Not a great day.

Today I brought my husband in for my patient. I was excited to have him come in and meet everyone and see what I do. It started off great. My x-rays went really well they turned out perfect. I wasn't going to scale, but I had so much leftover time that my instructor incouraged me to. I was feeling flustered because my pt. was really sensitive when I probed, and he was also really sensitive when I scaled. That made me even more nervous. I was trying to go quickly, and I missed 8 places. Oh well. I eventually got them off, and I am just glad to be done.

Real Date: January 29

Today I brought my sister as my patient. She was my last resort, and she did not want to be here. Everything went well though. My x-rays turned out better than last time. Everything went a lot smoother than last time too. I was a lot quicker. Kim charted for me, which was great! I decided to use Hillary as my first patient exam, and it was great. I did awesome. I finished scaling in 35 minutes, and I didn't miss any places. I felt so great about it. It is nice to have one of those done!

Terrible day!

Today was not that good of a day. My cousin Kelsey was my patient. During the whole appointment I felt so far behind. I just felt like I was moving in slow motion. And I had to take x-rays, which I hadn't taken since last semester, so I was nervous. I ended up having to take one retake, which didn't turn out any better than the original. I was really confused during the entire clinic time, because different instructors would help me and I felt like I was all over the place. The appointment itself went okay, besides the x-ray retake, but after the appointment was when it was really bad. I guess I didn't have my x-rays approved to release the the patient, I really didn't even think to do it. So there was some confusion there, and then one of my Professors was really rude about it. I was feeling really overwhelmed, and I ended up crying like a baby in front of 2 of my instructors. They were both really nice about it, and told me not to worry. I was just so frustrated. I was so glad to go home. I don't ever want to go back.

Real Date: January 22

Today was my first day as Clinic Assistant. I was running a little bit late, and I ended up being 2 minutes late. The Office Manager lady Mrs. Campbell reprimanded me, and Holly Russell who was also CA today and who was 5 minutes late. I was kindof excited to do this, and I was really relieved that I didn't need to find a patient for today. Things went well, and I had fun. It was a nice change to be more of a receptionist. I liked to check in the patients and work with the money. It was also good to understand what goes on, so that it better helps me to be a better hygienist. I had fun!

Real Date: January 17

Last night I was freaking out because I didn't have a patient for today! I ended up bringing my little brother who is almost 12 years old. I really didn't want to bring him because he has braces, but he was my lifesaver. I was just so glad to have a patient. I didn't take any x-rays or even scale, but I got through OHI. Thinking back, I should have tried to scale, but I was just nervous about the braces. He was really great and cooperative. He even has mandibular tori like me! Anyway, it went pretty well. I am going to work on getting more patients scheduled.

First Patient Day of the Semester!

Today was our first patient day of the semester. It took a lot of coaxing to get my brother to come back in, but I don't have any other options. I wasn't really nervous until I got here at the clinic. It was just not that big of a deal to me. Everything went really well. I didn't really know exactly what to do, because today was a different appt. type because I was bringing back a pt. to scale them. But, I figured out things pretty quick, and everything went smoothly. It didn't take as long as I thought, and I didn't miss any spots. I felt good about that!

First day back!

Today was the first day back of the new semester. It was soooo nice to have a long break over Christmas. I loved being able to relax and catch up on my life outside of dental hygiene. I was also very very nervous to come back. I was sick about it. Literally, I was nauseated, and I didn't sleep the past three nights. I had to take a sleeping pill last night, and it only helped a little bit. It was fun to come back and see everyone again though. Everyone else expressed feelings of nervousness also. Today wasn't even hard though. We learned how to use our Gracey's and after we practiced on the Dexter, we got to practice on each other. It took a little bit to get oriented because it has been so long since we last scaled. Overall today went well, and I am feeling a lot better about everything. I am still really nervous about finding patients though.