September 25

Today was a productive day! I didn't want to be here, but it went really well. My first patient was an older woman who I thought was going to be a class 5, but actually turned out to be 2 quads of a 5 and 2 quads of a 2. It went well, although I missed a few places. That is okay. It helps me to learn how to be better. I was nervous about her x-rays because they were the first films that I have taken this semester that weren't digital. I was so nervous to develop them, but they turned out great! I just worry too much.

My second patient was a man that I saw a couple of weeks ago and only got through the HHX and x-rays. He ended up being a class 2, but a hard one because his mouth is really small and he had to make a few trips to the bathroom. It went well though. I am glad today is over!

September 18

Today was a great day! My first patient was a woman in her mid twenties. The appointment moved kindof slow. It seems like if the patient has a few medications or health problems, it takes me forever to fill out the health history. However, she ended up being 4 quads of a 2 which is fabulous. I was so glad. I declared an exam on her, which is good because we only need one. It went well, I got her completely finished and only missed one place. I felt really good about it, and especially about my x-rays. I feel pretty confident about taking digital x-rays.

This afternoon my patient was my morning patient's husband. He was very nice and had a good clean mouth. His appointment went very smoothly and I only took half the time as his wife. His x-rays turned out wonderful also. I am glad that I could do something well. I am just so glad to have today over with and to have 8 more quads finished to add to my list! Yeah!

September 11

This morning at 6:30 my first patient called and left a message telling me that she was sick. I called her back and she said that she was still going to come in, but she just didn't feel very good. I was just really relieved that she was still going to come in. She is my class 3, and I wanted to get her done today. She had to be anesthetized, on the entire upper and the lower right. That took time to get that done. Today I seemed to be better than last week with the ultrasonic. I didn't spray her all over her face and neck. I felt good about the quads I got done. It was tricky to fulcrum when she had so many teeth missing, but I thought I did pretty good. I got her finished.

My second patient was an older gentleman who, unbeknownst to me, had a lot of health problems. Luckily he was on top of everything, and all of his problems were under control, but just doing the health history took 1 hour. We also took some x-rays which was good. I was nervous, because I hadn't taken any x-rays in clinic yet this semester, but it went fine. I also took a pano. He had to leave early for another appointment, so we didn't get to even start the OD which was frustrating. However, he will be a good classification, so that makes it worth it!

Real Date: September 4

Today was the first day back seeing patients. I was quite nervous to jump right back into it, it seems like we forget a lot over the summer. I am just glad that I was working as a hygiene assistant over the summer, so I didn't forget everything. My first patient was a returning patient. I was hoping that he would be a class 2, because that is what he was last time, but he really is a 1b, and they classified him wrong last time. Oh well, he was a very nice man. I got completely finished with him. I was nervous to scale, but it went fine. It took a minute to remember positioning and which instruments to use where, but it actually went really well. It felt good to finish a patient in one appointment.

My second patient was a woman who had never had her teeth cleaned. She ended up being 3 quads of a 3. Yeah! That is great that I found a class 3 on the first day of clinic. I actually got finished with one quad, and it went pretty well. It was kindof scary to jump right in to cleaning a class 3 on the first day, but I felt pretty good about it. I was actually really pleased with how today turned out. I am just glad it is over!