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.