Semester One is OVER...

Wow how time flies when you are having fun!!! I cannot believe we have already completed our first semester! And I really cannot believe ALL THE INFORMATION that has been shoved into my brain! It is amazing the amount of info we have been taught! Now if I could just get my brain to remember it all! :) So today I am taking my last Final, excited about that! I am pretty proud of myself for this semester. It was totally life altering, and I have been crazy busy, but I still maintained my sanity for the most part! :) I am excited for the month break, it is much needed. And I am excited to be able to start working on patients. Even though I don't feel completely ready and confident, I know that practice will make perfect, I hope anyway! So this is my last post until the new year, 2011 baby! See then... LIFE IS GOOD! :)

Real Patient Day

On November 22, it was my first real patient day! I was way nervous and excited all at the same time! My Mom was my first victim, and I was really excited to show her where everything I did took place. Plus it was fun to show her all I had learned! So I did not, however do very well in my opinion! I was very flustered and not very confident. I made a ton of small errors that kept putting me behind. I guess I just expected more from myself, and didn't quite achieve all I had thought I would. I did however survive, and so did my Mom! :) So that is good! I am very glad to have that first experience over with and I am now really wondering h0w I will ever survive January and having patients after the long break! Oh well, I will just take it day by day! Life is still good, this next week will be tough, but first semester is almost OVER! :)

Wahoo......

So today is Monday, started the day as a patient to Maren! She is awesome! This week should be pretty chill, in clinic anyway! Get to sit back, relax and get my teeth cleaned and a few sealants! I passed off my LAST PE for the semester!! Wahoo!!! Pretty sweet! feels really good to have all of them done, and I passed EVERY single one of them! No re-do's for me! So Monday I have my first real patient. I am a little nervous for that, but we will see how it goes. I have a ton to do in the next few weeks. The count down is on for the final two weeks of school! Pretty exciting! Life is good! :)

Just finished Mock Patient Week!!!

So this week has been fun, interesting, and educational! I actually worked on Lovely Maren this week, she was a fabulous patient! We got to do a complete appointment from start to finish! The thing that was very eye opening to me was HOW LONG IT ACTUALLY TAKES!!! SERIOUSLY! Who knew that it would take this long! So Monday I only got to the OD. So today I was able to finish OHI and scale and polish the whole mouth! It was so much fun, for real! I loved it! AND I know for sure this is what I am supposed to be doing with my career! I got to use the Ultra Sonic scaler, which is awesome! I also did two sealants on Maren, and passed off my PE for that! So overall this week has been really good! I have enjoyed learning and actually applying my skills! I am excited to do my REAL patient in 2 weeks! Hope my MOM is ready! Life is good, no complaining here! :)

Wednesday Rocks

Well today was a rockin day! I was able to pass off 3 of my PE's today! And now I only have TWO more left for the semester! YES!!! I am very proud of myself because I have not failed one PE and passed all of them all off will mostly 4's, go me!! I expect it of myself though! So next week we get to work on each other, and treat them as a real patient! I am actually the clinician all next week, so I am kind of excited to be able to put it all together! Then the week after that I will be the pt all week! So it will be fun! Found out today that I still have 16 credits to take in upper division to graduate with my Bachelors! That is awesome, what a fun summer I am going to have! I will just be stoked to have a Bachelors though, so it will be worth it! Life is good, and I am glad it is almost the weekend! :)

November Already

I CANNOT believe it is already November! This year, and especially the last few months have seriously flown by! We are on the count down of our first semester! Crazy! Today was a fun day, we learned how to do sealants! I worked with Emily, she did three sealants on me, which was good, and totally needed to be done! I was able to get one sealant done on Miss Emily today! It was fun and I did a pretty good job, I think! I also passed off my selective polishing PE today which was pretty easy! So today has been a pretty easy productive day! Life is still good! :)

Polishing

Well today was an interesting day to say the least... Air/Powder Polishing is CRAZY and totally not my favorite! I actually think it is very odd, and I don't quite understand the reasoning... but that could also be because there were no STAINS to remove on Brooke, plus the areas I could work on her were very limited due to her composite fillings! But at least it is something new that I got to see and try! I also got to polish Miss Brooke's teeth, (with Toothpaste, which I didn't like too much either), and that was fun. A tricky little trick is keeping the speed of the polisher at only 10 rpms, that is very hard! I feel like it doesn't work, and the spinning stops, but we will see. The week is almost over, and we have our Halloween Party friday! Still don't know what I am going dressed up as, but I will fill you in on Monday! HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!! Life is good! :)

Great Productive Day!!

Today has been a fantastic day! First of all I took my #5 Radiology exam before clinic today... and I got 100%, it was awesome to not miss one! Then in clinic today I was the clinician, working on Kelsey, which is always fun! I did a OD and OHI on her from start to finish, took some time, but it was nice to put all the skills together and see how it is suppose to go and the flow of things. I also passed off FOUR PE's today! I was really stressed out about doing this today, but actually realized I was more prepared than I thought, and did very well! It is sooooo nice to have them passed off! I am glad today is over, but even happier that it was such a great productive day! Life is good! :)

EASY Relaxing Day

So today I was just the patient for Kelsey! It was nice, because I am REALLY tired today, so all I did was lay in the chair, close my eyes and opened my mouth! Awesome! I believe today was the easiest day of school so far! But on Wednesday I will be the one doing all the work, and I will have to pass off FOUR PE's which will be a little bit stressful! But oh well! So this week I have 3 test to take! #5 Radiology, Anatomy and Costley's test on Saturday! Its going to be a busy week! Life is still good though, so I can't complain! :)

Today I got caught twice...

Well today Prof Costley called me out 2 times on doing something I shouldn't do!!! I got into my drawer with gloves on! BAD! And I touched my dirty markers and papers without gloves! I was a bad girl today! And wouldn't you know it, Prof Costley saw BOTH of them! I totally will never do those things again, that's for sure! Other than that it was a pretty good day, pretty relaxing! I passed off two PE's: Probing and Instruments, so that is good! Glad to have probing done with! Prof Costley said I did really good on my angles, so that's cool! I also worked with Michelle for the first time today! She is REALLY good and very comfortable in the mouth! She didn't hurt me once and I learned a lot from her today! Thanks Michelle, you ROCK! :) Today is our Friday, we get Thurs. and Fri. off for Fall Break! It will be nice to get a few things done around the house that I have been putting off! And of course I will find some time for studying, since I have a few test to get ready for! Hopefully me and the kids can do something fun together, like a movie or a hike! We will see! I LOVE FALL!!! ;)

OHI and Disclosing

Today we talked about OHI and also got to do disclosing agents on each other! That was fun! Having a Blue/Purple Tongue and teeth! I learned today that I need to brush a ton better throughout my mouth! I also need to be very aware of the distal areas of my wisdom teeth! I also passed off my Explorer PE today, with Prof. Costley, first time with her! Kindof scary! But I did good! Today is a good day so far, other than I am tired and not feeling very well! At least this week is a short week! Also the music today in the clinic pretty much sucks, but what do you do? I am done! :)

Posterior Scaling

Today we learned how to use our scalers posteriorly... Very interesting to say the least. This is a bit challenging for me, but what hasn't been lately?! I feel like I need to spend all weekend practicing all the different skills that we have learned! So I am taking my stuff home to practice for sure! I got to work with Leigh today! She is so freaking cute and nice! Love her! :) It was a good day to practice the other skills, like exploring and probing! Hopefully Monday I will be ready to pass of my exploring and probing PE's! Anyway glad it is Wednesday, and ready for the weekend already! Life is good! :)

Anterior Instrumentation

Today we learned how to use our anterior instrument the sickle scaler! Pretty cool! It was neat to be able to actually see plaque and calculus coming off! It is difficult for me however to get the motion of my wrist, instead of using my fingers! But I know it will come with time and practice! I got to work with KELSEY today... That was fun, she rocks! :) I am really enjoying the progression of our learning! I feel we have learned SOOOO much in just 7 short weeks, I just hope I am retaining all the information! But I love school, I love the girls and Instructors, it is just so awesome to be here and actually be fulfilling a life long goal! :)

POD ONE ROCKS

So today we had a race to see which Pod could set up their chairs first! Our pod said we were going to win, and guess what??? We did!! We Rock! All of us got our chairs and units set up the quickest! It was awesome, we got a bag of STARBURSTS for the win! We also went over our instruments, learned a bit about them, organized them and sterilized them all! Then we got to practice on each other again, I worked on Karlie, never have before, it was fun! We practiced probing and exploring. We also passed off our Intra Oral PE. So today overall has been a fun and relaxing day! I think I am getting the probing and exploring down! I am still taking stuff home to practice this weekend! :)

Post for Monday, 2 days Late...

Monday was a good clinic day. We learned how do use the explorer! It was fun and hurt a little, but it is very interesting and a new technique that I have never done, we use the explorer to feel under the gums for calculus. It is something that I will totally have to work on! I also passed off two PE's, the Extra Oral and the Mirror Fulcrum.

PROBING

Today was a great clinic day! First of all I passed off my Health History PE and my Vitals PE. I was way nervous about them, but I did them, got them done, and did well on them! I can breath again! I still however have 5 other PE's to pass off, but none as hard as those!
Today we also got to PROBE in each other's mouths! That was very SCARY! Because I have NEVER done it before! But once I started, it wasn't too bad! It was actually fun! Totally need to still practice though! But I am glad this week is almost over, it has been a LONG tiring week! Things are good and I am alive! :)

Intra Oral and Instrument Fulcrum

Today in clinic we learned how to do Intra Oral Exams, those are fun! And we also learned how to hold our instrument (probe) and also how to Fulcrum with it! That was a little harder! Today is a stressful day, following a stressful week! Honestly I can't wait until the week is OVER and its only MONDAY! :)

Extra Oral and Mirror Fulcrums

Today clinic was pretty east and fun! We got to do Extra Oral Exams on each other, pretty interesting, and feels really good when your having it done to you! :) We also learned how to hold our mirrors in the pts mouth, using a Fulcrum of coarse! That is still a new concept for me, so It will take some time. This week has been pretty crazy, one exam down, two more to go! A little stressed about the next two! Gonna study for Radiology tonight, hopefully take tomorrow sometime! Then Dental Hygiene exam on Sat. We are also going to UDHA convention Friday, I am excited to go! I think it will be fun!

Week Four...

Today is the start of week FOUR!!! I can't believe how fast it has gone! I am starting to feel a little better about things, and getting into the groove of my classes. I was sick all last week, feeling a lot better this week, but still have a cold. Took my second Radiology exam this past weekend, did fairly well. This week is going to be a little crazy concerning exams, have three, so I am a little stressed about that!
So today in clinic we went over vital signs. This is all new to me, I have never taken a blood pressure manually! Last night I had Josh bring his stuff up to parents house and he went over things with me, so that helped a bit! I got to do vital signs on two girls today, I feel a lot better about it! I also passed off one of my PE's today, which is good to still be ahead of the schedule!
I am excited for this week, but will be glad when it is over, due to the 3 exams! :)

Week Three...

So this week we only had clinic once due to Labor Day! Which was nice to have a break, especially since I got sick this last weekend with a head cold! This is a great week because we only have 3 days of school, and Friday is my Birthday and I don't have to come to class!!!! So I can actually enjoy my day and do something fun! I think I am going to hang out with my sisters for my Bday so that will be fun!
So for clinic today we learned how to do Health Histories with our patients! Can I say this is the first time (other than the first day) that I have been completely overwhelmed! There is soooo much information to know and things to remember! I think also because I am not feeling well, and I am tired that it is adding to the way I am feeling! But anyway this was a hard clinic today!
I did however pass off one of my PE's which is good, still ahead of schedule!
This weekend will be a little crazy, lots of studying and a test to take! But things are going well.

Clinic Day Four

Today has been a good day... It is my half day so didn't have to be here till noon, which is nice to be able to make the kids breakfast, help them get ready for school and drop them off to school. I also was able to go grocery shopping, clean up the house a bit, put dinner in the crock pot and study a bit! So it was a good productive morning.
Clinic today was fun and interesting. We learned the proper way to sit to avoid strain on our muscles and bodies. Never had thought about it before, but it makes a ton of sense, and I can tell already that it is going to make a big difference. We then got to practice on our typodonts the correct "clock" positionings to use with the patient, the light and the mirror. So that was new for me, I am taking stuff home to practice so I have it down and don't get confused!
We also got to pass off some PE's today which was good!

Week Two Baby!!!

Today is the start of Week Two of school! I am just glad I survived my first week... although I was very tired EVERY day! I think this week will not be as overwhelming... I hope! :)
Today in clinic we learned how to disinfect our units and set up for a patient. Lots of little things to remember, I think it will take some time to know it all of the top of my head, but I know it will happen and become second nature! We got to work on one of our Pod buddies today, I worked with Ashley! I was her patient first, she got to seat me and practice spraying water and suctioning with all the different suctions! She did Awesome! Then it was my turn! I was excited to finally be able to work in a real persons mouth, I feel like it has been FOREVER! Since I haven't done it for two weeks now! But its just like riding a bike, feels natural even if its been a while! :) I enjoyed using the Blue Boa today... Tried the two different type of tips, totally prefer the straight tip over the curly one! Seems to fit in the mouth better and suction better! Also less bulky! So I prefer this one as a patient and when working in the mouth! We also learned how to take down the room and disinfect after a patient! Lots to remember there also!
I also passed off my Personal Protective Equipement PE today!
Overall it has been a great day, although I am STARVING!!! Need to eat a better breakfast on Monday mornings thats for sure! :)

Day Two....

Well today was a good day, I am very tired though! There has been information overload the last Three days! It seriously feels like today is Friday and I still have TWO more days! Crazy! I am hoping that next week is a lot less tiring just because I should know a little bit better what is going on and what is expected of me! SO... Today in Clinic we got to meet the inventor of the Blue Boa, Ann Arrington! I think the Blue Boa, which is a handy tool for us Hygienists to use when using the Ultrasonic... It suctions the water and keeps us hand free from the suction so we can use the mirror and ultrasonic! Pretty cool! I am excited to actually use it with a real patient! Today we did however get to practice using the Blue Boa on our Typodont(with Lips)! That was fun! We talked about the proper ways to wash hands, putting gloves on and taking them off, along with proper mask use! It all seems a little overkill, the washing of hands so it will take me some time to get use to! I did pass off my first PE today! It was pretty easy! Got a PASS... Yeah!
Been an awesome first week in Clinic! Enjoying all the new things!

First Clinic Day!!

Today was my first Clinic Day! I was so excited to come to school today and see where all the fun was going to be happening! Today we got our desginated pods and drawers! I am in Pod #1, Unit #3, it is a good one, I have a window and a view of the valley, so I have things to look at when I have a free moment! :) I organized my drawer, putting all my instruments and stuff inside! Also met my Pod buddies... Emily, Karlie, and Ashley... They are awesome! Got to tour the clinic and find out where everything is located through a Scavenger Hunt, that was fun! I am excited for this new adventure and can't wait to see what the next two years bring!

~My First Dental Hygiene School Post~

Today I have created a blog for school... Pretty crazy! I am nervous and excited to start this new adventure in my life! This blog will be the place that I share my weekly experiences and thoughts about school, the dental field, and my life! Stay tuned...