Farewell

When working on a hard case of periodontitis there is a strange connection built between hygienist and patient that makes the end of the treatment phase an even weirder moment. Perio treatment is rough and painful and often times very scary, especially for those who have been through it before. It's not uncommon for patients to cry or be very upset when they learn about the poor conditions of their gums and bone and that they'll have to come in for 3-4 different appointments to get their teeth properly cleaned so they can start over and have any chance of regaining oral health. That moment is key for me as a hygienist. That is when I can either ruin all hope and increase fear to astronomical levels or when I can actually earn a very deep level of trust and confidence from the patient. Obviously, I try for the latter.
After working to develop that trust you are continuously working to keep the patient calm and happy and hopeful during that first appointment where you're probably deep scaling one quadrant of the patient's mouth. Maintaining a good balance of anesthesia and deep scaling is very important. When working on a patient with this type of condition presented I see and actually feel the patients pain and anxiety inside.
At the second appointment, the patient is hopefully feeling a little better about things and you are able to get an idea of how the patient's home care is going. You are able to get a little bit more done because the anxiety is reduced and the patient is sometimes motivated by the cleaned quad to improve their oral hygiene.
By the third appointment, the patient and hygienist are usually on a first name basis and there's been ample opportunity to get to know a lot about them. You're excited for them to be finishing up their treatment and to see how they've been doing all this time. I usually like to go over and make sure the rest of the mouth is still clean so I scale and polish everywhere. I really like it when I'm able to scale the already cleaned quads without using any anesthetic at this point. The patient is also excited to see you because it's the last time and they're eager to hear how they're improving and to learn what more they need to do.
Finally, the hardest part: the release. Letting that poor injured bird fly on its newly mended wing in the wild for the first time. Well... not exactly but sometimes it does feel like it. You wonder if they'll be able to keep everything healthy for the next 3 months or if they'll ever come back and you'll be able to see them again. You schedule a recall and give them all the tools and knowledge you can to help them out but in the end it's up to them and you just have to wait and see.

On My Own!

Okay so I heard about a job at the Community Health Center in Brigham City and I went for it, I applied and thought I was too late since the job add was no longer running. Oh well... Then I get an email back from the center telling me they couldn't read my resume due to the program it was created in. Oh great! So they're still looking but now that they couldn't read mine they were probably just letting me know out of courtesy but I might as well send them a new version just in case. Needless to say I was rather shocked when I got the call to interview with them. I've never actually had a real job interview before. I've had a few jobs but they've all been through connections with my parents, friends or other family so I was very nervous for this one. When I went up for the interview it seemed to go well, the dentist, clinic director, and dental assistant were all interviewing me and they had very easy questions like why I love what I do and how I strive to better myself. The odd thing to me was that the application said they required a fluency in spanish so I was expecting them to test me by holding the interview in spanish. Instead all they did was ask me if I spoke spanish to which I replied "intento, pero quiero practicar mas." and when they replied in english yet again I went on to explain how I translated for my patients and fellow students in the clinic at Weber State. I have to admit: not my best answer.

When the interview was over they thanked me and walked me back out to the front. As I was leaving I saw a very well dressed hispanic girl in her mid 20's with gorgeous curly hair in the waiting room. My first thought was: I didn't really expect them to have patients that done up since it is a non-profit clinic that helps make dental and health care more available to patients that don't have insurance and a low income. Then it hit me... She's probably interviewing and most likely a native spanish speaker like most of the staff that is already working there. Of course they'd pick her over me. Oh well again... the interview was a good experience for me anyway.

Imagine my shock when I get a call the very next day from the HR director in Salt Lake City offering me the job! What the?! I don't really get it but I'm stoked and even more excited because it is the first job I have ever acquired completely on my own from my own credentials and not just based on who I know and who already trusts me. I don't start until December due to all the forms and paperwork that needs to be done and processed first but that is even more perfect since my sister is coming out here this month so I'll still have three days off each week in which to spend playing with her. It couldn't have worked out any better and now instead of just Thursday and Friday, I can add a ten hour Wednesday to my work week! Yippie!

Working Life

I know it's been a while since I've graduated now and I've been getting used to working as a hygienist in a real dental office really quickly. It's so much better and a bit more stressful than school because I get to call the shots. I'm the one that's got to decide what kind of treatment is done and what the charge is in the end. I was afraid that the sudden loss of appointment time would throw me off but it's really not bad. Sometimes I actually find myself obnoxiously AHEAD of schedule due to scheduling confusions.

I've been working 2 days a week consistently and subbing here and there which is perfect for me. I get to spend a lot of time with my husband while still making the money we need and I can choose whether I want to work or not on Saturday through Wednesday. Lately I've been choosing to work more than not, mostly to get my name out there and to gain some more experience in different offices. I've enjoyed getting to know many different offices, it's really nice to see the differences from office to office and to get a real idea from experience of what I like and don't like. I would highly recommend this path to any recent graduate of any program. Variety is definitely the spice of life.

LAST CLINIC DAY EVER!!!!!

Well, there it goes. My time in the WSU clinic and the best part is: I don't ever have to come back here if I don't want to (no offense) I'm just so excited to get out and work for a dentist in a real practice and actually get paid instead of paying. No more scale checks, no more PE's, no more Patient Encounter Forms!!! Just real honest to goodness patient treatment! While all of this is so exciting, I know for a fact there is a lot I'm going to miss...

1.

I've had the most wonderful class of 30 girls to work with and get to know over the past two years. We've worked so hard together to survive this crazy ride and now it's all done... I'm going to miss you all so much! We better keep in touch!

2.

The amazing faculty and staff that helped shape each and every one of us into the successful clinicians we will all become very soon. The professors and instructors that cried with us, that lost many nights sleep while we weren't sleeping because of boards, that laughed at our stupid mistakes and picked us up in the darkest times, while humbling us whenever needed. Thanks to all of you for everything you've done for us!

3.

SCHOOL. Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do with all of the free time I'll have not studying anymore... I've had school my ENTIRE life so how am I supposed to up an quit cold turkey??? What about my comfort blanket? What about that great excuse to get out of housework by saying "sorry, but I've just got so many projects and tests right now I really need to focus on my school work." (instead my fiance soon to be husband will be the one pulling off that one!) I'm excited to read but what about learning??? I guess that will never stop. As my wonderful late Grandpa always taught me: Education is an ongoing process throughout life, to end learning is to die inside.

4.

The VA... NOT!!! (sorry, but I'm just not really going to miss braving the storms and traffic at 6:00AM to make it to Salt Lake to clean endless class V patients for free!!!

I hope you all have enjoyed this time as much as I have and I know we're all ready to move on to bigger and better things so let's all charge forth! Don't ever stop learning and progressing (I guess CE courses will help take care of that:) Good luck out there everyone, keep in touch please!!! Congratulations class of 2010

Boards are over, now for: the Last VA Day EVER!!!!

Well, I've passed all my Board Exams (YAY!!!) and now the school year is winding down for me, I've only got two more clinic days after this one and yes, this is a very nice day for me, it is the last time I have to wake up way too freakin early to drive all the way to Salt Lake and clean teeth for free. While, I must admit that this is a great service we provide and I do love being able to actually give the treatment needed without thinking of the financial aspect of things, I'm excited to actually start being paid for the work I do.

This morning, my 8:00AM pt. had to go to the ER due to high BP (200/108!) so I ended up seeing a patient at 9:00AM instead. This patient was a pretty straight forward class V with severe toothbrush abrasion and recession, but there was one little detail that no chart note could have adequately prepared me for: HIM. He had suffered a head injury and had some motor dysfunction because of it, he also had a profoundly decreased social inhibitory response accompanied by short-term memory loss. Therefore, I spent an hour and a half trying to get my instruments into his mouth while dodging all of his compliments and inappropriate statements such as: "No offense, but you have very nice, soft skin." and "It's too bad you're spoken for." and the very worst: "I think I'm going to tickle ya, what would you do then?" He made me very uncomfortable and to make things better, he couldn't remember what he had previously said so he was repeating the same conversations over and over again and made it very difficult to get the cleaning done. I got to hear over and over again about my nice hair, my gentle touch, my inadequate height, and the mole on the right side of my neck. AWKWARD!!! Oh well, this is the career I chose, take the good moments with the bad and I still love my future job!

VA: 10 quads III?! Can it be?! PSYCHE! only 4... :(

So in the morning at the VA, my first patient was a 63 year old man with 3 quads of class III that I was so excited to clean!!! ...Until he decided after 1 quad he was done being treated so he left at 9:30!

Diane from the front desk brought me back another patient at 10:30, another 63 year old man, with 4 quads of a class III! However, because of how late he showed up and all the waiting I had to do with the other students ready for scale checks, I only got 2 quads done... so I got the 3 quads in the morning I guess! (possible III quads so far: 7, actual quads cleaned: 3)



In the afternoon, I miraculously had another patient walk in who was yet another 63 year old man with 3-4 quads of a class III! (he was missing some teeth). I was stoked! He was easy to clean but needed anesthesia for each quad, and the doctor came in for a check right when i had finished with the first quad and don't worry, he only took an hour and a half to do his exam!!! I don't know what was up, this was not a new patient and he only treatment planned two fillings! What the?! Anyway, of course Professor McConaughy came for a scale check again and again while the doctor was there doing his exam. Finally when the doctor left, I had to go track her down where she was doing charts already and when I asked her for a check she said she had to go to Charlotte first (even though I had been waiting for well over an hour!) By the time she came to see me, it was time to just walk him out so there you go: a 1-quad afternoon :(



Possible class III quads: 10-11, Actual class III quads cleaned: a measley 4 :(





Sad day...