Class V ...again

I was saved by a very good family friend today because my patient cancelled on me yesterday afternoon. I was way stressed out but when my patient agreed to come in I was excited but that excitement was completely overshadowed by my excitement to learn that he was a class III last time!!! But of course, I always see patients after they've figured out how to take care of their teeth so he was just a class V which is good news for him but not so much for me, I don't need anymore of those! I need a good class III or even a solid class II for an exam. I'd even be happy with a nice 1B, but that's just not what I'm meant to see I guess. I was able to take four PA's and four BWX on him which I've needed and I got two quads done which really makes me wonder why monday I couldn't get even one quad done. I was rather dumb with charting today though, I completely forgot to write down any OHI that I did and I talked with him about oral hygiene the entire appointment!!!! Baah! Of course, I can't have even one day where everything goes flawlessly like I want it to... I'm realizing now that I've got almost my entire schedule full, I only have 2 wednesdays available!!! This semester's going by so quickly.

Today I did: Almost Nothing! BAAAH!!!

Well, I've found 2 quads of my class 2 exam patient, I've just got to find 2 more. Unfortunately I didn't get to scale at all but I did give him some amazing oral hygiene instructions in the time I did have. It was the first time I didn't get to ANY scaling so my confidence is nowhere near as high as it was the last few weeks with all of my easy 1A's and 1B patients that I finished in one appointment. I guess I needed the humbling experience, and at least I don't have to find a patient for Wednesday anymore. I also got to take 8 PA's on him with the phosphor plates (yay! Maybe I won't fail because of my unfortunate x-ray drought) and I didn't even need to take any retakes! I also got a great experience with the tale-tell sign of Periodontitis: halitosis!!! Oh boy that was fun, I'm so grateful I was able to use one of the nice orange masks that seal really well.

Ward Campout! 02/20-02/21/2009

Up at Whitear Rec Center, the ward campout was so much fun. Colby and I got there with my friends following behind just as dinner was beginning. Everyone was eating pizza and treats while playing basketball and lightning. I tried to play lightning four separate times and each time I got out in the very first round (by four different people). I seriously did not make a single shot the whole night. Basketball never was my forte. Then we went to volleyball and I did a little better at that one but of course the Bishop's daughter brought one of her friends who will be attending Snow College next year on a full ride scholarship for volleyball so of course the other team would win, especially when she was up to serve! Of course, with how my mind has been going lately, I can't go on a trip no matter how long without forgetting to bring something obviously important (like the ski trip when I forgot my snowpants!) This time, I get up there, all proud that I didn't forget any clothes or toothbrushes or any of the stuff I'd really need. Then, I saw Chelsey and Monica's sleeping bags and thought: "oh yeah, I told them to bring that stuff but completely forgot my own!" Dang it!!! Thank goodness for good friends that take care of me:) They shared their bedding with me by trying to sleep on the big (broken) reclining couch with me. All three of us were crammed on that big couch and poor Chelsey ended up in the middle of the two independently moving halves of that couch so everytime Monica or I moved that night, she'd get tossed to one side or the other. In the morning, Brother Richardson so politely yelled to wake everyone up at 7:00 AM instead of the planned breakfast time of 9:00 after we had all stayed up way too late and had a difficult time sleeping due to the uncomfortable sleeping conditions. Reluctantly, we all woke up and got to work on breakfast and getting ready to go play outside for the day. After some awesome omeletes and pancakes thanks to the bishopric, we all headed outside and ferried each other up to the sledding hill. That was quite the hill and the day was absolutely beautiful with all the sun and snow and warm weather. Thank goodness it was warm since so many people forgot or didn't have snowpants so they sledded in soaking wet jeans and somehow didn't get way too cold!
Colby and most of the boys were driving snowmobiles to help us sledders get back up the hill. (thanks guys!) Chelsey, Monica, and I tried twice to make it all the way down the hill together but we kept falling off and the only way we could get the weight somewhat right was by having me ride in front (even though in the picture Chelsey's in front). Chelsey was too worried about getting cold so when she rode in front, she sat backwards curled up in a ball which didn't help with out balance issues at all. So I was the one that got to catch all the flying snow in my face on the way down. Colby and I also went down the hill a couple times. The first time, he steered us off the normal path and into the deep snow so by the time we reached the bottom I was barely visible under all the snow that I got hit with on the way! The second time I told him to keep us out of the deep snow but then we hit a bump and went right back into the deep stuff to keep from falling off completely. Once again, it was me with a face full of snow and that time, Colby didn't even get any!!! Hehe, it was so much fun though and I'm so glad I went even though I'm seriously tired now, thank goodness for Sunday naps...
These last two pictures are just pictures I forgot to upload from the YSA murder mystery dinner party. That was rather interesting as well, they were really creative and went all out on that activity and it turned out well. But, I've already had enough story writing for one day so hopefully these pictures really are worth 1000 words.

UDA Convention

Well, thank goodness for interesting, intelligent, relevant, and passionate speakers!!! That speaker on Thursday was so good, he was a periodontist and he really knew what he was talking about and I could tell how much he cared about the patients that he treats. That passion, understanding, and knowledge helped keep my attention and motivate me to go out there and save the world! ...one perio pocket at a time! hehe The booths, however, weren't as good as the booths at UDHA because they were more geared toward dentists than hygiene students although it was nice to have all the different loupes vendors there to compare and try out. I didn't end up buying any yet, but we'll see, maybe I'll change my mind. I was also excited to learn that the really awesome dental floss I learned about in September has now reached the market and it's called Reach Ultraclean, if you get the chance, go try it!!! It feels thin and painless like glide but it actually has a very effective cleaning ability. The table clinics were also fascinating, especially the projects about tissue, bone, and tooth regeneration. I didn't really even know that was possible and now with that flicker of hope, we may be able to actually reverse the bone loss that happens with Periodontal disease someday! How incredible would that be. Plus, we'd be able to replace teeth with real teeth instead of dentures and implants.

Second 1B completed!

I finished a 1B in one appointment for the second time! (and this time I actually finished her early!) Of course, like all of my patients, she refused x-rays and even though I thought she was a perfect candidate for sealants, she didn't want them because she figured she was healthy the way she was. Of course, she's got some pretty good genes, she's 24 and never had a cavity and her dad who only brushes his teeth 1x a day had no cavities after not going to the dentist for over 20 years! Good genes, but still a lot of work for me (she had a very nice calculus bridge along her fixed lingual mandibular retainer.) Anyway, I got four more quads of 1B done but still no PA's, BWX's, nor sealants! Blast!!! Well, if anyone knows anyone that needs x-rays and could refer them to me I would be indebted to you forever!!!!

Only day of class this week... glorious!

It snowed. A lot. Night classes and nursing were cancelled but not good old dental hygiene, we perservered even though Katie Gibson was stuck in Logan due to the closing of Sardine canyon. I had quite the class today I was totally not with it and not in the mood for class. I'm still kind of in a fog from last weekend and I'm so excited for this weekend that I'm just not thinking straight. Of course, even when my mind isn't working, my mouth just keeps running ...and that is bad news. I totally blurted out some really stupid answers, but still I survived and I learned better than I probably would have had I kept my uncontrollable mouth shut. Class today wasn't as fun as last thursday (which many of you may recall was hat day thanks to Natalie). I wasn't sure how that would go over but it was really fun. We had some really good food and fun hats and games (especially the awesome perio piñata!!!) Yes, we are a bunch of goofy nerds but if we've got to be in that classroom for that long each week we might as well make it as entertaining as possible while we're there right? I'm still kind of hoping it snows enough to cancel clinic tomorrow but it looks like the storm is over now so that's probably not very likely. I also had a lot of fun getting home from class, I made it home alright but my mom's Chevy Tahoe got stuck on the wall of snow built by the snowplow at the end of my driveway. I literally couldn't get it to move one foot in either direction so I had to run in and grab a shovel to dig the huge mound out from under the car! Lame snow plow!!!

Valentines Day

This year, I had a most wonderful valentine's day. Of course during the day I volunteered for Gve Kids a smile day so I missed out on an amazing day skiing (as Colby so gladly pointed out to me...) but it was really fulfilling to help all those underprivelaged children to not be in pain and have a healthier smile. For the first half of the day I assisted with my dentist Dr. Daniel Burdett and we did some quick fillings and removed a retained deciduous coronal margin, which ended up being two big chunks of baby tooth that he had to literally dig out of that poor kids papilla. I also got to put in a sealant on one patient after Dr. Burdett cleaned out the occlusal surface a bit and he taught me a very neat trick: after you place the sealant material, if you wipe your finger along the surface you are sealing before curing, it will turn out smooth and not too bulky so you won't have to grind it down, and the sealant material will stay in the pits and fissures where it's needed. I did that for the twelve other sealants I placed in the second half of the day and none of them ended up uncomfortably high.

Colby was planning to take me on a double date with his friend Travis and his girlfriend Kelsey but Travis broke his vertebrae that morning snowboarding behind a snowmobile in Strawberry so they spent that night in the hospital. That poor kid is so accident prone! So it ended up being just the two of us but it was still way fun! He took me to the nail salon next to the walmart in Layton to get pedicures which was a new and funny experience for both of us. I let him pick out my nailpolish color so now I've got hot pink toenails with black/silver hearts which definitely isn't my normal style but that just made it more fun! Then we went back to his house where he made some steak, baked potatoes, and salad while I made brownies (my one job that I still almost ruined by forgetting to grease the stinkin pan!) Luckily it all turned out very well. Then we watched What Happens in Vegas and finished the night off with brownies and ice cream! Definitely one of the best Valentines Days ever!

Finished with 1A!

Finally, after an hour and a half of waiting and worrying that I'd have to find a new patient, finally Jennica and her two siblings showed up. I was surprised at how cooperative that little three-year-old girl was. She let me explore, brush her teeth, and even scale! Granted she had no calculus and just a little bit of plaque but it went nice and smooth and I finished her up in about an hour for the entire appointment (15 minutes for scaling) I could have been faster except for the fact that little kids always seem to come equipped with very wiggly tongues and fingers and lips and legs so I was working really hard to not poke her because with kids that little, one bad experience can scare them and make the next appointments a lot harder on the patient and clinician. Thank goodness today is over and now I don't have to see another patient for a week and a half!!! Yay!

SNOW!!!! AAACK!!!

Well, I am typically one who loves the snow ...except for today. Luckily, I didn't have my patient cancel on me but here it is, 8:20 and do I have a patient in my chair??? No, they're running very late of course. The best part is that my patient is coming with two siblings that I gave to Jess and Ashley so they're stuck waiting around as well. I also don't know if my patient will even be anything for me since she's three and she may not even let me look in her mouth. I'm crossing my fingers that she's a calm, even-tempered three-year-old. So for now I'll just relax, blog a bit, and keep being super excited about decorating Valentines cookies for FHE tonight with my student ward. Yay! I love cookies... way too much.

Success at Last!!!

Finally! I finished a 1B patient in only one appointment for the first time!!! It was so nice to feel like I could actually finish a patient in a somewhat reasonable amount of time. After scaling the first quad I was nervous because that scale check came back with like four missed spots which made me doubt my abilities. However, I got those all cleaned up and scaled the other three quads with only two errors so I redeemed myself... Yay! My patient was actually very interested in the OHI instructions, especially what I taught her about the etiology of periodontitis. She seemed eager to learn how to prevent perio and reduce gingivitis (which she was relieved to learn is totally reversible.) I love it when patients actually own the problem and are willing to catch the infection before irreparable damage is done. Hopefully she does well and the next time I see her she'll be all nice and heathy.