Wednesday, October 26, 2011

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?

4 comments:

  1. I'm so glad your a TA and that my unit is next to you in clinic. I'm coming to you with all my questions now!!! ;)
    As for the varnish, I put it everywhere. We talked about it last year as well, and I remember thinking it's most effective on those surfaces it is directly placed, so why not place it everywhere?!
    P.S. Love all the new posts! :)

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  2. That would be so nice to be a TA for all those reminders on what to do. It was a good reminder for to read your blog. So glad your blogging!!

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  3. Karlie we have missed you in the blogging world. I felt the same way in clinic with the juniors. I actually used the air powder polish in class today and it is seriously cool how it can get stain off. About the fluoride varnish, I just put it on the buccal because the fluid in the mouth is supposed to distribute it, but it might just be me being lazy and looking for a way out of having to spend extra time doing fluoride when it really is alright just to swipe it across the buccal. I don't remember anybody telling me that senior year is any different the junior year, but I do know that Alexander has said to follow the manufacturers instructions. So that is what I do. Excited to the halloween party tomorrow!

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  4. I put it on all surfaces Karlie.

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