Surprise!

On Wednesday I had my class III/class II patient return to begin scaling. I was not sure how far I was going to get so I did not have any expectations because I did not want to feel disappointed if I didn't get as far as I wanted. I just dove right in and began scaling the UL quad because that is where my patient's deepest pockets were. I scaled the lingual areas and felt okay. Then I began the buccal/facial surfaces. I began at #9 and continued posteriorly. I was apprehensive of tooth #14 MB because that was the 8mm pocket. As I was exploring the tooth to find calculus, I was surprised because #1 - The x-ray had no evidence of subgingival calculus but there was A LOT and it was black (awesome!) and #2 - Just inserting the explorer caused pus to start erupting from the subgingival area! It was SO COOL! Again, that may sound so gross to you, but I was so excited! It was really amazing to clean that tooth/quad! I feel so much better about scaling and I am so excited to be a hygienist! Also, I was able to finish two quads that day! Yay! My patient was so nice too. I was worried that she might be angry when I told her about the pus and explained to her that I needed to see her back in one more appointment, but she was really nice and appreciative! I think it makes a big difference when the patient understands that it's important to keep their teeth clean. What a great clinic day!