class 3, class 5 patient

Today I had my class 3, class 5 pt come in today to get all scaled and cleaned. I used the thicker ultrasonic tip first, and then went around each tooth with the explorer and a scaler to check any rough spots on each tooth. It was very difficult to tell if I got everything I needed to, b/c the cementum feels so rough in many spots it was difficult to distinguish b/t the actual calc spots.

I feel pretty good about getting at least 2 quads of class 3 done, and feel that I need to just work a little faster in getting everything done.

Gottsta go,
Chic

Connor as my pt

Today I had connor come in to be my pt because my other pt cancelled on me at the last minute. It was really fun to have him as my pt because he is so easy to work on and he is such a good kid. today I used him as a 1b test because i needed one done before march. I didn't get to pass off any pe's because I was rushe for time and did not get the instructor here when i needed, so i guess i will try to pass them off next time. hopefully she will let me do more than 2.

Well I think everything went pretty well, and i am exhausted for today.

gottsta go,
chelsea

FINALLY!!!

I finally for the 1st time have a pt other than a 1B, or Class 5. I had a pt today with 2quads of class 3 and 2quads of 1B. I feel slightly better about my situation, and yet I still have a long way to go. I hope that it will work out, cause people say it does.

Today i noticed somthing unusual that I haven't seen. In the max anteriors I noticed more fibrotic tissues, with dramatic stippling. I didn't think too much of it, just assuming that it was normal for this patient. Instructor Hemsley came to do and OD check and noticed the same and asked the pt if he breaths with his mouth open a lot, he said no, she asked if he breaths with his mouth open at night, and he said yes. I thought that was fascinating. I would have never thought to ask that question. She pointed out the change in saliva and the mucosa throughout the mouth compared to the max anteriors and there was a distinct difference. It all made sence. I don't know I thought that was a cool thing that I learned today, because I never would have noticed that on my own.

Lab Day

Today in clinic we talked about insurance coding, great fun!! We also talked about ultrasonic instrumenting and when to use it and when not to use it. Last we talked about the diagnodent and how to calibrate it etc. I feel pretty good about using the diagnodent because I have used it so much in the past. The insurance coding, as long as it is not on the board, I am not going to worry about it now, because I have too many other things to worry about, and I think that it is something that will be specific for each office you work in. The ultrasonic was fairly easy to understand, only I think I would be a lot faster if I could use that first on every pt just like you would in a normal office. But so far they say we have to ultrasonic only for 10 min. and only 1/2 of the mouth. I hope I can remember this and use it at the right time. I think I am getting faster, but its hard to tell, between making sure the x-rays are right and don't have to be redone along w/ everything else, I am still feeling like I am too slow. I wish so much I could go faster, because it would make my life so much easier and less stressful.

Well this is probably the most I have or will ever write because I had extra time today!

Gottsta go,
chelsea b

1B

I guess it will be tradition to state what classifiication I worked on for the day above. Today I finished a 1b in the appointment, which felt pretty good. I am just getting nervous to be able to complete all the quads and classifications I need in time.

I hopefully might have a class 3 next week, cross your fingers and hope, so it will work out ok

Chelsea B

Full mouth x-rays

Today my patient was late for clinic because of the snow storm, and we lost a half and hour of working time. I took BWX-rays on my patient and found that they were not very good, because she had some endentulous areas that made it difficult to get the horizontal plane equal, and still get the bone height we needed to see. Well they did not turn out very well, but I ended up getting at least all of the structures in except for 1 x-ray. Then the professor told me I should take full mouth x-rays on this patient because she would be a very good canditate be able to see all of the bone loss that is in her mouth. I tried to talk through another girl to explain this to my patient because she speaks spanish. I emphasized twice about the cost being more, and the lack of being able to get her finished and cleaned that day, and she agreed. Well come to find out she got a little irritated because I guess she misunderstood. She ended up needing to leave early, and so I was very rushed trying to get everything done. My biggest mistake was not printing out a treatment plan statement first in order to ensure w/out a doubt that everything was going to be great. I guess I totally learned my lesson on that one.

1A pt

This is for the 2-4-08 day of clinic

That day I saw a 1A patient, who I ended up doing an exam on. For some reason I thought that you werent allowed to use the polish until after the scale check. My pt had some staining on the lower lingual anteriors, and I worked really hard to get it off with the scaler, but I decided not to pursue it too much because I knew that the polish would be the easiest, most efficient way to make sure it all got off. So I didn't polish, and found out later that it is okay to polish before a scale check, and sure enough the stains came off really easily.

I wish I would have known this before, b/c it would make things a heck of a lot easier.