Last Day of Clinic!!!

I can't believe today was our last day in Clinic for the semester!!! It went by so fast, but now I'm especially nervous for next semester to find all my patients. Today we took a quiz on our Clinic Manual which I did pretty good at for not studying. It was open book so I couldn't have done that bad anyway. We also went over the CA duties, Emergency Protocols, and we FINALLY finished all of our PE's. YAY!! Now I just have to worry about finals and then I can relax for the Christmas break :)

First REAL Patient

Cameron came into the clinic today and he had a very special treatment :) He was my little gineau pig so I had to be very nice to him. I thought things went pretty smooth until the end. I did the Extra/Intra, OD, OHI, 4 BWX and scaled 2 quads in a good amount of time. But then when it came to all the charting it took forever!! Overall, I was pretty happy with the experience, but now I'm extra nervous for my patients in the Spring because of all the work involved in one single appointment.

Finishing an Appt

Today in clinic we did the second half of our patient. I got to scale 2 quads and then do a full mouth polish. I also got to pass off my sealant PE and then practice a few of them. I did 4 total and it was really practice for me! I thought today went really smooth, and I'm pretty excited to see my first real patient next Monday!!

Being the Patient

Today I was a patient the entire clinic. I found out that is it very hard to sit in the dental chair for 4 hours, although it was very relaxing. Megan did AMAZING!! I also got to pass off my instrument sharpenging PE. YAY!!

First Mock Patient Today

Today Megan J (I'm not even gonna attempt to spell her last name) was my patient. I thought it went pretty good until the charting part. What a disaster!! I really enjoyed probing and I got it done really quick, so I was pretty happy about that. I liked the hand scaling too, but the ultrasonic scaler was a bit harder. I even got to get a TINY piece of calculus off and that was pretty exciting. I'm not as nervous for my first patient now...especially since it's my husband.

Ready for a real patient?? NO!!!!

We are starting our mock patient treatment on Monday...YIKES!!! I feel as good as can be expected considering we haven't had a ton of practice doing all the different things. I really enjoy probing which is strange, but the scaling still intimidates me a little. I just don't feel tough enough to pull the calculus off. Guess I better start working out my finger, wrist and arm muscles! We only have 6 more clinic days this semester and I can't believe how fast it has gone by.

Sealants and Fluoride

We placed sealants and applied fluoride today in Clinic. Me and Brooke got to be together finally so that was fun! Sealants are actually pretty easy to do on adults....but kids are way to slobbery and it takes a lot more practice!! We have now learned how to apply all 3 types of fluoride. The gel and foam are put into a tray that goes in your mouth for 4 minutes.

The varnish is lightly brushed on all surfaces of the teeth and you aren't supposed to brush it off for at least 6 hours. All the ones I have tried taste pretty good, but my favorite is the varnish because you can eat and drink immediately after. Wednesday is our last practice day in Clinic before we do our mock patient exams. SCARY!! Wish me luck...