Dr. Consult

Today I saw a patient that had really high blood pressure. I did my first phone consult to her doctor. When the doctor returned my call he advised that the patient not be seen untill her blood pressure lowered and to reschedule her after she was seen by her doctor for the cyatic nerve in her back. The patient was in a lot of pain and that may be reflected in the high blood pressure. I certainly am getting a lot of experience with patients with elevated blood pressures. Every patient for the last month has had something to do with elevated levels.

Lab discussions

Today was really helpful in questions that I had for ultrasonic scaling. Scaling around crowns at the base is acceptable and going down into the pockets I have been a bit timid but after today there is more of a better feel for what I am feeling with the subgingival calculus and the ultra sonic scaler. I am anxious to us it on a patient to become more familiar with the feel.

My son big "E"

I learned a few more things about my son today and his oral hygiene. Since moving out his oral care has not been on the fore front of his mind. The path that he is on he will have to have his tissues excised to get them to heal. Maybe this experience will help him to be more consciencious about taking care of himself. He is sensitive to pain in his mouth anyway so our discussion in class about not being over bearing but getting your point across I had the opportunity to put into practice. Being sensitive to the patient's feelings but getting instructions across is an delicate approach. I would like to focus on being more direct in my instruction but then again supportive with my willingness to be of assistance.

Class 2

Today went pretty well. I messed up on a few things, but I can garentee that I will be watching out for those things next time. I was glad that I was able to keep to the proper time commitments and that I am feeling better to admit my mistakes and know that I am not going to be looked down upon. I think that looking ahead of time and being a little more mentally prepared is helping me to work through the appointment schedule in my mind. More confident today!

better

I brought my daughter in this morning as my patient cancelled and I found out that out of the 4 girls, 3 have hypertension. I wonder if it is a genetic thing. I will have to do some sluthing and probably a doctors visit to establish some baselines. I tried to focus on my time for first scale check and was only 15 min off after having delays with trying to get readings with her blood pressue. I feel that I am doing better time wise and a little more confident in my abilities.