I am excited that we are seeing patients with actually periodontal disease and things we have learned all about. I finally saw Material Alba, periodontitis, heavy plaque accumulation, and caries all on the same patient! I had my first experience with the cavitron! It was nice to use on the facial and buccal linguals. I had some hard times trying to see the rest of the mouth though with all of the water! All i kept thinking was to keep it moving and to use the sides as best as I could. I really did have a horrible time seeing though. I do plan on getting loupes but is that going to help? I dont really know how else to see past the water.
I also enjoyed showing a 70 year old patient how to floss. Believe it or not they told me they did not know how to floss. So it was pretty interesting that not everyone actually does know how to take care of their teeth. At 70 years old that is a long time to not know something like that! I am glad that at least I can make a difference in someone's health and try to get them on the right track. I think that maybe I assumed people do know how to do the basic steps like brushing and flossing. But everyone may not have had the same background or culture that teaches these things. I would really like to go to things like the MOM projects or Jamaica project maybe to teach others.
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Tiffany, me too. It's so great to be able to apply the information as soon as possible so we can retain it all. At the beginning of the semester, I wondered how valuable the Perio course would actually be to us as hygiene students. Now I see that it has been a great learning experience and Dr. Koertge really knows how to teach it well. That exam he gave us may have been my favorite to-date, just simply for the wealth of information we obtained for our patients.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you had a chance to try out the cavitron. It is something I am definitely looking forward to next semester. My partner did take the opportunity and loved it! Our patient said it was the cleanest her teeth had ever felt and was really thankful for the service she received.
I think the loupes will be a huge help as we continue to do probing and recession readings as well as scaling. As you know, I plan to order them too and can't wait to see the difference they make. Just one more week until Orascopic is here with their models for us to check out.
Have a great day!
I have to be honest. I was flossing all wrong until I started this program. That is one of the wonderful things about being a hygienist is making a difference by educating. Most people believe that dental hygiene is all about cleaning teeth, but it is so much more than that. We are teachers. This is why we need to know about every little aspect of the field so we can effectively educate others.
ReplyDeleteThe cavitron is amazing by the way. I felt like I was on an adrenaline high. I think you just have to do the best you can with the water though. I feel like the tip guides itself along the tooth structure. While you can't see through the water, just be sure to keep the tip on the tooth surface. Way to go though. Its awesome to see all of my classmates succeeding.