5/8 of a Dentist

I've gotten some more operative done, scaled and root planed another patient, and prepped a PFM since last entry.  I've also gotten Nanna ready to go and Tammy's still in progress.  Unfortunately, I have a re-do alveoplasty in my future and that's just hard for everyone to put off a denture even longer.  But even if I lose this patinet due to impatience, if I complete all of Nanna's treatment, I'll pass.  That's good enough for a pass/fail situation!  I have my favorite patient coming in for a progress exam the morning we come back (eek!), but I don't want to lose him, and I'll do whatever it takes to get him here and give him "free" dentistry as long as possible.  I have a perio patient who cannot do a good enough job brushing his teeth to pass re-eval, but they're going to let me do some limited fixed and operative to help facilitate healing, so that's something.  I'm handing him a new toothbrush and asking that he brush his teeth before walking into the perio clinic next time!  The good news is that every professor that I've talked to about my requirements is comfortable with where I am and not concerned about me finishing.

Finals week this past week was insane.  I have never been this tired in all of my life.  8 finals, all but one of them cumulative.  I drank way too much coffee, got way too little sleep (avg 4 hrs), and did just fine on every one of them, hallelujah. I actually saw a pt on Tuesday afternoon to prep a crown post-root canal and despite my lack of sleep, I did a pretty darn good job and got the impression I needed to send her PFM to the lab - soooo nice to not cast the crown and do all the lab work!  At least it was early in the week!  I also saw Nanna and Tammy on Friday after the last final, but a cleaning and some impressions are nothing and it's nice to have them a step further along.  The good news?  I don't have to study for any boards over Christmas this year!  3 weeks of sleeping, bumming, sewing, and skiing!

Removable: 1.5/3 to pass (4 to get an "A")
Perio: 2/4 diagnostic workups, 8/16 quads SCRP, 0/4 re-evals to graduate
Endo: 0/2 (I have one promised for January, but I need another!)
Surgery: 32/35
Pre-prosth: 4/5 to graduate
Operative: 18/50
Fixed: 2/10 and one prepped and sent to the lab
DAU: 8/10 to graduate
Nitrous: 3/6 to graduate
All assisting is complete.

Priorities when I get back:
1) Finish progress exams in operative (will be done by Feb. if all are passed)
2) Coordinate and do my endo from Tyler, find another case
3) Finish out both perio patients, get new patient for PEs
4) Finish parital cases
5) Get moving on operative and fixed (incl fixed PEs)
6) OMS PE and last few ext (will happen on rotation)
7) Last few DAU appointments (probably with Nanna)

The Week in Review

I came back from Thanksgiving break to my Progress Exam in operative (fillings) on Monday morning.  I woke up to a phone call from my mother at 6am to find that a full fuel tanker was on fire on I-30 (my route to school).  I went ahead and got ready and left by 6:10 to take the back roads to 80 to bypass the insanity.  I even had time to make coffee and grab a piece of pumpkin bread.

 

It was nice to get to school early, collect my thoughts, look at my x-rays, add in the treatment that needed to be approved, and go over strategy with some friends.  I just tried to relax during class and breathe and pray.  Between classes, my patient for that morning called to tell me he wasn't going to be able to make it - Just kidding.  I know he's a prankster, and I know that he would never cancel on me like that unless it was the end of the world, but there was still a part of me that was ready to deal with the fact that I didn't have a back-up, and that means an "F".  It was good to know he was coming and would be there early : )

 

Class was over, and I ran upstairs to get in line, get a few things I needed and check my set-up.  My "assistant", Natalee, got there and was the biggest help imaginable - she was really on top of things for me.  I brought up my patient, presented my treatment and got it approved, and we were ready to roll!  It was the tiniest cavity, but I still took an hour to prep the ideal ouline form like the good-ole days of operative lab.  I got it checked, and now it was time for the big moment - complete removal of decay and the moment when the instructor inspects it and then looks up and either says, "Ok" and you pass or "Do you see this area right here? You need to remove that decalcification" and you fail.  The moment came and went and all was good (!) and I had around 35 min to restore - good thing I'm pretty fast!  I finished in time and was even able to reseat my patient's temporary that came off while eating a Chick-fil-a brownie (we discussed how this qualified as sticky and gooey).

 

The next morning, we received our grades and I got a 3.0 and a 3.5 - not too shabby!  That's one down, and two to go for operative.  I've completed my removable  progress exams, but have not done any in the other disciplines.  Just haven't done enough yet.

 

I spent the rest of the week mostly filling teeth and catching up on all my operative.  I finished up Erik's case - for now.  I also had my meeting with my group advisor, and I'm all on track and he's happy with where I stand with my requirements.  Whew!  Thursday was our endo practical in the sim lab, and it went pretty well - especially for someone who hasn't done a root canal since last spring!  I have lots going on next week, too: a crown seating, my Nanna's consults and maybe a cleaning, a filling or two, lots of perio, and starting another crown.  All that, with 2 finals mixed in and a whole week of finals the week after that.  I'm so ready for Christmas!

• Removable (dentures I've made): 1.5/4
• Perio (crazy yucky gums/teeth I've cleaned): 1/4 to graduate (scaling pt #2 this week!)
• Endo (root canals):0/2 (I have one promised for January, but I need another!)
• Surgery (teeth I've pulled): 32/35 (I rocked and rolled with extractions this week!)
• Pre-prosth (bone I've smoothed out for dentures): 4/5 to graduate (I should have them all, but that's another story altogether...)
• Operative (fillings): 16/50
• Fixed (crowns and bridges): 1/10
• DAU (working with assistants): 6/10 to graduate
• Nitrous (laughing gas administrations): 3/6 to graduate
• All assisting is complete.

My Break Cold

My body does not deal with stress well, as far as immunity goes. So 3rd year + cold and flu season + never-ending tiredness = I'm sick. I've had that tingle in your throat thing for about a week now (please note: that's when I last saw my then sick brother). Gradually got a cough/congestion, but my friend Claritin D took care of that. But starting last night, after my beginning of break celebration of margarita night with the family, it hit. It alway does as soon as my breaks begin. Always. I think my body just gives up knowing that I'll have plenty of time to lay on the couch with a box of kleenex. Even pseudoephedrine isn't working and I'm really upset about that. I'm praying that this passes by Sunday so that I can do all the things I've planned during my 9 days of bliss before hell starts again. Yes, I said hell.

Removable (dentures I've made): 1.5/4
Perio (crazy yucky gums/teeth I've cleaned): 1/4 to graduate
Endo (root canals):0/2 (please pray for endo for me!)
Surgery (teeth I've pulled): 26/35
pre-prosth (bone I've smoothed out for dentures): 4/5 to graduate
Operative (fillings): 9/50
Fixed (crowns and bridges): 1/10
DAU (working with assistants): 5/10
Nitrous (laughing gas administrations): 3/6 to graduate
All assisting is complete.

So, So Tired

I've decided to update my "stats" as the weeks past. Reminds of me of when I would post my practice DAT scores so I could watch as they improved. My first scores were really ugly. These numbers remind me a lot of my first scores. But they continue to improve.

I'm at a minor standstill with some as the holidays approach and I can't start new dentures and patients don't want to go through the holidays with temporaries. Who would? I don't blame them. So I'm just getting all my ducks in a row to wipe out 3 crowns as soon as we get back. I should start two full dentures in January. I should have my 2nd perio patient finished before Christmas, but I don't have another on board, yet. That's not good. I signed up to get some serious extractions and preprosth after Thanksgiving, and I'm thankful for the experience and credits. It includes mandibular tori removal, so that'll be neat. I sent more endo to grad last week, so it's the same story there. I did 3 fillings last week, so I really feel like I'm less afraid of the operative faculty and learning what I need to do to speed up. My progress exam is just around the corner, and after watching the results of the first one, I'm not very optimistic. It's pretty brutal.

I'm in desperate need of a Thanksgiving break as the weekends don't seem to refresh me much. My allergies are horrible and my head is fluffy and my eyes are just tired. I'm so thankful that we celebrate Thanksgiving, I just wish that maybe the pilgrims had done it in October, like the Canadians.

Removable: 1.5/4

Perio: 1/4 to graduate

Endo:0/2 (please pray for endo for me!)

Surgery: 11/35

pre-prosth: 2/2

Operative: 7/50

Fixed: 1/10

DAU: 5/10

Nitrous: 3/6 to graduate

All assisting is complete.

A message:

I take it that this means I will be moving on to 4th year by the end of the summer. ; )

Requirements are slow in coming, but once everyone is diagnosed (by Thanksgiving!), it will be all treatment, all the time. With a silly rotation thrown in here and there.

Just for the record:

Removable: 1.5/4 (with one pt healing, and one set for ext before Thanksgiving)
Perio: 1/3 (start #2 on Tuesday)
Endo:0/2 (please pray for endo for me!)
Surgery: 10/35, 2/2 pre-prosth
Operative: 4/50 (yikes! I'll be at 10 by Thanksgiving. I hope to be around 20 by the end of the semester - 4 weeksish)
Fixed: 1/10 (with one prepped and waiting to seat right now - I should have 3 maybe 4 by semester)
DAU: 4/10 (+1 after tomorrow)
Nitrous: 3/6 to graduate
All assisting is complete.

It'll be crazy this Spring!!

The Moments

The moments that make all this horrible, horrible stuff I have to put up with and endure worth it all are the moments when I can do something for someone that makes their life better. Generally, this means completing a treatment and lately, that's been pretty slow in coming.

Today, I got to do it for a little girl who had a cavity on the front of her canine. You could obviously see it when she smiled. Jennifer and I had to privilege of restoring that today and it was absolutely the coolest thing to send her off with a smile of pretty, healthy teeth.

Here's the story: Big pharm test = very little sleep. I've made a pact with myself that I will not perform irreversible treatments when on very little sleep. You're welcome. I'm still a newbie and my patients appreciate this rule whether they know about it or not. When on pedo rotation, however, you don't get to make those calls. After the insanity of our 7:30 am test and a 30 min nap in the library, Jennifer told me I was listed as the operator for a composite on a canine for a little girl. Great. An entire hour to sit in class prepare for this in my head. So I sat down in my seat for our operative class and we covered esthetic facial composites. Great. Whatever.

I raced to the clinic after class and pulled up her chart and we started to get ready. And the patient needed...an esthetic facial composite. See how God takes care of me? : ) This happened the entire course of my first denture and the day I cut my first crown. I don't deserve it.

We didn't even have to numb her up - bonus! I even scraped most of the decay out with a spoon. Mr. Bumpy did make an appearance, but she didn't mind at all. The pedo dispensary probably thought we were crazy asking for a shade guide and two different shades of composite, but we wanted it to look right. Even if it's a primary tooth and will fall out in a few years.

Let's just say that it's always a relief to find that God really has gifted me with the random talents a dentist needs to be successful as I seem to have a decent eye for shades and matching composite (remember the star I got from Dr. Miller?). It's so super easy to feel inadequate and untalented in dental school. The truth of the matter is that I am inadequate and can only do any of this by the grace of and with the help of God. He gives me what I need when I need it. Manna. So when the resident couldn't find where I'd placed the restoration because it blended so well (we switched docs in the middle and he didn't see the prep), it left me on cloud 9 for the rest of the day. These moments are few and far between. And I'm super thankful.

An Update

This post is dedicated to Megan Miller: I know you're reading ; )

I've been in the pediatric clinic all week. My patients are patiently waiting for their next appointments while I'm placing sealants, twiddling my thumbs, holding hands, drying tears, and handing out Sponge Bob stickers to the kids at BCD.

What I've learned so far:

1) I find that I do really well when I'm the one in charge. Whether it's a kid or an adult, if I'm the one that greets the patient, takes the history, and initiates the relationship, I feel better about being the one providing treatment. If someone else does all that and then we do the ol' switcheroo, it's just not the same. There's just something about being idenitified as the "doc".

2) You should not schedule your patients to come back for treatment that has already been performed. That's how I lost the chance at some more sealants today. The sealants were already there. What can you do? Nothing. That's what.

3) 2.5 hours going over a case you've already studied makes for a long afternoon.

4) Don't tell a kid that you're going to give them a "mosquito bite". NOBODY likes mosquito bites. Kids aren't stupid. There's no way you're going to get them numb that way. Also, don't try to trick a kid. There's no regaining their trust.

5) Maybe it's not such a good idea to have an open pediatrics clinic. One crying kid 2 feet away from another crying kid makes for a lot of fun!

6) Kids on nitrous are hilarious! Couple that with a half-numb face and you've got some seriously funny antics.

7) Parents out there - be careful about how you talk to your kids about the dentist. Please. I know I'm the childless one saying this, but there's really a lot to be said about how kids are taught to be afraid of the dentist. I heard a parent today tell a kid that couldn't complete treatment even after getting an injection, "You'll just have to get another shot." Yeah, that kid's going to be a bundle of fun the next time he comes back.

Ok, enough of that. I really do like the kids. I absolutely will see kids in my office when I'm out. Absolutely. When I'm not pregnant the nitrous will flow! I'll be blowing bubbles, painting teeth, putting raincoats and rings in their mouths, and using that tooth tickler like there's no tomorrow. Sleepy juice, tooth pillows and super soakers will help get the job done, and my background in psychology will be implemented for both the freaked-out parents and the little ones.

Hmmm...

I know it's been a while since an update on anything...crafty or dental. I'm just so busy all the time and absolutely exhausted when I get home that nothing gets done and I have no desire to even type about what I did. I blow it off as "nobody cares" - not in a depressive, unhopeful way - but it's just not anything that I'm that excited about, so why take the time to do it? Throw in studying for classes like pharmacology, and I'm done. There's nothing left. I have a finished quilt that I have yet to take a picture of and post about on my quilt blog. If you know me at all, that says a lot about how busy I am!

I love having patients! I love talking and getting to know them and developing relationships with them. I like fixing things for them. Filling a cavity, helping them make their smile pretty, or giving them a whole new smile and a way to eat. God has blessed me with amazing patients. I'm so thankful for that. A new Christian, a quilter and her husband, the sweetest old lady ever who's lived a trial-filled life and is still so joyful, an old friend, a young nanny, a really nice lady I met on the sidewalk outside the school, one of 3 sisters who have matching handbags and come to the school every Tuesday (so cute!), and a sweet old lady who just wants to be able to smile again.

I don't like the hoops, I don't' like the missed lunches, I don't like the rat race - I try to buck that all the time. Classmates will race through a diagnosis appointment and then race around all morning trying to finish all their consults. - in 2 hours or so. I don't want to push the limit and I sure don't want my patients to feel like I'm rushing through things and then dragging them around the school. I did that to one of my patients - once - and I'm so thankful he's still coming to see me. I felt horrible for doing that to him. That first appointment is when I start developing a relationship with them and I want them to know I'm listening, that I'm thorough, and that I have their best interests in mind. Not that I'm only interested in getting through the process as fast as possible. Even if that means they have to come back for an extra consults appointment. Maybe I'll regret this philosophy when I feel behind, but I doubt it. I'm aiming for patients that trust me, and will therefore come to their appointments on time and finish out their treatment. That's my goal.

I'm just plugging away. Working on the patients that I can, and trying to get everyone else to that point. If you have any interest in coming to see me, I'm game if you are! You won't be a "guinea pig" at this point - my firsts are all over - except the ever-elusive root canal that I have yet to see come my way...

Seen This?

Now watch this:

Yeah, I'm back in school, and kinda feel bad for not documenting it. It's pretty *blah* since there's nothing new and exciting seeing that we've done this for 6 weeks now. Doesn't help that I have zero patients this week. But I'm being somewhat productive, I'm enjoying the chance to get all my ducks in a row before I get busy, and I'm so glad I'm not waiting 45 mins in line for instruments now that they've changed up the system. Maybe by next week they'll have it figured out???? That'd be great!

Winding Down Summer Clinic

This past week and a half was quite eventful! I delivered and closed out my denture case (whoop!) (and he really likes them - they fit great!) and I waxed, casted, and cemented my first crown yesterday (what a relief and answer to prayer!). I feel like I haven't done half as much as most people have in summer clinic, but the two things I started and finished were actually pretty big deals. The minutia of fillings and pulling teeth will come - my patients need plenty of that. But to actually finish out and send my patients on their way with new prostheses is a really good feeling and I'm glad I got to go through the process from start to finish during these weeks. My denture patient doesn't really need any more treatment unless he needs adjustments, so we had a "good-bye" moment which was strange after working with him since April? May? My crown patient is a really cool guy who recently met the Lord and I'm so excited that he's excited about growing in the Lord (and coming back to get the rest of his teeth fixed!) What great patients! I have 3 ladies waiting in the wings and we will get all of their treatment started when I get back...I really like them all and so far they seem happy with the way things are going. I see my cousin tomorrow to get her started in diagnosis, so now I get the experience of treating friends and family which can be an entirely different experience, although it's one you have to get used to.

So 2 more patients this week and I'm done! I really had to get used to the idea of "real world" dentistry and not the world of perfection they beat into our skulls during 2 years of lab work. Apparently there is something called "good enough" otherwise known as "clinically acceptable" - a line which I never understood because most of us were trying to be really good at what we were doing in lab. You know, to get good grades. So now, even though I think a margin on a gold crown kinda sucks and would never want to turn something like that into Dr. Miller, in the real world, it's clinically acceptable and we're cementing it on! Allrighty then. Of course my skills will improve over the years and I can move beyond clinically acceptable, but for now it kinda freaks me out. And that's a good thing.

I Did It.

I cut on a tooth. The assistant handed me the high speed handpiece with a 169L bur and I cut into a maxillary 2nd molar (#2 to be exact). The total crown prep took around 1.5 hr with packing cord and trying to smooth the insanely deep distal margin that I'm still not sure is good enough. The rest of the 3 hr appt was vitals, injections, making the provisional and 2 impressions, and getting approval and advice from my professor.

Thank God for a great (patient) patient! I'll find out how well it really went Monday when I pull the casts from the 2 impressions we took. And I'm anxious to call my patient on Monday to see if his temporary stayed on over the weekend. I got a "well done" and a "pretty good job" from my prof. Not bad, I guess.

Everything else, I'd done before: injections, impressions, even making temporaries. I didn't think there would be any decay since he'd already had a root canal, post and build up, so it was a bit of a surprise when I broke mesial contact and found some soft, tan, diseased dentin. But I got it all out and got it covered well, so we should be good until I can wax up and cast his gold crown. My patient and I are hoping the next time I see him is to put the crown on, and that I won't have to bring him back to smooth out that margin. But I know I'm learning and certainly can't expect my first live crown prep on an insanely-hard-almost- deemed-non-restorable tooth to be perfect the first time around. I do kinda wish my prof would have "fixed" anything questionable for me so my pt wouldn't have to come back...they do that all the time. Que sera. I've jumped off the cliff and I'm no longer a restoration virgin. Well, at least I'm half way there. Gotta cast a crown.

Summer Clinic - Week 2

Procedures accomplished:

• preliminary denture impressions
• made custom trays for final impressions
• prophy
• impressions for diagnostic casts
• MOD onlay and DO inlay preps for typodont exams

It's nothing glamorous, like the occlusal preps a few people got to do, or even scaling and root planing, but it's progress. Those diagnostic casts mean I'm one step closer to prepping a crown - craziness for a first go round, but that's how it works around here.

Up for next week:

• final denture impressions
• record bases and wax rims for dentures
• custom trays, templates, mounting of diagnostic casts for crown prep consult
• cast MOD only and DO inlays by Thursday

Let's just say I need to get used to short lunches and staying late to do lab work....

Summer Clinic Week 1

All I can say is that so far, this is not at all what I expected.

Monday, we got our ginormous "comp care" binders which have this huge threat? warning? whatever it is, it's telling me that I better figure out what's going on and fast! And then, in true BCD fashion, the page quickly tells me that all of this could change in a second so everything I learned before will then be useless. Classic. The problem was that I didn't get much of a chance to sit down with this book all week. And come Friday, I wished I had. That whole "knowledge of the contents" part, you know.

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So much sitting and listening, just like D1 orientation. But this time, we get the clinic directors rotating in and out telling us how things run in their clinic. Of course, we get information that contradicts what we've been told before, and most of the time, people can't answer our questions. I spent Mon-Thrusday without patients, so I used my time to consult with professors about my denture patient, plan out his care, and study up on the xrays for my patient on Friday. I also had time to clean out my locker and get all my instruments sterilized for the upcoming rush.

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Wednesday, I was in class until 10am and then spent the day at lunch and then shopping with mom. That's my idea of summer school.

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Thursday we placed rubber dam on each other, and all I can say is I hope to never have to enjoy that experience again. It's just that I'm a mouth breather (which is a bad thing) and it kinda made me panic a bit.

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Friday was slow in the morning, but once 1:30 rolled around, I was sprinting until 5pm. My poor patient. He told me he wanted to finish the consults since he lives an hour away, but I don't think he (or I) knew what all that would entail and we were both exhausted when all was said and done. Oral diagnosis was great. It took an hour, and I actually did a pretty good job diagnosing all the cavities and my patient is great.

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Now, up to the 3rd floor for consults. Thank God Stephen was up there and free to help me get set up and on the right track (this would be the point at which knowing that entire binder would have helped).

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Operative consult, check. Preventive consult, check. And then they decided to take intraoral photos which was a bit of a circus, but that's ok. Fixed consult, here we go. This turned into an endo consult and then back to preventive and then we're throwing in nightguards and fluoride scripts and on and on. Once we finally got that all into Axium (grrr...) I had to go back to the operative consult to enter in the treatment because that professor was not helpful enough to guide me through the process (for my first time) and ask to sign off on my treatment plan. So, I finally got it all in the silly computer and got the script signed (to which the professor said, "Your patient is still here?) and we could finally go home (well, I could after I raced downstairs to clean up my chair, then back upstairs to clean up that chair).

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Did I mention that I had a runny/stuffy nose all day? By the time I got to Mom and Dad's to meet up for margarita night, I was officially working on being sick and now I've been on the couch all weekend. Gotta get better to see a patient on Monday!

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Please, Lord, let him come back and get treatment from me! I sure hope I didn't scare him away with our marathon appointment! Lesson learned: 2-3 appointments are the absolute limit with 2 being a much better option!

Going Back Tomorrow

It was a short two weeks. 6 weeks of school and then 4 more weeks off. Let the countdown begin!

First of all, I need to write down a few things I've been pondering so hopefully, I'll keep pondering them enough to maybe actually do something about them.

1) Been thinking about my lack of community. We really just observe at church, observe in our neighborhood and in this town. I go to school in Dallas and Erik works in Duncanville, and we just sleep here in Rockwall and go to a church service on Sunday. Last night, I thought about Zaccheus and how he tried to get away with just observing Jesus and what he was doing. He got called down out that tree super fast. Observing is not acceptable. Then Jesus went to his house with no notice - today. No time to run to the market or cook a lamb or sweep the floor - just straight up said "you don't get to just watch, in fact I'm going to be a part of what your life is really like - you don't get a chance to put on a show." Just some thinking.

2) Been thinking about my selfishness. Seriously, when I was in high school and college, I can't even name all the community service what-not I was involved in. I am so careful with my time now and so jealous of it. My time is so precious to me...but it's not mine and I tend to forget things like that. Guess that goes back to community...I'm not even very quick to give up time just to hang out with people. What is wrong with me and my reclusiveness? So not what Christianity is about.

3) Been thinking about what takes up my time. I had a bit of a FB hiatus that kicked off this thinking. It was great. I've totally revamped how I do FB and I'm still thinking about why I do it and what benefit it is. I've found that there are a good number of things that just kinda popped up in my life that are perfectly harmless, but take up my time and I never really thought through what "good" is in them. You know that passage of "whatever is good, whatever is noble...think about these things"? I found some of these time consumers (esp FB) creating issues in my life that weren't "good" for me. And none of the other things in that passage either. And even if chatting with friends seems harmless, a lot of it is mindless and useless and what place does that have in my life? I wondered, when did I just start doing things because it's something to do? When did I stop thinking about whether or not it was a "good" thing for me to do? It sure is cool though. At least I thought it was. There is so much good in simplicity. In making sure the important things are taken care of before spending 30 minutes on FB. Like studying. Or doing laundry. Or cooking a healthy dinner. Or working out. Or spending time with God. Or time with my husband. Or, heaven forbid, a new friend. 30 min in real life with a real person (possibly with coffee involved!) vs. 30 min on FB with random tidbits and maybe an encouraging word somewhere out there for good measure. Poor FB. It's not just that, there's a list of things I'm thinking about (including quilting...). I'm just glad I started thinking again.

I Can Already Tell This Break is Going to be Too Short

I kicked off my break by going down to Houston Saturday, then to Galveston Sunday to spend a night. This picture makes it look really good, doesn't it? (No, I didn't take it...) But it's all the beach I'll probably get this summer and for a long while, so I'll have to take what I can get. I wish we could have stayed longer and actually enjoy the sun for a while.

Day one of break was a lot of laundry, cleaning, and sewing. I have a lot of quilt deadlines coming up: birth, graduation, birth, wedding, possibly a camp reunion, and two births I'm already behind on!

Day two, so far, much of the same.

I keep checking my email praying for a message about grades being posted for one class in particular, but no news. Don't know if that's good or not.

Even though this break is short, there is the promise of a longer one later this summer, so I must be patient.

Getting Back on Track

From John Piper's Hunger for God:


The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie.
It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for
heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not
the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we
drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God
describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is
a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The
greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts.
And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but
for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an
appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable,
and almost incurable.
...

“The pleasures of this life” and “the desires for
other things”—these are not evil in themselves. These are not
vices. These are gifts of God. They are your basic meat and potatoes
and coffee and gardening and reading and decorating and
traveling and investing and TV-watching and Internet-surfing
and shopping and exercising and collecting and talking. And all
of them can become deadly substitutes for God.

***A ton of his books are available for free download on his website: I like free!***

Almost Done, But Not

Three and a half days to go of second year and finals are in full swing. Last week we did full mouth extractions on my removable pt and today I will hopefully remove sutures. Impressions this summer and he should have teeth by the fall. A long time to go without teeth, I know.

This will be my first real break in a long time. Spring break doesn't count and wasn't long enough. I'm really looking forward to this time to do some re-centering. Re-focusing. Re-evaluating. Some real mission-statment making kind of stuff like I used to take my senior Bible study girls through before they went off to college. Every now and then you just have to take stock and it's been a while for me. The way some things have gone lately has made that painfully obvious and it's about time this is done. I mean spiritually, I mean physically, I mean dentally. Especially before I really kick it up a notch and throw a bunch of patients in the mix. It's only gonna get crazier...

Dentures, Anyone?

Technically, I've already had 3 patients. I cleaned Erik's teeth, another gentleman's teeth, and did a full mouth series for a young man. Unlike these patients, the patient I saw on Monday is in it for the long haul. Ok, maybe Erik is, too. But anyway, making dentures (the BCD way) is quite a process. I found a 3rd year gunner to do extractions for me. I'll get to do the local anesthesia, so that will fulfill a requirement for me : ) He'll get 27 extractions. After quite a bit of healing (approx. 4 weeks), I'll do preliminary impressions, final impressions, and get to work on a wax try-in. This will all start this summer. I would love to get him his dentures before the summer is over, but we'll see.

I was assigned to a very nice Dr. in removable. The only problem, is that if you don't ask him questions, he assumes you know what you're doing, unlike most Drs. who assume you know nothing (because we don't) and talk your ear off while you desperately try to remember what they are saying. So, since we rushed through our consult on Monday, I had to go back and pick his brain a little bit today after discussing my case with some 3rd years. He's a really nice guy and really has a lot to teach me, I'm just going to have to be on my toes on this one.

So, tomorrow, I hope to schedule a chair in the Oral Surgery clinic for my patient : )

Busy

We're just doing all kinds of stuff, right now. These pictures are from fixed lab where we took impressions of each other and face-bowed each other...again. Alex (sits to my right) and I are pro-partners, now. We've also done extra-oral and intra-oral exams on each other, cleaned each others' teeth, and spent countless hours helping each other in lab. He's a good friend, and a good lab buddy.

He was kinda shocked when he discovered that we weren't acutally going to be automatic partners for our local anesthesia injections. Sorry, Alex! Didn't mean to throw you for a loop! Jennifer (sits to my left) had coralled me last semester and asked me to pair up with her because she had a horrible experience when she got injections at NYU Dental School. She figured since I had at least done them before in Mexico, surely she had a better chance at getting by without a huge bruise on her face!

No pictures of the injections, but it went very well. Four blocks and a maxillary infiltration. I was crazy numb and sore that night and the next day. After we get one more lower block checked off, we will be authorized to perform injections at BCD. Crazy. A few days earlier we did nitrous (laughing gas) administrations, which was fun. A little like going to the bar with your friends, only you're all laying down in dental chairs with funny masks on your noses.

I got my 1st patient-that-counts' name today. We'll call him Wayne. John Wayne. : ) Extractions and full over full denture. I can't wait to look at his chart and study up for the big day on Monday. But first, yet another test to study for. Blah.

Firsts

Upon returning to school after spring break, I will be encountering a lot of firsts. First denture patient, first nitrous oxide administration, first injections (okay, maybe I did some in Mexico), and first diagnosis appointments. Here we go! Summer clinic will bring even more, but it's time to ramp up, get lots of good advice, and think about how I want this to go (I'm sure I'll look back on this and laugh hysterically).

We had a lunch and learn with the upperclassmen last week to get advice on how to make the experience of entering clinic as smooth as possible. I took good notes (literally typed it up) and I'm planning on running through it and making a sort of action plan. At this point, my general goal is to treat my clinic years as if I'm starting up a practice. I'll bring in lots of call patients (friends, family, friends of friends, friends of family, friends of friends of friends, you get the idea) and count what they throw my way as icing on the cake. I'll micro-manage my appointments, and work to avoid having paperwork and labwork preclude me from chair time. Can it be that different from a cake business? ; )

At this point, I feel like I'm ramping up. I don't want to over do it and make things harder on myself than they have to be, but I want the experience to be better than it has worked out for some 3rd years so far this year.

And spring break? A lot of the moving is done, still bits and pieces to do. LOTS of house finishing before unpacking. And some serious quilting is in my future. And a birthday cake. Maybe two.

I Got a Star

(a moment to brag - it doesn't happen very often in dental school)

A la elementary school, Dr. Miller, our fixed prosthodontics prof (crowns, bridges, etc), will give stars when he signs off what he considers "excellent" work. He literally draws a star in pencil next to his initials.

It's a pretty big deal.

I've only received one other star for my fabulous margin outlining in red pencil on my waxing dies. Such talent! We switch professors for each project and have been working with him for a few weeks now. Today, we did an exercise where we repaired a central incisor with composite using teeth that more closely simulate real teeth because they have a dentin colored core and an enamel colored shell. Not really fixed prosth, but that's ok. The real challenge was to reproduce the exact shade of the tooth and shape and polish it so that no one can tell that you knocked half of your front tooth out.

Yeah, I got a star : )

My Baby Girl is Losing a Tooth

Erik and I took Roxy and Reagan to the vet this evening only to discover that my baby girl Roxy broke one of her maxillary canines. Her canine! I'm so sad. So now we're getting her scheduled for an extraction. The vet was all excited to show me her dental setup when she found out I was in dental school. It was hard to be too interested knowing that Roxy will have a toofless cat smile.

Erik asked me if we could replace the tooth or do endo. I figure a cat partial will go over about as well as cat clothing.

All in White

On a positive note, we had our white coat ceremony last Friday. It's our "welcome" into the profession as we enter clinic - well, soon, at least. We said our dental version of the Hippocratic Oath, awkwardly had a coat put on us and then my family went to dinner. Big deal? I guess so. I'm sure one day I'll look back fondly. Ready to get this over with? Yes. Most definitely yes. 2.25 years-ish to go.

Right now, I'm pretty caught up with all my projects, so that feels good. I like fixed. I seem to be good at crown and bridge preps. I'm getting faster at operative. I've been paranoid because there are so many people faster than me. I talked to one in particular today, and found out that she's not using indirect vision (looking in her mouth mirror and working "backwards") so she'll get done faster. I try to use indirect vision as much as I can to save my back and get used to it because it's hard. So now I feel better. I'll get fast and I'll be doing it the right way. Endo? Well, for me, it's stressful, but it's not that bad. I kind of like doing root canals. It's methodical and so far, hard to screw it up. Pedo, let's just say it's nice to learn how to do practical things like ID caries on a radiograph or visual inspection (especially since we've already taken a class in radiology). Ortho is a bore, but I'm making an appliace that might be capable of fixing my central incisor that sticks out - if I make it right : )

Starting in the summer, if you want to come see me at the school, let me know! Even if it's just a cleaning. It's not free, but it's cheap ; )

Burned Out

I need Spring Break tomorrow. Well, maybe I mean Monday. I really just need the Lord to lift me up and carry me out of this hole of dental school and let me see His purpose anew because I have very little left and all they do is ask for more of me every day.

25 Things: I'll do it, but I'm not tagging anyone

1. I generally straight up delete forwards.
2. I hate trying on dresses when I'm wearing socks.
3. I watch an episode of Gilmore Girls everyday even though I've seen the entire series at least 3 times.
4. I have 3 blogs which I consistently update. One on dental school, one on quilting, one on the house.
5. I used to practice Yang Style Tai Chi - the long form. I miss it.
6. I "met" Erik on a "blind" date after I said yes to him thinking he was a different Erik.
7. I feel like I end up in the middle of random emergencies all the time: at least 4 seizures, girl run over by car, elderly neighbor falling out of bed. Why me?
8. I'm allergic to cats, dogs, shellfish, and pine. And maybe down...
9. My wardrobe is mainly brown, black, gray, and blue. I'm working on it.
10. I can play a lot of musical instruments. Mainly piano.
11. I find it really hard to get rid of things.
12. I'm really bad at talking on the phone and keeping up with friends long distance.
13. I usually end up crying when I try to play golf.
14. I really enjoy a good cup of tea.
15. I'm an Audrey Hepburn fan. I have a VHS with Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany's, How to Steal a Million and Charade on it which I have watched a million times. Especially while studying for tests and writing term papers.
16. I love to travel, but according to Erik, I complain most of the time.
17. I think it's fair to say that I never officially played any sport growing up. Ok, t-ball for like one season.
18. I really liked teaching high school but find it hard to believe that all of my students are adults now. With kids and stuff.
19. Don't talk to me in the morning before I have my coffee. You have been warned.
20. My feet get cold easily.
21. My room is a MESS. All the time. This kind of translates to "house" when I'm not living with my parents.
22. I wish I could wear a formal gown every day. Either that or pajamas.
23. I'm a night owl.
24. I'm a pretty big James Taylor fan.
25. I can't believe I thought of this many things. I'm now going to bed. Later than I planned, as usual.

Gloomy Day

This is the kind of day I woke up to. Rain is never a good thing for a commute into downtown. But it wasn't that bad. Plenty of time to grab a zucchini bread (mmm!) and coffee (hallelujah!) before class.


Got to class, dropped my zucchini bread on the floor with one bite taken out of it. One bite. Well, at least I still had my coffee. That's all that really matters, anyway.

Good news, though...no patients in perio today, just simulated surgery. I wasn't in the mood for a patient, today. Especially after dropping my breakfast on the ground.

Then endo (not bad), organized my extracted teeth (can't beat organization), only had 30 minutes to study for "pop" quiz in fixed. But it turns out I'm a "good guesser". Not too bad.

Ok, so middle of fixed class, Derek gets a text...scores are here. Apparently I was in a batch that didn't get sent out until last week. So as soon as perio was over...

The horrible walk to the mailbox.

That stupid envelope HAD to be the one sitting right on top.

All I did was look for the word "PASS"

Then it was off to the house after making a few phone calls and texts.

Only after stopping for a small little celebratory treat. (The real celebration will come Friday night: good food, free margaritas, and some Wii to top it off)

This whole process has really made me seek God's peace that passes understanding. Peace that no matter what the outcome of this crazy test was, it would all work out. It was not fun, my break didn't exist, my Christmas was maybe not ruined, but definitely 2nd priority, and I'm so glad it was not a waste.

Ok, ok - fine.

I have a test next week, so it looks like my studying hiatus will soon be over. Ideally, I will get my scores tomorrow or Saturday, find out I passed, celebrate, and then succumb to dental school again. Ideally. If not, well, I'll have to succumb anyway, but I like the way the first scenario turned out.

My Day Off

Will be spent:
sleeping in...
having a long breakfast with a cup of coffe some homemade sweet rolls and Sunday's ads...
quilting, quilting, quilting and watching movies while I do it...
finishing up some long awaited Christmas gifts (really late)...
and NOT looking for mirrors for the house.

I might even organize all my new course materials and maybe even read some of it.

And We're Back

The first week of school has come and gone. The inevitable "boards talk" is inescapable, but the first day was the worst and it's continually fading. I'll probably get my scores next week and I'm occasionally terrifed but mostly don't think about it. Which is good.

It's been a bit strange coming back since we're in the middle of our two biggest classes, so it's kinda like we never left. We got our dentures back in removable, and I'm still working on my bridge in fixed. We actually have a rotation which is basically operative (along with actually using universal precautions and rubber dams and talking to our patient (Mr. Ty Podont) and going over med history and treatment plans with our professors). It also includes doing an entire procedure start to finish in 3 hours. I know that sounds like a long time, but that's how we start out and gradually get faster. Then you graduate and have to face the reality of 1 hr appointments...if that. We started pedodontics (that's kiddos) and I really love the way they format the class. Instead of sitting through lectures, we are in small groups that rotate through instructors where we have hands-on, face-to-face, can't hide in the corner sessions where we are accountable for information and it's amazing how much better you learn : ) We started orthodontics, too, where we bent wire for 3 hours and I pierced myself with the thin gauge at least 3 times, drawing blood. But it's a way laid back class with music piped into the sim lab and no practicals. Endo is kinda scary. Right now that's just based on rumors which the course director has tried hard to dismiss. But we all know how things really work in dental school.

I haven't read or studied for anything yet. I haven't finished organizing binders and syllabi, either.

The hardest part has been getting up in the morning. It's really super hard. I've been staying up until Erik gets home from the house because it's kinda nice to spend some amount of time with my husband each day, but I can't go to sleep at midnight every night and expect to be useful in the morning.

Be Prepared

Tomorrow is my last day of study before I take it. I have never felt so unprepared for anything in my life. At least going into the Grand Canyon was sublime ignorance. This, I know, could be really bad.

I also do not like the approach of "I just want to pass." Granted, it's all I need. But you see, I usually go into something with the attitude of "let's try to ace this". That way, when I don't quite do that, I at least make an A or B...usually. What happens when you go with "just want to pass" and you have no where else to go...except not pass? I don't like it.

Of course there's always the "microbiology approach" which is - don't study and let's just see what happens. That was a God thing if I ever saw one....

I have about 1/4 of the Kaplan book left and that is depressing. I've done most of the 1996 released exam and feel...ok. I do absolutely have to do the dental anatomy section before all is said and done.

Then comes the waiting for scores. I'm going to pass, right? I mean, really... Right? I'm so unprepared for this.

Please, Lord, let this be the coming to life of Your power made perfect in weakness. Because I am seriously weak right now and will need a lot of Your power come Saturday morning.