I'm Going To Vomit...

Literally, I really think I'm going to vomit!

I sit here, at 12 AM

Unable to sleep

I took my clinical boards at 7:30 this morning

I have been sick ever since!

Everything went ok I guess I could say

She was on time, qualified the first time

I got to work and scaled my little heart out

But those two hours FLEW by

All the sudden I had 10 minutes left

I wanted 10 hours!

There were a few rough spots I could feel

Worked and Worked and WORKED FOREVER on them

nothing was coming off

I pray it was just tooth anatomy and they don't count it against me

During probing there was a heavy bleeder

I couldn't see my probe

So I thought...I'll come back to it

Well of course I forgot

So I left one probe depth blank

There goes 1.25 points

UGH! JENNY! IDIOT!!

I was really nervous

Even though I have done this a million times

THIS was the time that counted the SUPER most!

After, all I could think of was... did I do this?

Did I do that?

Maybe I should have done this...

Maybe I should have done that...

I think of all the spots of roughness I felt

What if they mark me down for 20 calculus errors?

I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!

And it has not even been 24 hours since I took this exam!

They are making us wait 2-4 weeks for our results!

Back to my title...

I'm going to vomit!

Pray for me

It Was A Good Day!

It was a good day yesterday...

Because I received this in the mail...

SO thankful I don't EVER have to take that again!!

It was pretty brutal!!

LA Mock Board!!

Thursday was LA mock board...

I was scared...

I almost died on the drive in

Crazy freak hail storm

People sliding off the road everywhere

One guy missed slamming me by approximately a millimeter!

So needless to say, the morning didn't start off very well!

Then they were rushing me,

I will still shaking from the drive...

But they came over and I went for it...

I decided to do the left IA first, uncapped my needle, and drug it across the plastic on the tray...

Lovely way to start

Had to announce that I contaminated my needle...

UGH

So recapped, and went on with the right PSA first

(My absolute WORST injection, I can never get the angle!!)

So uncapped, went for the distal buccal root, surprisingly I wasn't shaking...

Got in, did my thing, got out, recapped.

Done, ok, next...

Did the IA, hit bone, redirected, got to deposition site, bam bam bam...

Out and recap.

WOW, I'm done. That was kinda scary.

Honestly I had no clue how I did...

I felt pretty good giving them, 

But they are so picky about everything I didn't know if I passed or failed...

WELL I PASSED!! BOTH INJECTIONS!!! YAY!!!

They even said my PSA was textbook perfect!!

(That has never happened before)

Perry said my IA was a little high, which is why I hit bone, 

But I handled it perfectly, so I passed!

Made me feel a little bit better about taking this in 2 weeks!!

On to the written,

YIKES (I haven't studied yet...)

Most of them I felt pretty good about, but there were a few I had no clue!!

I ended up with an 82%

I can handle that!!

Overall, it was stressful, but I feel much better knowing now how it will run...

I CAN DO THIS!!!

(HOPEFULLY)

I'll let ya know in two weeks!!!

V~A~

Well if I have to go to the VA

I at least want it to be a useful, productive day!

I hate driving all the way down there to see a 1B and a 5!

Clearly I could do that at Weber!!

But today was a productive day that made the drive seem worth it!

I was able to see 5 quads of a Class 4

Do 8 Injections

& do my nitrous PE!!

HALLELUJAH!!!

One Step Closer...

National Exam...Done & Done!!

It's OVER!!!

Thank the heavens above!!

That was no fun studying for...

I'm not sure how I did...

The first part had 200 questions...

Of which I flagged about 60 that I was unsure about...

Could have been worse right?

Took a lunch break and back to work I went!

150 case study question didn't sound too horrible...

On about question 58 I wanted to kill myself....

Not because they were too terribly hard, 

But because I had been sitting there for close to 6 hours and my brain was DONE

DONE I SAY!!

So needless to say I just clicked my way through the remaining 100 questions

Not thinking about them too hard, just wanting to GET OUT OF THERE!!

Overall I feel pretty good about it, I think I at least got a 75%

If I fail, I will feel pretty dumb 

AND

I don't know if I can muster the strength to take that bugger again

Because this is what I wanted to do at the end...

Last & Final Mock Board!!

So Thursday was my very last mock board!! 

I am glad we did these because I feel much better about how the real thing will go now! 

I have been pretty lucky in my mock board adventures! 

I have passed all three!! 

Yippee!!

My first one in October I got around a 76 or something, 

then a few weeks ago I super nailed it and didn't miss one single spot!! Perry docked me on my x-rays though (lame) so I ended up with a 96. 

Then this last one, my patient had 20 clicks of calculus!!! 

20 CLICKS!! 

Holy crap!! 

I thought I did pretty well again, but time was running out and I knew there was still a rough spot and I tried for the LIFE of me to get it off and it would not budge. 

So I just submitted her, but in the end there was just two little spots left (out of 20)

so I was angry at first 

but then I realized I did a good job anyway!! 

I actually have learned something in the last few months!! 

YAY! 

So I ended up with an 88, 

and since all you need is a 75, 

I won't complain!! 

Hopefully I can do a repeat performance on the real day! 

Because this would be the exam that I would cry and cry and cry if I failed!!

At least they are over...One step closer to GRADUATION!!!

Maybe I Should Blog...

There is SO much to do, SO much to remember, SO much to stress about. Blogging is kinda last on my list. But maybe I should try and catch up. This semester has been pretty good so far...Honestly for my requirements I really just need 7 more quads of a 4 and I am good. I have been pretty lucky with finding patients. I have my process of care exam on Tuesday. I am kinda worried about that one. I have heard mixed reviews. Some say it was fine, others say it was horrible. Don't know what to expect. All I can do is pray!!

Last Clinc Day...

Today is my LAST CLINIC DAY of 2010!! WAHOO!!! Holy cow! Time has flown!! I have done so many quads and I am definitely ready for a break!! I am just seeing an easy 1B today, I felt like I needed to take it easy and save all my harder patients for next semester! It has been a good semester and I have accomplished a lot! I feel like I have grown a lot with my skills and have learned a lot!! I am excited for next semester and can't believe that I graduate in 4 MONTHS, 4 WEEKS, and 2 DAYS!!! But who's counting??

Another Class IV

Today I saw a true, true, true class IV. All four quads were IV. I only worked on the lower left quad, and it literally took me 2.5 hours just for one quad. There was radiographic boulders on every...single...tooth! If I had been alone, in private practice, I literally would have broken down in tears! It was SO HARD!! He told me he hadn't been to the dentist in 40 YEARS!! Oh my gosh, I about died! Connie stayed with me the entire time and assisted and I couldn't have done it without her! I was EXHAUSTED!!!

Class III, Class III, Class III

Yep, I saw 3...count them THREE, class III patient at the VA today. That was rough! All of them had their OD done, so all I had to do was clean. Clean, Clean, Clean. I felt pretty good about it though, and it gave me a lot of experience!!

Mock Boards...

Today was mock boards! It was pretty stressful but I think overall it went very well. I think I did a good job cleaning my patient. I know there was an area on the distal of #18 that I could still feel a roughness and I tried with all my might and couldn't get it. So I just ended up submitting him. After I thought about why I didn't use my FILES?? Really?? I totally could have gotten it off with them, oh well, live and learn!!

First Class IV

HOLY COW!!! I am in awe. I have never really had a patient with deep pockets, so I wondered if I was probing correctly...well today I was walking the probe along, mesial...3, facial....12, distal...12, WAIT, WHAT?? A 12??? I will say it again, Holy Cow!! I was even able to use my curved slimlines on the deep pocket and furcation! I loved it! It was awesome!

Chair Positions!!!

EEK! I am struggling with my chair positions! WHY? Why after all this time are they giving me trouble? But it's so true that you can't do proper cleaning unless you are in the correct postion...I'll keep working on it...

Getting Better

Last year I saw a patient that was a perfect board patient! She had radiographic calculus on a lot of surfaces and I remember trying to do a cleaning and all I did was debride. It was the hardest patient I think I ever had to work on at that time. Well I saw her again today and it was much better. I felt like I did a good cleaning until my intructor came over and told me I basically missed every mesial surface. But at least I was consistant. I know I don't get mesials very well and it's because I am not comfortable with my position and with the way the instruments need to be held. She sat down with me and showed me the best ways to get the mesials and I learned a good lesson that day!

First Class III of the Semester

Today I saw my first class III of the semester. There was a lot of subgingival calculus that was hard to remove. I missed quite a few spots the first time because I think I am at the base of the pocket and I am really resting on a ring of calculus. I learned that I need to really get my explorer in deep enough so I can tell what I am feeling.

So....

So I saw my dad again today. Keep in mind that last year it took me at least two appointments to clean him, and today I finished him in 2 hours. It was very exciting. I am getting quicker which is very nice, but I still need to gain confidence in myself. I always seem to second guess myself when I shouldn't. Things are getting better as the semester goes on. But then again, I haven't seen very many hard patients at all!

First Official Post of my SENIOR YEAR!!

So this marks my first official post of my Senior Year! Getting back into the swing of things was easier than expected, but I still have a lot to learn. My first few patients were pretty east classes and weren't too difficult. But one of my first patients was a class III and I don't know how ready I was for that. We have great instructors this year that sit with us and make sure we understand what we missed and how to fix it. Things are going good, I just need to increase my confidence.

Clinic Day 15

I FOUND MY CLASS III!!! And I was so excited that I did the whole OD and two quads in one appointment! It was hard, but not as hard as I had expected! Since the gingiva is looser, it makes it easier to get down deep where the calculus is! I am feeling pretty good that I have met my requirements! And not a moment to soon! Since school ends in two weeks!!

Clinic Day 14

I still needed a true class II exam patient, so my patient today was spanish speaking and a class II. It is hard not being able to communicate with your patient and having to go find some one to translate for you when you need it. He had the most tenacious calculus! It was so hard to remove, and of course I missed like 15 spots, on my exam! Oh well, it was a good learning experience I guess! I need to get better at being able to detect calculus!

Clinic Day 13

Today I saw my cousin who was also a 1B, but she will make the perfect patient for my caries risk assignment. I used the diagnodent on her and got some pretty high readings. We did x-rays and I finished the cleaning. I am meeting with her next month to go over the caries assignment!

Clinic Day 12

Today I saw and finished a 1B with x-rays. I love when I can get so much accomplished in one appointment! She hadn't been in for a few years and she was a harder 1B, but I was still able to finish what I needed to and get her complete in one appointment! Wahoo!

Clinic Day 11

Today I saw my 1B friend again to finish her up. We were done super quick because she had virtually no calculus! So we had plenty of time to spare so I passed of like 5 PE's! It was awesome! I always feel relaxed when I am comfortable with the patient so she let me pass of some PE's that I wouldn't have wanted to pass off on some other people! Next week we get a break from patients to learn a couple more PE's then it's on to patients again for the rest of the semester!! Wish me luck!

Clinic Day 10

Today I saw a true class II. They are definitely hard! We only made it through one quad and he will come back in March. All the patients I have had say I am very gentle and that is good but sometimes I feel like I am not getting deep enough. I might be too gentle! Class II's are very hard for me right now, but hopefully they will start getting easier!

Clinic Day 9

Today I saw my Aunt, she ended up being a class 1B. But she was a little more difficult than other 1B's I have had. Her mouth was really tiny and hard to get to the back teeth! She needed premed, so while we were waiting the hour to start I did a full mouth series of x-rays. It wasn't as hard as I had remembered from last semester! I felt good about the scaling and didn't miss too many spots, I got her finished also so that was nice!

Clinic Day 8

I had my class V back today to finish. I used the ultrasonic throughout most his mouth and then finished up with hand scaling. I am trying out some different instruments to see what ones I like best and I feel the most comfortable with. All in all he was pretty easy, I didn't miss too many spots.

Clinic Day 7

Today was a class V that I used for a class II. You could definitely see the bone loss on the x-rays, but he was doing a good job at maintaining his perio. I feel like I did ok, I only got to one quad before the appointment was over but he did good and I felt good about it. He is coming back on Monday to finish up.

Clinic Day 6

Today was another 1B and I felt so good about myself because I finished his whole appointment in one day!! I was excited and so was he because I knew he didn't want to come back! He was pretty easy, but that is a lot of things you have to get done in 2 1/2 hours!! I am feeling ok about my 1B's, but not about anything else!

Clinic Day 5

Today I saw a class II and it was SOOO hard! The tissues were pretty tight and she had a click of calculus mesial and distal on I swear every single tooth! I didn't get a lot of time with her after the OD because she actually ended up being my peer pals board patient so there were a few instructors that came over and checked her to make sure she qualified. But when I finally sat down to try a quad or two it was the hardest thing I had ever done. She didn't want me to use the ultrasonic so I hand scaled what I could but I sucked! I really hope I am ready for something like that next year when I am taking the boards!

Clinic Day 4

Today I saw my good friend who was an easy IB. My first IB. She hadn't been to the dentist in 5 years and I swear she didn't have a click of calculus anywhere! It was fun to have a relaxed day and not worry about every thing I was doing. She was easy going and we had fun!

Clinic Day 3

Today I saw my little 4 year old niece, a class IA. It was fun but it was really long for her and me. And kids are a whole new story! I didn't really know what I was doing. A little polish and some fluoride and OHI and we were good! Next time I will do two kids in one appointment since there is definitely time!

Clinic Day 2

Well today I saw my dad, to finish up what I started last semester. I got straight to work since I didn't have to do any OD stuff. I finished all 4 quads and thought I did so well until they came over to check. I did really good on the supragingival calculus, but missed a TON of subgingival calculus!! There were three quads of a class II and one of a class III, and boy did I learn my lesson! It was really difficult to clean a class II since the gingiva is tight. I obviously did not go subgingival enough...lesson learned!

Clinic Day 1

Not much today that is unfamiliar. We organized our pods and re-familiarized ourselves with our pods and then we did some PE reviews. It felt pretty much the same as last semester. Patients start on Wednesday. I am scared but I know the best way to learn is just to dive right in, so here I go!

Signing Off!

Well today was my last official day of class and tomorrow I just have to finish the Radiology practical exam and meet with Prof Costley to review everything and then...dare I say....I AM DONE FOR THE YEAR!!!! YAY!! It seriously has FLOWN by! I will be graduating before I know it! YAY! I am thankful that I decided to go back to school and I am thankful I was accepted into WSU's dental hygiene program! I love learning hygiene and it will definetely help provide for my family! :0) See ya next year!

CA

I am excited to be a CA next semester! I like doing the reception duties. And since I have done stuff like that for the last 10 years, I hope I will catch on quick and not make too many mistakes! I am a little scared for testing the x-ray solution and running all the instruments! There are a lot of things to do, hopefully I don't get yelled at! :0)

Final CLINIC Day!

Yesterday was our final clinic day for the semester! YAY! It will be nice to take a break before all the scary actually working on real patient days begin! We went over our last PE! WAHOO! And we went over CA duties and Emergency prepardness. Lets just say I hope none of my patients ever have an emergency!

Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving break was wonderful! It was so nice to have time off and not worry about anything! But when I came back to clinic after a week off, my brain pretty much shut off! It was so hard for me to remember everything! I am now scared of coming back after a month off for Christmas break! Hopefully it will all come back to me!

First Real Patient...Part 2

Once I had time to do my x-rays, I took my dad in and did 4 BWX, I didn't get distal enough on the molars so I had to do one retake. They turned out pretty good, but I am having a really hard time seeing pathology on the x-rays. I thought they looked fine but after the instructor evaluated them they found cavities and bone loss that I couldn't really see. I guess I give them the benefit of the doubt and think their mouth is fine! :0( Once x-rays were over I finally got back and could start scaling, but we were pretty much out of time, so I quickly scaled one quad and got all the very prominant calculus off the lower anteriors and then it was time to walk the patient out. It was a good experience, but I don't feel ready to start seeing patients next semester!

First Real Patient...Part 1

I had my first real patient last Monday. I was scared, but not too bad. I had my dad come in so it was good! I learned that it takes FOREVER to do everything that we have to do! Holy Cow! After I finished HHX & HHXRX & INTRA & EXTRA & OD it had been like 2 hours! Then came x-rays and waiting for an instructor check...oh my!

I Do Like the Ultrasonic!

At first I was scared of the ultrasonic because I have had it used on me and I didn't like it because it hurt! But I got to use it the other day on some heavy calculus and that stuff was FLYING off! It was the coolest thing ever! I think I do like the ultrasonic now! :0)

Scaling will be my downfall...

Right now I am pretty comfortable with everything and do most of it in an timely manner, except scaling. I have a hard time knowing the difference between calculus and tooth and so I spend forever on one quad. Eeeek!

The End Is Almost HERE!!!

Holy cow! This semester seemed to fly by! At times it was super slow, but once we got going it cruised! I can't believe I am 1/4 done with school! YAY!!! I know this next semester will fly by too and then I will be in my 2nd year and almost done! Crazy! I have learned lots! But I am excited for next semester to work on real people, I am a little scared to find patients, but hopefully once I find a few it will be easy to find the rest!

Mock Pt Day - Being the Patient

Well it's now my turn to be the patient again, but after dental hygiene class yesterday and learning about cold sores and that we can't see a patient with a cold sore, I will not be seen today! I guess the stress has finally gotten to me, with two weeks in the semester left, and I got a cold sore. So I brought my camera and will be the clinic photographer today I suppose. And it will give me a chance to get things organized and caught up. Real patient...here I come!

Mock Pt. Day 2nd Week

Well I was the DH again today and things went a lot faster since we didn't have to probe. I am still slow at my scaling. I guess that will come with time! We did a sealant today, I like those! They remind me of working at the Ortho and preparing the teeth for the brackets, the process is very similar. Love the blue etch! That was my favorite part! So I see my first REAL patient on Monday. It's my dad so it should be good, but I am still kinda nervous! I hope I survive! I know I will look back on this in a year and laugh about being so nervous to see my first patient!

Mock Patient Day...Being The DH

Well I made it! It was kinda stressful getting everything ready and putting all my learned skills into action! But I am so glad we did this so I can kinda feel like I know what is going on! I worked on Jenn today and I did really well with probing! I did a full mouth probe in 25 minutes! WAHOO! But scaling was another issue! It took a lot longer to scale than I imagined. I will need to step it up! The appointment went pretty well and I feel a little better about having confidence in my skills.

Mock Patient Day - Being the Patient...

Today was the first day of Mock Patient Day, and I was Jenn's patient. I am so glad we are doing this so that I can know all the steps to do when I have my first patient in 2 weeks! She did a great job and it is good to be the patient also so you know what they have to go through sitting there for 3 hours. It's kinda rough but I made it! Wednesday I will be the DH so we will see if I can remember all the steps and put them together for a quality cleaning!

Intraoral Camera

I like the intraoral camera, but it's confusing! I am so used to my camera and this is completely backwards! It's like using the mirror, everything is reversed and hard to control. Once I get used to it, I will like it and think use it quite a bit to show patients problem areas that they can't see.

Ultrasonic

Today we learned the ultrasonic scaler. Suprisingly I liked it. I do not like having it done to my teeth, but I like using it. A good tip that Kim told me was to not use it on healthy 1B patients, which makes sense. It should be used for harder, periodontal patients to clean down in the pockets. I need to practice with it more, but overall I like it!

Disclosing...

Today we did PFI and disclosing...it was pretty fun I must say! Everyone had bright purple mouths and tongues and pink teeth! It is very interesting to see where I am missing during brushing and flossing! I like the PFI, I understand it and it's an easy indices to figure out!

Exploring...

If I can ever figure out which end of the instrument to use...then I might like exploring! That is the most confusing part, but I think I am understanding it more. I did exploring today and I liked it. I just have a fear of going into the sulcus! I'll get there!

Perio Probing

I don't like probing...it scares me! I am sure it will get easier as the time goes on, but right now it terrifies me! I keep asking Megan after every tooth, "Did that hurt??" I just have been to so many Hygienists that HURT that I do not want to be one of them! So I am concerned with every poke and every prod, oh well. Better to be safe then sorry! I passed of the probing PE today, but I still don't feel very comfortable. Hopefully I will soon!

Fulcruming...

So I am having some difficulty with the fulcrum and holding the mirror and the instrument, and trying not to lean over and comprimise my posture. It's hard to remember all those things and still try and be confident in what you are doing. I feel very awkward when I am working in the mouth and I know that I will get better as time goes on but for now it is hard! I passed off the HHPE today, and passed thankfully! It is hard to remember all the stuff that you have to make sure and include in the evaluation, but hopefully I will remember when the time comes!

Jen

UDHA

Friday was the UDHA meeting in Park City. It was fun to go down with all the girls and see a few of the things that our profession is involved in. They had some great speakers, some good food, and lots of good free samples at the vendor booths! We all tried on the loops and I could not believe how magnified those things make the teeth! It was awesome! I think I will be investing in some of those for next year!

Well they don't waste any time...do they??

It is now the end of week 4 and pretty much every class I have, I have a test in! So much for thinking this was going ok! I took the Radiology test on Thursday, and passed! Thank Heaven! Then I took the DH test on Saturday, and passed, YIPPEE! Now I have the anatomy quiz and test on Tuesday and my stats test and hopefully I will be done for a while! I seem to be doing ok, it gets kinda stressful at times but I seem to be trekking along! Tomorrow I have to pass of my Health History PE and that one kinda stresses me out a little, so off to study!

Jen

Hygiene Week 3

Heath Histories, HHX, HHXRX, Medications, Dental Drug Reference, HOLY COW! There is a lot to remember when it comes to health histories! I really hope I don't get a patient that is taking 700 different medications! Thing are going good, staying busy and still learning a lot. There are a lot of different WSU guidelines to remember and follow, but I think I am getting the hang of it!

Jen

Clinic...the 2nd Week

So today starts the second week of Hygiene training and clinic...I am still alive! We are chugging right along learning a bunch of PE's. Today I passed off my EagleSoft PE and learned unit set up and break down procedures. I got to be Megan's patient for a rinse, which I needed after the mouthwash burned, what felt like, a giant hole in my mouth and made my tongue go numb! That was fun! I am having fun so far, my only complaint is these hot lab coats. But since that is part of our PPE PE, I have to wear it! Hopefully I will survive! Till next time!!

Jen

First Clinic Days...

I am through with my first week of clinic and it was pretty fun. I am excited to start learning all the different techniques and skills. I want to start removing calculus NOW! Monday we organized our instruments and got everything put away and learned Eaglesoft and today we used the air/water syringe and suction on our typodonts and learned the unit set up and break down. I am feeling a little better about the schedule and being where I need to be when I need to be. I think by next week I will be in full swing....hopefully!!

Orientation

Today was orientation and I my head is spinning! I am excited to start but I need to get everything in order! We have a TON of instruments and I am really wondering if we are going to use them all! Should be fun! Here we go!!