To Probe or not to Probe. Sept 8th.

When taking those monotonous "What learning style are you" quizzes I seem to always be alittle of every learning style. But today was different. I truely feel that in the realm of Dental Hygiene, hands on is best. Today we learned all about the wonderful world of probing, the different assesment reasons we probe (aka: checking tissue conditions, calculus build up, bone loss, ect), types of probes, and probing sequences. Now I listened through the whole lecture, but when I heard probing sequence my ears perked up- "now this is what you really have to master," I thought to myself. Read the probe, walk the probe, begin at the distal line angle, move to the distal contact, record under col, Reposition 1 mm distal to D line angle. AYE! Even reading it now is alittle frightening. "What!?" I have to admit I felt a slight sense of panic. See, I not only want to do this stuff --I want to do this stuff right (that is a very non-artistic way to say it but non the less the truth). I was relieved when Emily raised her hand and asked the question about the 45* angle under the COL as well. Facial/buccal/labial side is parallel to the long axis of the tooth whereas the angle applies to the proximal areas. Thank goodness for the hands on portion at the end of the class, it really clarified the information. Still I believe I need to sneak in to Dr. Pellegrini's office a few times so I can really get the method down. As I search through my notes I find a question unanswered that I have. There are 6 surfaces that we are supposed to be measuring when performing probing. I know facial/lingual/mesial/distal. Did anyone catch the other two? This is an interactive blog....so please reply. That would be lovely! :)