October 30, 2006

My goal for today was to practice my fulcrums for the posterior teeth. We got to practice universal instrumentation of the posterior teeth again, and today went a lot better than last time. I felt more comfortable with the fulcrums and more in control. I passed off my adaptation, angulation, and activation PE, as well as my anterior instrumentation PE. My goal for next time is to practice using little 2 mm strokes when instrumenting.

October 25, 2006

My goal today was to practice adapting the tip of the scaler to the tooth in the col area. We learned how to use universal curets, so we used those most of the time today on the posterior teeth. I got to use the Montana a little bit, and I did better at adapting the tip to the tooth in the col area. I am a little frustrated with the fulcrums for the posterior teeth, but it will get better with practice I hope. My goal for next time is to practice my fulcrums for the posterior teeth.

October 23, 2006

My goal for today was to fill out the patient's chart faster, but we didn't get to do any charting. We learned how to use the intra-oral camera and then practiced exploring and scaling. The intra-oral camera is fun to use, but it will take some practice. It is hard because everything is backwards when you are using it. We also did our dental screening PE today, but I won't find out until next time if I passed. My goal for next time is to practice adapting the tip of the scaler to the tooth in the col area.

October 18, 2006

My goal for today was to keep the tip of the scaler adapted to the tooth. Wow, today was busy. Everything really started coming together for me though. It was nice to actually put everything that we have learned together like we were working on a real patient. We did a health history, extra/intra oral exam, dental screening, probing, perio statement, PFI, OHI, and finally a little bit of scaling. I felt mostly comfortable with the scaling practice that I got to do. I am getting better at keeping the scaler tip adapted to the mesial and distal surfaces of the anterior teeth. My goal for next time is to be faster at filling out everything in the patient's chart. I feel like I am always one of the last people to get done with filling out the chart.

October 16, 2006

My goal for today was to scale the anterior teeth. First we practiced scaling the anterior teeth on the typodonts and then we got to practice on a real person. I thought it was a lot of fun! I enjoyed figuring out which instruments I liked best in different areas. One of the things I need to work on is rolling the instrument when coming around to the mesial or distal surface of the tooth. My goal for next time is to keep the tip of the scaler adapted to the tooth, especially on the mesial and distal surfaces.

October 11, 2006

My goal for today was to be faster at probing and charting. I felt much more comfortable with both today. I passed off my explorer and probing PE's, and I felt good about both of them. We calculated a PFI again, and my PFI went up a bit, but my pt.'s PFI was the same as the one last time. I did my charting a lot faster today and finished before the instructors left. My goal for next time is to scale the anterior teeth.

October 9, 2006

Today my goal was to calculate a PFI. I thought that clinic was really fun! We got to use disclosing agent to see where the plaque was on our partner's teeth. Calculating a PFI was actually quite easy. It is amazing how much plaque is on our teeth that we don't even know is there. I also probed, calculated a BFI, and did a perio statement for my partner. My goal for next time is to be faster at probing and filling out the pt.'s chart.

October 4, 2006

My goal for today was to get to the base of the sulcus while probing. I didn't get to do much probing today, but I got to do a little bit. During the short time that I was probing I tried to push a little harder than last time. Today we practiced doing dental screenings and filling out the green DH Assessment Form. First we looked at some people's charts, and then we did a dental screening on a partner and filled out their chart. Our pod also charted Jen's mouth because we didn't have very much in our mouth besides sealants. My goal for next time is to calculate a PFI.

October 2, 2006 (My Birthday!)

My goal for today was to adapt the instrument better to the teeth. I am getting a lot better, but I think I am still not pushing hard enough with my probe because I am afraid of hurting my patient. We practiced doing probe readings on each other. When instructor Carter checked my probe readings, I was 1 mm low on some of them. I just needed to push a little harder and go a little deeper on some of them. My goal for next time is to push hard enough to get into the base of the sulcus.