tissue check...
So, for all you non-hygiene readers, this will bore you! Yesterday I did my first "tissue check" at work. Remember how our instructors always talked about "in the real world" you will have time for tissue checks?
So about a month ago i saw a man for a prophy. He was probably around 65 or so. Upon probing i started rehearsing my perio schpill in my head. I found a a handful of 6mm pockets, and mostly 5mm in all the posteriors. Apparently this man had been told about perio disease before, but he didn't want to do Arestin or pay for SC&RP. He said he would floss better and that would take care of it, yet his readings didn't show that he was doing that. Well, i didn't want to let him go another 6 mos and possibly get worse...so we made a deal! After his basic cleaning i did oral irrigation with Peridex. He has a Hydrofloss at home that he bought from our office--it's basically a waterpik like gadget. He committed to his homecare and I asked him to use his hydrofloss for a month at least once daily, sometimes diluting some Peridex in the rinse then come back to see me...then we would make a decision.
I was nervous he wouldn't be compliant, but figured a month would be better than letting him do well in the beginning and then losing track of him in the 6 mo period of time until next recall. I talked to the dr about it and he thought it was a good idea. So when he came back yesterday he told me he had been very committed and used the hydrofloss once everyday and sometimes twice. I could not believe my eyes!!! His tissue appeared healthy and tight around the teeth. Every single sight had improved by 1,2, and in some places 3mm! It's kinda weird how i got so excited over this, but i really wanted him to know that he had made a difference in his mouth. I sat him up and did a little pt education. I showed him all his previous numbers compared to the ones i took. He laughed because they were all just in millimeters, but i told him that hygiene works around those small measurements and he had done really well. I think he was impressed! I for sure was! It's amazing what some thorough homecare will do when the pt is committed!
more good, more bad...
Well, this week has had just a ton of crazy things going on and somehow it got a little crazier! I am very excited to say that i will be leaving the dental hygiene temping world behind and beginning permanant work 4 days a week!! I was only really working on Thursdays. I picked Monday/Tuesday in a wonderful office in south ogden. On Wednesdays i will be covering a girl for her maternity leave for a couple of months. When i stopped by to meet the doctor he offered me permanent wednesdays even when the other hygienist comes back from maternity leave and then the 2 of us will be working on that day! I really am excited and realize how great the timing was for me. It was nice to have such a flexible summer and to spend a ton of time with brett and our families. Now that school is back in and brett is on more of a strict schedule, i was hoping to find more work opportunities and they seemed to open right up for me! Thanks Jen...my hygiene angel! I feel really blessed.
On Thursday night around 11 pm my mom called with unbelievable news. Kolby had wrecked her truck. I don't think he could have had a worse week. I guess he was on his way home from a high school homecoming party when it happened. He was pretty close to home, which is also very close to the foothills....deer everywhere. Just after he made a turn from a stop sign some deer jumped out from the trees. I guess he was only about up to 15 MPH and Kolby swerved right to miss the deer which made him hit a power pole on the front of the passenger side and the force of it flipped the truck onto the driver's side. Luckily Kolby had his seatbelt on and he wasn't hurt at all, just really shaken up. He had to pull himself out of the passenger window, since the truck was laying on its side. Of course i was on the phone talking to my mom and my oldest brother while they were getting everything cleaned up. I was freaking out because i couldn't be there. (I don't know how we will ever move far away from home). ANd for any of you readers who know anything about my dad and his temper you know this wasn't a pretty sight, especially for kolby. Even though it was an accident i guess things were pretty intense that night.
So, he will still be going on his first date tonight...the homecoming dance, he just won't be driving! I already called him to give him all the first date tips/rules....compliment her, open all her doors, be a gentleman, hold her purse, hold your elbow out so she can take your arm....i was totally reminiscing about my first date! Hopefully he has a great night and he can get his mind off of all the other pressure he has to deal with. I can't believe he's 16. I'm just glad he wasn't hurt. Like i told my dad, a truck is replaceable...a life is not. Love ya Kolbers!
some good, some bad...
I just returned home to my husband and home after spending the last couple of days in Salt Lake at mom's house. It has been a weekend of ups and downs. It started with good news on Friday night. I was getting ready for bed when i heard Brett call to me from the other room asking if i wanted to go on a trip in a couple weeks? I was confused and asked, "a trip to where?" As i walked into the room he was sitting in front of the computer reading an email. His response was..."Ohio State, for my 1st dental school interview!!" I started jumping around and hugging him....and he looked at me like i was a weirdo and we had a good laugh! This is the first we've heard from any of the schools he applied to so it's a little crazy. Brett all of a sudden got a little nervous knowing that it's for real. His interview is in just a couple of weeks---really soon. I am going to go to this one with him. We actually have a friend that is going to school there now, so he is letting us bombard him and his wife (of 2 months) for a weekend! They are excited to show us around and have some company and we are really excited to go! I've never been further east than Colorado (and Cancun if that counts!)
On Sunday night my mom called with sad news about my youngest brother and they were on their way to the emergency room. He was with some friends goofing around---they're teenagers---One friend was hitting golf balls, another friend threw a football at the golfer and he took a big swing at it. Kolby was just an innocent bystander. When the football and golf club made contact the club busted in 1/2 and the broken piece flew back towards Kolby. He couldn't jump out of the way fast enough and it ended up hitting him in the toe. REally, it doesn't seem that bad until you know the broken end took a huge chunk out of his left big toe. THe emergency room dr. referred him to a specialist for surgery 1st thing monday morning.
I don't know if i am super sensitive or what, but this was a hard one to take. Kolby is my youngest brother and we have been attached at the hip since he was born. The worst part is that this is taking him out of football for the rest of the season. The kid lives and breathes to play football. This is his first year of high school ball and he has been working his tail off for his position on the team and now this. I went down to SL monday morning to take him to surgery. It so happened that my mom also had a dr appt that day that had been rescheduled about 3 times already, so it worked out nicely that i wasn't working! The doctor ended up taking out the stitches that were placed the night before. His tendon had been cut and needed to be reattched so he could lift his toe up...otherwise it was hanging limp. I actually sat in the room and talked to kolby the whole time. He only needed local anesthesia. That was hard to watch him cringe while the doc stuck him about 12 times. The doctor asked if i was his sister....then he told us how he could tell that we had a special relationship. I must have been babying him!! The funniest thing was that kolby made sure with the doctor that he could still take his date to homecoming this weekend! He just turned 16 and this Saturday is his first date...he's gonna be a little bit of a gimp and has to wear "the boot," but he got permission to go!
I spent the night at mom's...on the couch next to my baby! I had to get him up every 3 hours to give him pain meds and antibiotics. Everyone at home had to work except us, so today we just got to hang out and watch movies. We also talked about football, and it was a tear-jerker. I just feel so bad because he's been working so hard to play. The doc said at least 4 weeks before any play. By then the season will basically be done. Hopefully the next 2 years will be good for him as far as football goes, and he heals fast enough to start up for basketball!
The other good news is Brett got an invite for an interview at Case-Western, also in Ohio. He told me that last night over the phone. It was a nice end to a long day! It's really weird to think that by this time next year if something works out for us we could be moved out of state starting a whole new life! I am excited for the future!! AND---i can't wait to land on my pillow tonight....it will be nice to have an uninterrupted sleep.
