Advantages of being a TA

So today the juniors went over air powder polish, selective polish, and fluoride varnish. Being a TA has helped me out a lot! It is so good to go over stuff that we learned a year ago to remember the strategies and techniques once learned and forgotten.

I don't know if I would ever pull out the air powder polisher again if I had not had the opportunity to go over it again in junior clinic. Professor Costley asked me to grab all the stuff for it, powder, tips, bonnets, and such.... I had no idea where it all was. I do now though! We also had to trouble shoot a lot to get the darn things working! Doing that gives me so much more confidence to pull one out by myself and get it going. We ran into a lot of different problems and could fix most of them after a little bit of tinkering. I still don't like the thing... but I would feel more confident using one now.

As far as things learned from teaching to use the hand piece and prophy angle... I just learned that I have actually learned how to use it. ha ha. One thing that I am going to start trying is holding the paste in my other hand while I polish so that it doesn't take so long to get more paste. A lot of the juniors do that.

I didn't really have any "ah-ha" moments from fluoride varnish, except that when Costley introduced it she said that in junior clinic we place it on all surfaces of the teeth, and in senior clinic we only do it on the buccal... I was never told that. ha ha. Or was not listening when we were told that. Does everyone only place it on the buccal? Why not put it everywhere?

A day of cancels turned into a positive day.

So my afternoon patient cancelled the night before, and when I came into clinic today I realized that Stef had the same patient scheduled for the morning. FART! I pretty much wanted to cry.

All was made amends though. My husband came in this morning and one of the translators called my mockboard patient and she was able to come in the morning.

It was great to get back to cleaning a 1B this morning. I felt like I made pretty good time. I also used the ultrasonic and actually liked it! Weird! I need to get that fellow flossing!!

I was very nervous about bringing back my mockboard patient today! I totally bombed the mockboard and had no idea I was doing so bad until I got that blasted sticky back. I was excited in a way as well though, because I knew how much calculus she had and wanted to get it all off.

I asked for some help from Prof. Alexander and she was so great to sit with me and make sure I knew what I was feeling and could get it off. I struggle at exploring, but felt tons better about it by the end of the appointment. I think that I lay my explorer down too much and do not feel with the tip enough. I better get better at this quick!

I got a lot of help with instrumentation as well! I am starting to figure out the graceys's which is exciting! With instrumentation my biggest problem was my activation stroke. I keep pulling the toe out. I teach first years how not to do that every Wednesday and here I am guilty as charged! I was able to watch Pro. Alexander instrument and learned a lot. When will I know all the tricks? I do not know, but I am excited to know that there are tricks!

This lady had some really hard calculus to get off! I was sticking everything I could up there and still struggled.

I feel accomplished that I finished her!