Polishing, Fluoride, and Varnish

Air Powder Polishing

This is a nifty little thing that I had no idea existed.

It used air to push out a sand like substance to "blast" the stain off teeth.

You must make sure there is enough sand in the container before starting.

Air is always coming out; push a little farther and you will get water;

push the peddle all the way and you get sand mixed with the first two.

You and your pt. must wear an apron, a hairnet, and safety glasses.

[[ Sand get EVERYWHERE!]]

= you can give your pt. a cloth to put over their eyes to help=

[[ Beware: It hurts your gums, tongue, and lips a little]]

Polishing

This is a 'normal' polisher.

[[the one you are use to in the dental chair]]

This is for stain as well. It is for a lighter stain though.

This uses a cup, prophy paste or some toothpaste.

You use a slow speed (between 10 and 20)

Flare the cup to reach slightly into the sulcus, and polish around the cervical third of the tooth.

Don't stay too long on one tooth, we don't want to heat up the tooth.

Fluoride

Dry the teeth.

Insert tray with fluoride into the mouth.

Put the saliva ejector between trays to suck up any excess saliva in the mouth while the trays are in.

Have pt. close mouth and bite together gently.

The fluoride must be on the teeth for at least 4 minutes to be fully effective.

Stay with your pt. the entire time monitoring them.

[[ As we know, Fluoride is a poison; DO NOT SWALLOW]]

After the removal of the trays, instruct pt. to keep the saliva ejector in their mouth.

*DO NOT EAT OR DRINK FOR 30 MINUTES AFTER TREATMENT*

Varnish

Varnish re-mineralizes the teeth.

Lightly dry the teeth with a 2X2 cotten square.

Apply varnish a thin layer in one stroke all over all surfaces of the teeth.

[[ including buccal, lingual, and occlusal]]

Instruct patient to not eat or drink hot, sticky, or crunchy foods for 4 hours.

[[ also to not brush or floss either]]

*Don't forget to record all the treatment that you provide in the TX area of the Treatment Record*

Eaglesoft

This is basically how to schedule a pt. and creating a TX plan.

First things first: SCHEDULING!

* Make sure you are the preferred provider.

* Enter services and phasing using the quick/ service button.

* While practicing, change the fee to $0.00 [we don't want to make our fake pt. pay]

Next: Creating a TX plan!

* Mark all the the items that are correct.

* Have your instructor approve the plan

* Print the plan and have your pt, instructor, and yourself sign.

* You must have all signatures prior to beginning treatment.

Overall, not a hard concept to grasp.
Here is a little sumthin sumthin (a picture) for you! :)

What you see on the screen...

Coloring Charts

Dental Screening

There is this green paper that we have to fill out, with pencil

[[our pencils are not good. Note to self: get pencils that will sharpen before they are halfway gone]]

There are all sorts of things that can go wrong in someone's mouth

From supernumerary [[extra teeth]] to having a diastema [[spaces]]

We as Dental Hygienists must note everything in the mouth.

This includes any hardware that the Doc put in.

This process evaluation wasn't too bad.

You basically color the chart to look like a pt.'s mouth, noting certain things in the comments section.

The only part which is a little difficult, is knowing which color to use.

[[choices between BLUE & RED]]

What has helped me is to note in red the pathology.

[[that means anything wrong in the mouth]]

Here is a picture of the chart to fill out. :)

*This is my chart, and no I couldn't get the picture to turn... :\

*I think with some practice, this will come really easily.

And I cannot wait until we can chart on the computer.

Radiology

Our WONDERFUL Judges
(just noticed that they are the oldies of the group)
:) we love them!

PB and Banana group.
(The Jiffy was the PID, cute huh!)

Today, radiology was super funny.

So that means I just have to blog about it.

We all had to present one of the different films we can take.

It got a little crazy when we had to get creative with using anything and everything from our skull
                                                          (anatomy) to food. :)

It was very fun and I loved laughing with everyone.  

The winners. This is an old lady... HILARIOUS!!!!

My group. Way cute girls!

Chelsea, she is way cool.

Say Cheese! :D

Today we were suppose to go over the Intraoral camera.
Well, they ran out of barriers, so we didn't get to take any pictures today.

This is not like an x-ray. Say someone has a HUGE lesion on their tongue. You could always describe it with a thousand words, or you could just take a picture and describe it in a few words.

Using a USB cord, the pt. can see what the camera sees. It shows right up on the screen next to the pt. chair. I think EVERY office should get with the times and have both computers in the room, as well as a USB camera to take pictures on that instantly upload. ... just sayin'.

The camera is also very helpful with pt. motivation. We all know that Dental Hygienists are known for nagging and being pushy toward preventing disease. (not the same can be said for the DDS... tsk tsk)
If a pt can see what they are doing to their mouth, it might just help someone stop smoking or brush their teeth more than once a year.

Maybe once we actually get the chance to use the intraoral camera, I'll have a little more to say about it. :)

=Dirty Rotton Tooth=

You are going to have lots of them if you don't pay attention to this OHI.

or ORAL HYGIENE INSTRUCTION as my professors call it.

Let us start off with the mild case: CARIES (or cavities)

- Dental caries are a disease where bacteria damage the tooth structure.

- When eating anything, your mouth turns more on the acidic side.

- If the acid is left on the tooth long enough, this will cause demineralization.

- Once the tooth structure has been compromised, it cannot be fixed.

(this is when the DDS has to drill out the hole and put in a filling, which other than the nitrous oxide, is a bad thing)

Now for the more extreme condition: PERIODONTAL DISEASE

- Perio is caused by biofilm buildup on your teeth. after every meal, bacteria stay on your teeth.

- The bacteria put off toxins. That combined to your body's defense to the plaque, cause your gums to puff up and get red. (gingivitis)

Here is a little production to give you a better understanding of how Periodontal Disease progresses.

 So brush your teeth every day, at least twice a day, if not after every meal, and you won't have your teeth fall out. :)

Curet Scaler

Basically the same as the sickle scaler... with more curves.

To correctly use the curet, you must apply the three A's that we have already learned.

A 70-80 degree angle is still desired.

With the curet scaler, you can use both an exploratory and working stroke.

Exploratory Stroke

This stroke is "looking" for calculus. (AKA tarter for you non-fluent folk)

-lighten up on your grasp

-lighten up on your fulcrum

-lighten up on your stokes

Working stroke

This stoke is removing calculus.

-tighten up on your grasp

-tighten up on your fulcrum

-tighten up on your stokes

*remember to develop your own system/ direction of working through the mouth.

This will not only make you faster,

but if you are like me and can't even remember what you had for lunch,

you will also be able to know where you have been and where you are heading next.

A. A. and more A

That's Right! :)

Adaptation, Angulation, and Activation!

These is the basics for any great Dental Hygienist.

"What do they mean?" you ask.

Just hold onto your horses and I will tell you. ;D

Adaptation

the movement of the toe/ tip moving around the tooth.

-this means you turn the tip around the tooth so you don't poke into the surrounding tissue.

Angulation

the angle of the cutting edge against the tooth.

-best is from 70 - 80 degree angle.

Activation

the movement you are making.

-this is an up and down movement, while going around the tooth.

(you can use either a horizontal, vertical, or oblique movement)

Now you are a pro at the three A's. :)

@ least on paper.

=sickle scaler=

Sickle Scalers are used for the anterior teeth.

UNFORTUNATELY, the PE expected us to scale
3 maxillary and 3 mandibular teeth in 3 minutes...

I laughed too. :P

There is a lot of goals that are reachable, however, for me, this one was not.

On this one, you don't really need to know the working end.
They are both the same.

There are also a few steps to remember when you are scaling the anterior teeth.

1. know how to use your mirror...
(I have yet to get the hang of this.)

2. adapt the toe-third of the cutting edge.

3. roll the handle between the thumb and index finger to maintain adaptation.

4. use short, controlled, overlapping strokes activating the instrument with a wrist/arm motion.

5. know the sequence you are going to scale.

There are many many more but my brain is already hurting.
:)