Almost done!

This past week I finished up the last days of classes and clinic...I graduate in ONE week! How crazy is that?! Then I have to take my clinical boards (where I clean someone's teeth) and my anesthesia boards (where I give someone a shot). Those are on May 1st and 2nd....and then I wait to see if I passed everything. And find a job in the meantime. I'm actually getting really nervous to work for someone other than Dr. Nance. I worked as an assistant for him for 8 1/2 years and know how things are run in his office and know what he is like. It will be strange to start over with another dentist. It would be so much easier if I could work for Dr. Nance again...sigh. But his hygienists have been there forever and aren't going anywhere. And why would they? He's great to work for.

So I found a PERFECT boards patient!! Finding a patient is part of clinical boards....finding the right patient means the difference between passing and failing. Let me explain: there are all these qualifications for a boards patient in regards to how much calculus they have, where it is, and their periodontal state/probe readings. They have to have ALOT of calculus, but not have deep probe readings, which is sometimes hard to find. The other issue is that this exam takes half the day, and the patient is examined several times. They have to be willing to do this (that's why we usually pay our patients to help with their willingness!) and also be reliable enough to show up. Because if they don't show up the day of your exam, unless you can find a back-up patient, you forfeit your exam (and the $800 you paid to take it) and have to wait to take it at another location and time.

Back to my patient: A former student actually found me my patient. She knows how stressful it is to find a good boards patient, and has kept her eye out for one. My patient is a mom, about my age, and has a really healthy mouth as far as probe readings go, just builds alot of calculus. When I asked her how long it's been since she had her teeth cleaned, she said, "Oh, its been a while....over a year"!! I was in heaven...let me explain. She has "new" calculus. "New" calculus comes off much easier than "old" calculus, such as when someone hasn't had their teeth cleaned in years or has never had a cleaning in their whole life. (As crazy as that sounds, at school we see adults that have never had a cleaning...and it's like cement!) And she understands how important this is to me, and told me she definitely wouldn't flake out. Plus she was really excited when I told her I'd pay her $200.

I know this will sound weird to you non-dental people out there, but it is SO satisfying to clean chunks of calculus off people's teeth...seriously. Especially when it's from under the gums where it's usually black... I love it! :)