Not A Fan of The Air/Powder Polisher!

Today we did air/powder polishing and selective polishing cleanings on each other along with flossing and fluoride application. I was paired up with mister eric today...haha ha it was an adventure indeed. I'd never used an air/powder polisher before, but I've done a lot of sealants so it was kind of similar to that and not to hard to figure out. I've done a lot of cleanings so the rest was second nature. It was so nice to finally do something I know and am comfortable with. The funny thing is that I did cleanings with my right hand in my office and it still feels more natural to do it that way haha..yes I'm a queer because I still have to instrument with my left hand so I guess I'm a little ambidextrous! Woot! Then it was eric's turn to work on me...pah ha that's where the adventure began..I had stuff flyin' all over the place! Grossness times ten! You'd think I'd be a fan of sodium particles pelting my skin at ridiculously high speeds..um..negatory definitely not a fan of the whole air/powder thing. It works a little too well for my taste..speaking of taste! Blech! Salt sandwich anyone! Like gag me with a naked barbie doll! Pretty sure my teeth felt worse after the cleaning than before..haha awh well! I had also had to pass off dental screening, which was totally simp! I can't wait for my mommy to come be my patient soon! Bah haha..poor thing! Peace out homies!

I played around in a boy's mouth today...shh!

Today we pulled out the ol' ultrasonic. I was paired up with Eric for the first time..haha..it was a little strange having a guy patient, since most of us are girls and that's what I'm used to. The ultrasonic is angled like the probe, but a lot easier to use. I felt pretty comfortable with it. I also got to pass off my intraoral camera and OHI PE. I felt more comfortable working with the camera today and felt good about using the flip chart and explaining periodontal diease slash dental caries. I wish we had more time to practice everything because I feel like we go through everything so fast and then move on to the next thing. I know there's a lot to learn but dah! It's frustrating sometimes to think we will be seeing patients soon and I've only had the chance to do everything for a little bit. I definitely have a long way to go on the road to dental hygiene perfection!

Say cheese....pizza!

Today was more of a practice day. I finally got to work on Mare again! Woot! Good times indeed! I practiced universal instrumentation the most and am feeling a little more comfortable with it so hopefully I'll be able to pass it off soon. Indirect vision is getting a lot easier for me. I just need to work on angles still. We also learned how to take pictures with the intraoral camera and using it was basically like indirect vision with the mouth mirror because you are looking at the screen on the computer while you place the camera in the mouth to actually take the picture. Whoa! Talk about sea sickness! I don't think we work with the intraoral camera very much so hopefully I can get used to it.

Three's Company!

Today we went over dental screening and learned how to chart everything on the DH Assessment form. Kim, Ashley, and I were in a three-some and I got to chart Ashley's mouth. It was hard for me to chart her restorations because they were all composite and a little harder to see the margins. Shalie showed me that if you dry the area with the air/water syringe you can see the margins better. Using your explorer is also another good way to define where the margins are at. She had a couple crowns and an implant, which were interesting to see in the mouth. The dental charting here is a lot more complex than what we did in my dental office. There's a lot I'm going to have to memorize, since I'm only used to charting very basic stuff.

What the Pellicle?

Today we got to work on each other using disclosing agents to calculate each others plaque free scores. It was really fun slash gross! I'm very anal about keeping my teeth extremely clean, but I had a lot more plaque than I thought I would. It was so interesting to see the difference between people who had just eaten lunch or who were really good at flossing. This also determined whether they had new or old plaque, which varied in color depending on how long it'd been there. I was also able to pass off my angulation and anterior instrumentation PEs, which went over very well. I'm feeling a lot better about using my instruments on patients and not feeling like I'm going to gouge their gums to shreds! It's a glorious thing!

Today we started scaling the posteriors and I think it went really well. I'm feeling a lot more comfortable with everything! Yay! I also passed off my explorer PE thank goodness! Today was a good day!

Missing my Mare! Hee-haw!

Phewf! Today I was able to pass off probing as nerve-wracking as it was. I'm probably being way dramatic and I've never been nervouse to pass off a PE before, but this one was definitely intense, especially since my readings had to be within one measurement of what the instructor got. Luckily I passed, but I'm still a little frustrated because a lot of my measurements were at least off by one. I really feel like I can't see the lines on the probe very well and have to strain my eyes really hard to even come up with a measurement. I'm just hoping that when I finally get loupes and with more practice that I'll eventually get the hang of it. We started doing a little scaling today and I actually felt pretty comfortable with it. I do need to work on my grasp though, since I have a habit of holding my instruments like I do my pencil. I was so excited to finally work on Miss Mare, since her cold sore was all better, but then we were told we had to work on someone we hadn't before...sad day..tearful snotbubble...but it was ok because Ashlee and I got to work together, which was still fun. It was also a good experience I think to work on someone else so I don't get too used to one mouth. In the real world I gotta be ready for pretty much anything so it's probably a good thing to get as much variety as I can even though all the girls in hygiene have beautiful healthy mouths. I do miss my mare though! Technicolor zebras unite!