Semester 1 - Fall 2022
August 30th, 2022
Today, was my first clinic class. I was very excited, but also nervous. I started with the feeling of being prepared but ended up being a little overwhelmed by the flux of information that we have been provided. Faculty were very enthusiastic and reassure us by providing their support. I felt confident passing my competencies and plan to review step by step what we have learn in order to be successful in clinic.
September 6th, 2022
I was very excited to learn how to properly use the instrument and clinician positioning. I was very embarrassed during the teaching session because I kept mixing my left and right when we were talking about the surfaces and areas that we practiced on. I was also confused with some technical terms but my faculty helped me to clarified my mind.
September 13th, 2022
This was a big change in clinic because we used to work on Dexter to practice our instrumentation and position, now we get to work on each other partner. This is way harder than I thought. I was very frustrated that I could get the right motion of my wrist when using the ODU 11/12. I plan to use the typodont and a pen to work on the rocking motion.
September 20th, 2022
At the beginning of the clinic I felt confident on probing on Dexter. I had a good fulcrum and understood the walking stroke motion, but when we switch to partner I was constantly doubting myself and got frustrated to not properly using the probe. To gain in confidence, I would review my notes and textbook and practice the motion on the typodont.
October 4th, 2022
Everything went smooth and well. For the first time, I wasn’t being lost or confused in what I was doing. We practice on 204S and Columbia 13/14. I was getting better on the different stroke but staying parallel with the surface of the tooth was something that I have to work on. Practice practice is the key.
October 20th, 2022
I had a good clinic session. I really enjoyed learning the new area specific instruments and practicing on my partner. I feel that I am more comfortable working on my patient.
November 3rd, 2022
Each week seems like we are learning new skills. This time we jump on description of the gingival tissue. I felt that gingival description was way more easy to assess and describe than EIOE where there are multiple area the we have to describe. This shows me that I need to go over what we have learn in lecture in order to properly assess and describe on EIOE.
November 10th, 2022
During this clinic session I work on hard tissue charting and I found difficult to distinguish between a composite filling and sealant. Faculty told me to use the water / air syringe which was helpful.
November 17th, 2022
It was a fun clinical day, practicing on applying topical fluoride on each other. This was the first time I have done and got topical fluoride. We also get to practice in filling the medical history and taking vitals. I found challenging asking personal question on my partner with that said I felt that I will struggle asking question to patient. So, I plan to look into ways to engage conversation with patient to gain their trust.
December 6th, 2022
Last day of clinic session, I learned to use a softdent sofware. It was way easy to navigate than thought.
Semester 2 - Spring 2023
Catherine ChungFebruary 2nd, 2023
Today was the first clinical day with a real patient in my chair to treat from start to end. I was a little nervous at the beginning but when I started to go over the different assessment, it went smoothly. It was pleasure to do it. I took my medical/dental history competency and successfully did it.
February 9th, 2023
I was full of confidence finishing my patient from start to end today; however, I didn’t. I was a little disappointed about myself, but I wanted to do a throughout evaluation.
February 16th, 2023
Today’s clinic went smoothly, all assessments went well except HTC. I still find challenging identifying composite filling in patient’s mouth without radiographs. For the next time, I will try to be more thorough on HTC by drying and using the ODU 11/12 for feeling the different texture.
February 23th, 2023
Today’s clinic was rough because I was rushing to finish the patient from start to end and successfully finish it.
March 2nd, 2023
I had a mix feeling about clinic today. I was very happy to proceed forward on my patient and finish my midterm, but finish scaling her teeth. The calculus was very tenacious and I has a hard time to remove it all. The faculty introduce me to some instrument that we didn’t go over in clinic the first semester and it seems to be more efficient in removing calculus.
March 14th, 2023
Clinic went well although I didn’t finish what I planned. I have been struggling with some technique these couple weeks but today it clicked and it felt great!
I really appreciate my faculty’s patience and advice. I also appreciate my patient’s feedback by telling me the differences when I worked on him and when faculty did . This had really helped me to understand where were my weaknesses and tried to fix it.
March 23th, 2023
Today’s clinic was great. I completed more than what I expected. I felt more comfortable scaling on patient and know the outcome that we need to reach .
March 28th, 2023
Today’s clinic went well although my patient was a little tough to treat. She seemed anxious and need multiples breaks.
April 11th, 2023
Clinic went well although I felt like I was slower than usually. I got used to do all treatment on paper and now we are using softdent and transfer all information on the computer. I had to review again how to properly use softdent so that I am more efficient in time next time.
April 18th, 2023
I was very frustrated during clinic because it was my first time having a 2 years old in chair and was not cooperative. I didn’t want to force or traumatize the little kid because it was his first time get a dental check. I ended up finishing him and felt glad that I was able to catch the severe ECC on him.
April 25th, 2023
My patient was from another country and I was glad to practice my native language with them. However, I found it very difficult to translate the technical dental words in French. Overall, the entire procedure went well.
May, 2nd, 2023
Today’s clinic went smooth. I didn’t encounter major issue and got to finish my patient in one appointment. I felt very glad about it.
May 11th, 2023
For the last clinic session, I felt a little stressed because I had my last requirement patient come in and the mom did not come, so it was a back and fourth text messaging her to the paper signed and explain the treatment plan. Other then that, everything went well.