in our drawers being bored since school started. It was really interesting and I am excited/nervous to start using them all. Probing finally made a little bit more sense and I'm not going home as frustrated with it as I did a week ago. I thought I was going to poke a hole in Karen's cheek passing off a simple PA cause I had a sudden burst of stage fright. That pretty much covers clinic. It was a lot more fun after I had a very very off day in radiology.

EXPORING

So I love exporers so much. Way way way better than probing. Also found out today that I am ultra slow at setting up my unit, secrets are not allowed in clinic, and I wish I was better with my mirror. Yeah it was a productive day. Can't wait to scale...

Holy probing!

Wow school feels like it is going in warp speed. Learn how to sit, then look in the mirror, then hold the probe and the mirror, and before you can practice all of it more than once BAMMM put it all together and if everything is not right then you have a screaming patient in your chair. Today that patient was Mollee, poor girl.

Extra onto Intra

We have graduated to intra oral exams,I found out I suck with looking in a mirror, and the modified pen grasp is a little more complicated than it sounds. As I concentrate on putting my pinkie right next to my fulcrum my posture goes, as I fix my posture my thumb collapses. Maybe someday with a lot and lot of practice I will get it right...maybe.

Extra Oral...mouth I'm getting closer...

Today was great. We did extra oral exams. We tell the patients that we are looking for abnormal lumps and bumps but I don't really know what constitutes a abnormal lump or bump. Wow we were so qualified to do the Woman's Health Connection. I got a good look at the vermilion border (the lips)so watch out mouth, I will be in you before too long!

Like a doctor.....

Today I felt like a doctor. First I led my patient in and sat them down while asking how their day was. Then I take their vitals,they call me nurse Leigh. Then I get a complete health history and look up all of their medications(there are millions)and the effects of the medications (there are billions) and every possible way that could affect their dental treatment. Yeah its cool. I am so glad I get to clean their teeth....someday.
It's also fun when you realize right before you are about to pass off your PE that you have been studying it wrong all along. Thank goodness for Jodie, the best patient ever.

Wow talk about drugs!

Wow there are a lot of drugs I found out today. It's amazing how many of them can interfere with dental treatment too! X-rays are awesome. Yep that pretty much covers it. Last night my sister and mom were asking how learning to clean teeth can possibly take two years. From where I stand now I don't know how we are possibly going to cover it all in two years! Man teeth are some pretty complicated things. But I love them. I might be crazy but sitting in class for six hours just talking about teeth gets me way excited! I can't wait to actually get in a patients mouth!

Dex, friends, and me

Clockwork

Today we learned all of the correct positions for accessing every tooth surface without having to lean forward at all. Pretty exciting stuff...easy as clockwork. I'm a big fan of the eight o'clock position. Probably because it's the easiest one. It's gonna take me awhile to get used to the mirror but I have a feeling it is going to become my best friend. Radiology was pretty fun. I made a new friend, his name is Dex #2.

I'm all set up!

Today we learned how to get out units patient-ready. We also got to practice using our air/water and suction tools. I spent a lot of time sucking up Jodie's cheek with the high speed suction. I think she really enjoyed it haha. We also passed off another PE. I don't think it matters how ready I am for those, they will probably always be nerve racking. I'm going to bring my camera next time and then I can post some awesome clinic attire pictures so you can all see how adorable we look with all of our protective equipment on!

First Pass Off

I passed off my first PE today...the first of many. It was a pretty awesome clinic today. We had a demonstration from the inventor of the BlueBoa. It is a really cool suction device that I have a feeling I am going to be using a lot. We got to go through the secret door into the dark room in radiology. All in all it was a great day.

1st clinic day!!!

Today was our first day in clinic! I'm so excited to finally be here. It will be so fun to get started learning everything and to make new friends with everyone. We did a scavenger hunt today. It's amazing how different offices are. I think everyday in a new office should start out with a scavenger hunt so you can find everything.

Orientation Day

Today I spent a whole lot of money on instruments...my husband is gonna love it when I come home and tell him how much. I'm so excited to start learning all about dental hygiene.