Oh What Fun It Is To...

Scale!  I scaled one quadrant today.  Monday, November 15, was my day as the operator.  There are so many little things to remember.  I was rather excited because I actually heard Marianne's heart beat through my sphygnomanometer (?).  I am finally feeling like I am getting the order of how the appointment is supposed to go, the wording on the chart and how to probe without hurting my patient.  I feel like I am doing a good job of probing and hope that I am doing it so that my patient is comfortable.  I started with blood pressure, respiration, and pulse, then went on to and extra and intra oral exam.  I then probed and decided on a perio statement.  From there I had my OD check and started OHI.  I died Marianne's mouth purple and checked her PFI score, demonstrated how to brush and floss.  Once I gave her sufficient instructions on how to care for her teeth, we started on scaling.  I scaled her lower right teeth!  I did it!  I don't feel 100% comfortable with it, but I will get better.  I didn't have any scaling errors though.  That was a good feeling.  I realize how hard it is to get the exact order of how the chart should be written.  What a great day!