The Long and Winding Road

Workin' 9 to 5

2011-11-25T20:19:00.001-08:00

Well, after all of the hullabaloo of graduation, it was time to start looking for work. I knew being obviously pregnant, it would be pretty difficult to find anything, much less something ideal. I emailed Ms. Bartlett at the school to see if there was any volunteer work I could do in the mean time to keep my skills up, and she told me she knew about a dentist who was swamped and could use some help...I might even get paid! She called him and presented the idea to him and emailed me back. Turned out it was Dr. Stuart she was talking about. Since we had been in the same Great Expectations mentoring group for 2 years and I worked with him during Dentistry with a Heart, it was a no brainer for both of us. It was an answer to prayer for both of us! We both knew God had arranged this at just the right time.

He had to spend a lot of time out of town because he was president-elect of the TDA and it turned out that his dad's health was failing and he needed to be with him and his family. I started filling in for him, seeing mostly filling and emergency patients, but that means root canals and extractions. It was hard at first to get back in the swing of things and build up confidence, but the staff is great and willing to work with a fresh-from-dental-school dentist. I also had some down time to prepare for baby, go to doctor appointments and rest before my due date.

After 6 weeks at home with Audrey, I went back to work for a full week and I've been going in a few days here and there as he needs and will do so for the rest of the year. We ended up working out a plan for me to work on Thursdays and Fridays along with any other days he needs starting in January. I'm really excited to continue working there and so glad I don't have to find another job to support my dental school loans ; )

So, I'm officially working as a general dentist in Sunnyvale, Texas and looking forward to taking some good continuing education courses. The Southwest Dental Conference is in January, and I'm all signed up to learn some oral surgery, endo, and treatment for snoring and sleep apnea using an oral appliance. I'm also super excited to see friends as it will be kind of a little reunion. I also need to get trained for Invisalign.

So much to learn!

End of the Road

2011-07-07T08:55:00.001-07:00

I didn't post at all between January and gradauation in May and for good reason: I had no time. It was a sprint to the finish that turned into pleading for permission to cross the finish line. Getting cleared for graduation was like pulling teeth, but I made it and it's all over.

I ended up doing 39 crowns, no bridges (I know, right?), 115+ fillings, and 8 units of removable with my one crazy 9th case getting passed off to a 3rd year because it didn't seat 3 times. Perio was a nightmare where they let me SCRP all four quads in one appointment and the patient cancelled their reeval appointment. I still got credit. They made me come back to seat two crowns the week before graduation, one of which did not seat all the way (are you kidding me?), so she got finished up this summer. It was pretty much a worse-case-scenario kind of finish. But I finished.

WREB is a whole other story. I record it here for posterity, but I really don't think I'll ever forget it. My operative patient had an MO on #31 and a DO on #29. Perfect, right? Same quad, could do both at the same time. Only problem was that Megan had done a DO on #31 so I wouldn't have to worry about it a few months earlier for her progress exam. So all I had to do was take an x-ray before I sent him for approval so they could see the tooth as it existed. So I had a folder of the images for #31 and another folder for #29. Keep in mind that you can see both teeth in all the images, and I only updated the images in folder #31 because that's the one that mattered.

So I sent him for approval and he was approved. I removed all the decay and he came back from grading with no pink slips, ready to restore. I restored and sent him for final grading and he was down there for an hour and a half. What was taking so long? He came back with two pink slips: I had apparently prepped and restored the wrong tooth surface and my filling on the distal of #31 was unacceptable. What?!?! The head floor examiner calmly came over to ask for an explanation. Once he told me what the problem was, I knew exactly what had happened: they had not looked at the xray I took that morning. I showed it to him, he was satisfied and went to explain everything to the graders. They had not even bothered to open my #31 folder since they could see it in the #29 folder! I handled myself very well (I think I had used up all my tears a few days before WREB in the clinic) and it was so amazing to have Erik there during all of it. They regraded him and there were no issues. He had lost a marginal ridge on the DO on #31 that Megan had done so that needed to be fixed by her but that was it. Everything else went well. Hallelujah.

I started this post a long time ago, but since then I've been busy working part time for Dr. Stuart, getting ready for baby and then taking care of Miss Audrey. It's good to finally close out this diary of dental school!

Dr. Abby Mann, DDS

I'll Drive Downtown Everyday for Four More Months, But That's It.

2011-01-09T16:34:00.000-08:00

It snowed today and I'm supposed to go back to school tomorrow.
All I really want to do is watch movies on the couch for the rest of my life.
Not really.
That's why I have to go back to school tomorrow.
It's my last semester.
I started to read over my WREB candidate guide (trying to be responsible) and when I got to the operative section, I really just wanted to throw up.
But it's my license, so I kinda have to pass it.
Then I have to find a job.

Pedo is Neato

2010-12-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

I finished up my pediatric rotation this week and basically got confirmation that my stainless steel crown counts and I'm done. I completed another case, and apparently doing the rotation counts as a completed case, so there's no way they can say I'm not finished. One more set of requirements down!

I was assigned another perio patient, so there is hope : ) And I'll start another crown tomorrow. It's something. Then I don't have to see patients until mid January : )

* 1/2 oral surgery progress exams
* 0/2 perio progress exams
* 3/5 root canals
* 6.5/9 removable units
* 1/2 partials
* 2/4 perio cases, plus 1/2 starts
* 1/2 community service credits
* 20/50 crowns - 9 in progress, one ready to cast, one at the lab
* 74/99 filllings
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Oral surgery extractions complete! (105/100)
Nitrous oxide sedations complete!
Molar endo complete!
Stainless steel crown complete!
Removable proficiency exam complete!
Pedo requirements complete!

At least the whole pulling teeth part seems pretty successful...

2010-12-02T17:13:00.000-08:00

While on oral surgery rotation, I decided to make it as productive as possible and finish my oral surgery minimum requirement of 100 extractions (150 for an "A") and my "student choice" progress exam. I have to do one more "instructor choice" progress exam and I'm D.O.N.E. with oral surgery as far as my graduation is concerned.

Speaking of graduation, we got a notice in our boxes that we will be doing cap and gown sizing as soon as we come back from the Christmas break. Might be a little early to do that, huh?

* 1/2 oral surgery progress exams
* 0/2 perio progress exams
* 3/5 root canals
* 6.5/9 removable units
* 1/2 partials
* 2/4 perio cases, plus 1/2 starts
* 3/4 completed pediatric cases
* 1/2 community service credits
* 20/50 crowns - 8 in progress, one ready to cast
* 74/99 filllings
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Oral surgery extractions complete! (104/100)
Nitrous oxide sedations complete!
Molar endo complete!
Stainless steel crown complete!
Removable proficiency exam complete!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-21T13:32:00.000-08:00

Mr. Angry Tooth and I will be sleeping in, quilting and studying for boards this week. 179 days.

* 3/5 root canals

* 6.5/9 removable units
* 1/2 partials
* 2/4 perio cases, plus 1/2 starts
* 93/100 extractions, I really just need to do my progress exams and call it done after rotation in December
* 3/4 completed pediatric cases
* 1/2 community service credits
* 20/50 crowns - 8 in progress, one ready to wax
* 74/99 filllings

2010-11-18T16:21:00.000-08:00

* 3/5 root canals
* 6.5/9 removable units
* 1/2 partials
* 2/4 perio cases, plus 1/2 starts
* 92/100 extractions, I really just need to do my progress exams and call it done after rotation in December
* 3/4 completed pediatric cases
* 1/2 community service credits
* 20/50 crowns - 8 in progress, 2 to be seated tomorrow, will wax one soon
* 74/99 filllings

Ending the Beginning of the End

2010-11-15T20:17:00.000-08:00

This is my last full week of patients this semester. Then I go on rotation *a much needed break* and see a handfull of patients right before the Christmas break to seat a few crowns, do a few fillings, and prophy with the best of them.

School is Beating the Life out of Me.

2010-11-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

* 3/5 root canals
* 6.5/9 removable units
* 1/2 partials
* 2/4 perio cases, plus 1/2 starts
* 92/100 extractions, I really just need to do my progress exams and call it done after rotation in December
* 3/4 completed pediatric cases
* 1/2 community service credits
* 19/50 crowns - 9 in progress, 2 back from the lab, will cast one tomorrow to seat on Monday
* 69/99 filllings - I've done a lot of fillings lately, but apparently didn't know how to read the record on Axium, hence the big jump!

The Final Numbers are In

2010-11-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

My numbers are 50 crowns and 99 fillings. Really? 99? We couldn't just make it the full 100? And we'll see just how close to that 50 crowns I can get. This basically means I will be working my tail off until the porcelain deadline. My entire tail. It will all be gone.

* 3/5 root canals
* 6.5/9 removable units
* 1/2 partials
* 2/4 perio cases, plus 1/2 starts
* 92/100 extractions, I really just need to do my progress exams and call it done
* 3/4 completed pediatric cases
* 1/2 community service credits
* 18/50 crowns - 10 in progress, 4 back from the lab, waxing one up right now
* 57/99 filllings

Onward and Upward. Or Something Like That.

2010-10-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

For a week where I only saw 2 patients, a crown, 2 fillings and 2 extractions is pretty good, right?
This week: a denture reline, crown lengthening surgery, 2 completed cases (Please, Lord!), a completed denture proficiency exam, and maybe more. I might be at 6.5 removable units by the end of the week. Crazy. I may even start a new partial on Wednesday.

* 3/5 root canals
* 5/9 removable units, 1 in progress
* 1/2 partials, 0 in progress
* 2/4 perio cases, plus 1/2 starts
* 92/100 extractions, I really just need to do my progress exams and call it done
* 3/4 completed pediatric cases
* 1/2 community service credits
* 17/40ish crowns - 10 in progress, 4 back from the lab, two at the lab as I type
* 57/100ish fillings

Because Every Crown Seated is Worth Writing About

2010-10-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

But this one was a long time coming. I took off the old crown sometime around April. I impressed in May, I think. 1st attempt to seat in June. 2nd attempt to seat post re-tx endo in August? Something like that. Re-impressed about 3 weeks ago. Seated 10.12.10. Hallelujah. My patient agrees.

Requirements Completed

* 3/5 root canals
* 5/9 removable units, 1 in progress
* 1/2 partials, 0 in progress
* 2/4 perio cases, plus 1/2 starts
* 91/100 extractions
* 3/4 completed pediatric cases
* 1/2 community service credits
* 15.5/40ish crowns - 8 in progress, 6 at the lab as I type
57/100ish fillings

Bleh

2010-10-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

I have my first WREB-type progress exam tomorrow and I'm trying to put off thinking about it for as long as possible. I'm also hoping to seat another gold crown on Wednesday. I've got to get where doing crowns this year is like doing fillings. Quick, easy, often. I'm booking them as fast as I can. I have a new root canal patient that I hope will work out better than the last two. I seriously need perio. Seriously. I finished Nanna's partial, I'm just waiting on lower posterior teeth to come in so I can finish up my F/F proficiency, and I have 2 other partials that just need survey crowns seated to get started. I should also finish my 3rd and possibly last pedo case this week.

I had my phasing conference, and I'm not sure what my numbers are yet. I'm not really sure that it meant a whole lot in the long run, except there's a list of treatment I don't have to do because those patients are unreliable or need entirely too much for me to finish in time. I guess that's a start.

Next up on my plate: part II of boards.

Requirements Completed

* 3/5 root canals
* 5/9 removable units, 1 in progress
* 1/2 partials, 0 in progress
* 2/4 perio cases, plus 1/2 starts
* 91/100 extractions
* 2/4 completed pediatric cases
* 1/2 community service credits
* 14.5/40ish crowns - 8 in progress
* 57/100ish fillings

Because A Good Day is Hard to Come By Lately

2010-09-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

A completed pedo case officially gets its own post. I'm delivering a partial tomorrow. Get excited!

Requirements Completed

* A ridiculous number of patients
* 3/5 root canals
* 4/9 removable units, 2 in progress
* 0/2 partials, 1 in progress
* 2/4 perio cases
* 84/100 extractions
* 2/4 completed pediatric cases
* 1/2 community service credits
* 13.5/50ish crowns - 8 in progress
* 57/100ish fillings

What I Never Really Have to Do Again If I Don't Want To

* pre-prosth
* stainless steel crown
* molar endo
* nitrous credits

Back on the Wagon

2010-09-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

Since I took my blog off Facebook, Rudy can't whine about my requirements posts, so I'll start again. It's nice to see how it all evolves throughout the year. I seated 3 crowns today so that was kinda huge for me.

* A ridiculous number of patients

* 3/5 root canals
* 4/9 removable units, 2 in progress
* 0/2 partials, 1 in progress
* 2/4 perio cases
* 84/100 extractions
* 1/4 completed pediatric cases
* 1/2 community service credits
* 13.5/50ish crowns - 6 in progress
* 57/100ish fillings

Besides, what else do I have to post about? I sure could do an awful lot of whining on this here blog, but who wants to hear that...besides, who really reads this anyway?

I Don't Know...

2010-08-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

...what the group of interviewers thought of this when they toured through the lab today, but there you have it. And we've only just begun...

OK, Fine.

2010-08-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

I'll actually post about the first week back this fall.

It wasn't great. It wasn't horrible. It was school. BCD clinic in all it's glory. 9 months to go.

How has this week as a fourth year been any different than a third year? I think if anything, I was given more opportunity to be the one thinking like a clinician. In third year, you present your patient for diagnosis with what you think, and the professor tells you what they think. You see how you disagree and learn from it. Then you repeat with consults in every area (root canals, fillings, crowns, etc). Once you have the final plan, you just do it. They check every little step and intervene when things get hairy. This week, there was a lot more consulting away from chairside. This means that your story was all the professor got before they gave you advice. No professor looking in the mouth, no professor seeing with their eyes what you were describing. I had to take the advice and run with it. One day, all of it led to pulling a tooth. Today, it all led to saving the day and seating an impossible-to-seat crown. The crazy part was that each time, I figured out exactly what was going on in a crazy situation and made what turned out to be the right call all on my own before having it confirmed by a professor.

They have to kick you out of the nest sometime. And then one day, I'll have to pick up a phone if I need one of those consults.

I'm a Fourth Year.

2010-06-07T19:12:00.000-07:00

They've always been a revered group. So smart. So skilled. So grown-up. I watched a group of my classmates casually chatting down in the cafeteria this morning as I paid for my coffee on our first day of summer clinic and realized that they were a group of "fourth years". So. Cool. And I'm apparently one of them.

We spent a good 3 hours this morning going over the D4 manual which I had actually already read because it is only 1/10th the size of the D3 manual. (I didn't fully read the D3 comp care manual until about 1/2 way through when I panicked a bit about finishing and decided I should know the rules in and out regardless of the size of that monster.)

We (and by "we", I mean my group) also found out who our group leader is this year. We were left in the dark all break while our classmates blissfully enjoyed their time off knowing who their leaders were. I was left in terror - literal terror - after a well-meant warning from an unnamed faculty member. I mean some of the people at the school really are scary - make you crawl in a hole and cry kinda scary. I couldn't imagine spending a year with one of the scary ones. That terror was completely unnecessary but always a good lesson of just how much I really trust God, and shouldn't fear anything in this world. Lesson learned for now, right? Thankfully, after crying, praying, and allowing my body to return to some state of normality, I regained my sanity and could peacefully enjoy my break. I think it will be a great year.

After Tuesday, I spent the rest of finals week quilting, going to the gym, buying fabric, spending way too much money at Target, swimming at the community pool with Erik, and going to the concert by the lake. The first full week off, I spent at two different dentists' offices for a preceptorship (i.e. class credit). My first 3 days were ultimately boring and miserable. I didn't jive with the dentist, his office was way too intense and overbearing, and when I left my lunch bag in the fridge at the end of the 3rd day, I didn't want to go back and get it.

The next day and the following Tuesday (after Memorial Day), I was at an office just down the road and it was night and day. Laid back but productive, totally got along with the dentist, and left with the possible hope of spending some time there after graduation. But there's a lot to do between now and then - we'll see what the Lord has for us.

My 2nd full week off was too short, but Erik and I finished it with a trip to Granbury counting dentist offices, going to a drive-in movie (Shrek!), drinking a little Texas wine, and spending an afternoon at a sandy beach on Lake Granbury.

We hit the ground running on Wednesday in clinic. I've already been doing lab work. I'm going to be busy fast! Got to finish up everyone's work!
---------------------------------------------------
A ridiculous number of patients whose treatment needs to be completed
2/5 root canals, molar complete
4/9 removable units
0/2 partials
2/4 perio cases
50/100 oral surgery procedures
4/6 nitrous credits
4/6 pre-prosth credits
0/4 completed pediatric cases
0/2 community service credits

Just to Clarify

2010-05-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

Several good friends have expressed concern for me after my last post. Let me explain:

I'm not really in the pit of despair. I do this a lot. I finish doing something really exhausting and then have nothing to do but think about how crazy it was. Then I get all emotional about God's faithfulness and provision for me and the tiredness just completes it all to make me an emotional wreck. I also cite my first 10K where I cried at the finish line and my breakdown after finishing organic at UT. Same deal. Lots of hard work all over at once = breakdown. And crying seems to be my m.o. when it comes to emotional release.

This reaction was completely uncharacteristic after D1. I think I was still in shock. That can be the only explanation.

I looked back at the end of second year and found nothing. Nothing. I think that's because there was no break. It just flowed right on into 3rd year without a minute to catch my breath. No wonder this one was so pronounced.

I'm a little worried about what will happen when I walk across the stage at graduation next year. If I see my mom before hand, it's game over. She'll already be crying, and if anybody else is crying, I'm along for the ride. If not, I'm sure the sobbing will start as we all sit there in anticipation. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll need to tuck a large box of Kleenex under my chair before the ceremony starts. The long rectangular one, not the cube, and definitely not the purse size.

Now, don't get me wrong - I do have a huge climb ahead of me. Maybe bigger than I know. We'll see how that one goes. I'll have to tell the story of getting out of the Grand Canyon here sometime. It's pretty funny. Oh, that pita bread!

Veni, Vidi, Vivo

2010-05-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

So third year came and went and yesterday I had my "bottom of the Grand Canyon moment". I'm still getting used to the feeling. If you weren't there at the bottom of the canyon with me that day wearing a 30 pound pack full of tents and sleeping bags and pita bread, let me fill you in. Our senior year at A&M, Erik and I, along with 8 other friends went to the Grand Canyon for Spring Break. We liked to camp every break, and senior year meant we had to do something big. I was in pretty decent shape, but I had no idea what was ahead of me. Oh, how closely this story parallels my third year of dental school! (Just you wait, second years! You have NO idea.)

The first night we camped on the rim in the snow and ice - I don't do cold, just so you know. I woke up with my sleeping bag incased in a thin layer of ice. ICE! I immediately ran to the car and turned it on, praying that the heater would heat up faster. It didn't.

We packed up our backpacks and even had a scale so we could distribute our provisions as evenly as possible. We had a lot since we planned to camp at the bottom 3 days or so. Full of adrenaline and naivety we started down the teeny, tiny narrow path. We did know a few things: we knew that it was a long downhill hike, that we had to navigate the mule droppings and other visitors as we made our way down, and that if you get into trouble (i.e. fall off the side), no one will come to get you. They're sure to let you know that when you sign up. What we didn't know, was that, just as there was snow and ice on the rim, there was also snow and ice a good ways down at the top of the path. Remember that part about falling of the side? Yeah. Since we, in our ignorance, did not have ice picks on our shoes to help us down the treacherous areas, we chose to sit on our bums with our big backpacks on our backs and scoot down the icy patches until we reached solid ground again. Nerves = on edge.

Now, you may be thinking, "Going down can't be that bad. At least you're not climbing up." Oh, contraire. It was terrible. My pack was just weighing me down. My legs started shaking about half-way down. Visibly. I was constantly hydrating and eating as much trail mix as I could to get some salt and sugar in my body. I'd recover and keep going, only having to stop and rest again. And the worst part of it was the mental game. See, with every step down, there was a step UP in my future. How in the hell was I going to get out of here? Are you kidding me? Can they just send a helicopter and lift me out? Can I build a raft and float down the Colorado river to Mexico and fly back to Texas? On we went. Down into the beautiful canyon.

My legs were rubber. Mush. I got to the campground area at the bottom, took off my pack, sat down on a bench and cried. I was spent. I gave everything and I was stuck down there. I could not walk anymore. I got a hold of myself, but as I did, the overwhelming dread of the hike up began to creep in. I was not in a good mood. Believe it or not, there was a pay phone (remember those?) not far from the cabins (not where we were staying). I called my mommy. I did. I told her I was at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and I asked her to get me out of there. That didn't work. This was my reality.

My friend let us know that the site where we would make camp was further down the trail at the bottom. Like 2 more miles or something ridiculous like that. As unbelievable as that news was, I put my pack back on, and mustered up whatever was miraculously left and followed along. We made camp, ate dinner and I slept. The next few days I didn't want to move. Yet another obstacle to getting out of the hole.

The recovery process at the bottom was two-fold: fight the anger and fear about the climb up and make my muscles work again so I could physically do it. I spent time alone walking the river bed, spending time with God, and taking pictures of His creation around me trying to psych myself up and rest my spirit. I went on little day hikes with my friends to stretch my muscles and make my body do something with all the lactic acid buildup - lots of stretching. Gradually, things got better, and then the big day came.

So here I am. I just got to the bottom of this hell-hole and I have 2.5 weeks to get ready for the climb up. After taking 3 more finals next week, that is. Before dental school, I'd tell people that hiking the Grand Canyon was the hardest thing I've ever done. That is not the case anymore.

I did get out of there alive, in case you were wondering.

****************************************************

Fixed: 6/13 - #7 is back from the lab and my patient didn't show up, #8 is impressed and I'm going to pour it up and pindex it if I like it and #9 is mostly cut

------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status:

Fixed: 1 done/1 in progress/2
DONE - Perio, Operative, Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable
------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Stainless steel crown in pedo...check.
Finished with Operative!
Finished with ENDO! (2/5 to graduate, molar complete)
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 2 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (4/9 to graduate, 2 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (4/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (50/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate)
Finished with DAU! (forever)
All assisting is complete!

Yeah, I like pedo, but not enough to stay in school any longer...yeesh.

2010-05-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

Spent the last week in the pediatric clinic. This time around, on 3 of the afternoons, a group of us were scheduled to work at 2 community dental clinics. It was nice to have a little field trip with some fun buddies and make some new friends, too. Highlights of the week? Another filling on another permanent tooth, a nitrous assist, a lap exam for a 6.5 mo old precious little girl, and a stainless steel crown. We have to do one in pedo to graduate, so this is a nice thing to have on my progress sheet : ) I had all the good kids this week, too ; )

Back in 3rd year land, I managed to finally get my molar endo swiped, get two crowns waxed and one ready to cast, and rearrange my last Friday so I can seat a PE and take impressions on another patient so the crown can be made while we're on break. Whew!

Next week is it. It will be insane. I'll see you on the other side : )

Fixed: 4/13 - #5 mostly waxed, #6 is sent to the lab, #7 ready to cast, #8 cut and scheduled to impress and #9 mostly cut

------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status:

Fixed: 2 in progress/2
DONE - Perio, Operative, Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable
------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Stainless steel crown in pedo...check.
Finished with Operative!
Finished with ENDO! (2/5 to graduate, molar complete)
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (4/9 to graduate, 2 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (4/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate)
Finished with DAU! (forever)
All assisting is complete!

Pretty Much Done

2010-05-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

My last full week of clinic was exhausting but I got a lot done. I also had 2 cancellations, but I used my time to work on those gold crowns and get my fixed case presentations done so I can push forward as much as possible so that hopefully, they'll let me slide on by with what I have. If not, I'll spend some time during the summer as a 3rd year in fixed, but that's ok. It's not like I haven't tried or am not capable. My goal was to avoid remediating operative at all costs, and that I have done. My progress exams have graded preps and at least one of them will be seated if not both. I'd love to seat the other gold crown, but it all comes down to time. I have some moving around I can do, so we'll see. I'll finish up two rotations, a filling, a crown seating or two, maybe some work on Nanna, and something like 5 finals, and I'm done. After not much of a break, I'll come back for what will most likely be my last year of dental school. Hasn't it taken forever to get here?

Fixed: 4/13 - #5 mostly waxed, #6 is sent to the lab, #7 poured, #8 cut and not impressed and #9 mostly cut

------------------------------------------------

Progress Exam Status:

Fixed: 2 in progress/2

DONE - Perio, Operative, Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable

------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Finished with Operative!
Finished with ENDO! (2/5 to graduate, molar complete)
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (4/9 to graduate, 2 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate) (2 more planned 4/28)
Finished with DAU! (forever)
All assisting is complete!

This Week is Basically Over

2010-04-22T17:38:00.000-07:00

Instead of prepping two crowns tomorrow, I'm doing a prophy. This, my friends, is how dental school works. 6.5 days of clinic left.
*************************************
Rotations left: Pedo, OMS emergency

Fixed: 4/13 - #5 finished next Monday and I'll wax it up and cast and #6 is sent to the lab, #7 cut on Tuesday, #8 and 9 on Thursday
Operative: 46/50 (9/13 class IIs) - last 4 class IIs on the schedule plus a buildup
------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status:

Fixed: 2 in progress/2
DONE - Perio, Operative, Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable
------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Finished with ENDO! (2/5 to graduate, molar complete)
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (4/9 to graduate, 2 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate) (2 more planned 4/28)
Finished with DAU! (forever)
All assisting is complete!

I Mean, This Was a Big Day

2010-04-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

Rotations left: Pedo, OMS emergency

Fixed: 3/13 - #4 will be seated on Thursday,#7&8 will be cut on Friday, #5 finished next Monday and #6 is sent to the lab

Operative: 45/50 (8/13 class IIs) - last 5 class IIs on the schedule plus a buildup
------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status:

Fixed: 2 in progress/2
DONE - Perio, Operative, Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable
------------------------------------------------

D3 Finishes!

Finished with ENDO! (2/5 to graduate, molar complete)
Finished with DAU! (forever)
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (4/9 to graduate, 2 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)

Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)

Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate) (2 more planned 4/28)
All assisting is complete!

Schedule for the Rest of the Year (Apparently)

2010-04-19T20:05:00.000-07:00

I went to school this morning and was surprised to find that all but one of my appointments for the rest of the year are booked. So here's what I have left to do to finish up. If all goes according to plan (hehe) I'll be finished with everything but fixed and will have 11/13 crowns cut, 6 seated.

4/20 Tuesday: 10am: endo/non-vital buildup
                       1:30 pm: oral diagnosis/consults
Wednesday: 1pm prophy
                    4pm denture adjustment
Thursday: 10am class II filling
                1pm seat crown
Friday: 10am crown preps 8 and 9
            1pm ???
-----------------------------------------------------------------
4/26 Monday: 10am crown prep #28
                       1pm class II filling
Tuesday: 10am oral diagnosis/consults
               1pm crown prep #4
Wednesday: 1pm full mouth extractions/alveoloplasty
Thursday: 10am crown prep #19
                1pm non-vital buildup and crown prep #14
Friday: 10am class II filling
            1pm class II filling
--------------------------------------------------------------------
5/3 Monday: 1pm class II filling
Pedo rotation
-------------------------------------------------------------------
5/10 Oral Surgery Rotation
Friday: 10 am rest preps and impression for partial
            1pm seat crown

*********************************************************
Rotations left: Pedo, OMS emergency

Endo: 1/2 - I will finish TOMORROW!
Fixed: 3/13 - #4 will be seated on Thursday,#7&8 will be cut on Friday, #5 finished next Monday and #6 is sent to the lab
Operative: 44/50 (8/13 class IIs) - last 5 class IIs on the schedule plus two buildups
------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status:

Fixed: 2 in progress/2
DONE - Perio, Operative, Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable
------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Finished with DAU!
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (4/9 to graduate, 2 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate) (2 more planned 4/28)
All assisting is complete!

Oral Diagnosis: Wannagetfinisheditis

2010-04-15T21:21:00.000-07:00

I have a gloriously long weekend as the 4th years have WREB, the licensing exam, Fri-Mon. Yeah, get ready to get an earful about that this time next year. Speaking of exams, I did go ahead and buy a study book for National Boards Part II. I will not ruin another Christmas studying for that exam. You heard it here. I'd rather ruin summer.

On to the numbers:

Of course, none of these numbers changed after my week on oral diagnosis rotation, but my schedule has been beefed up to finish out those class IIs and get crowns in to the lab. I've done a lot of patient trading for my own needs as well as others' and it's paid off so far. Two of my last five class IIs are Rudy's pt that I've shared before and Ben's wife. Those are definitely reliable. The last 3 are, too, but a different level of reliable : ) I'll get 'em done.

Crowns, well, I'll get done what I get done. 6 cut isn't too bad, and I have 3 more on the schedule = 9. There are 2 more I've requested appointments for = 11. That's close to 13.

I'm running out of open chairs in the clinic for the few things I have left, so I'm trying to get everything booked NOW. I already lost out on next Friday, so unless I stay on top of things I may be finishing out my nitrous or maybe some pre-prosth/extractions - then I can start a "D4 Finishes" list. : )
___________________________________________________

Rotations left: Pedo (May), OMS emergency (May)

Endo: 1/2 - I will finish on Tuesday
Fixed: 3/13 - #4 will be seated on Thursday (#7&8 postponed), #5 mostly cut and #6 sent to the lab
Operative: 44/50 (8/13 class IIs) - last 5 class IIs on the schedule plus a buildup
------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status:

Fixed: 2 in progress/2
DONE - Perio, Operative, Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable
------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Finished with DAU!
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (4/9 to graduate, 2 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate) (2 more planned 4/28)
All assisting is complete!

Gittin' 'Er Done

2010-04-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

I hit it hard this week and got in 3 class IIs, 2 misc. fillings, 2 fixed PEs started, and an endo almost finished : ) Goals for next week include pindexing and die trimming VZ's crown and sending it, booking all my borrowed patients, and resting up for a crazy 2 weeks of clinic when I get back. 2 weeks and 1.5 days of clinic left for poor little ole me.

Rotations left: OD (next week), Pedo (May), OMS emergency (May)

Endo: 1/2 - I obturated 3 canals but have to redo the distal - grrr...
Fixed: 3/13 - #4 sent to the lab, #5 mostly cut and #6 prepped and impressed
Operative: 44/50 (8/13 class IIs)
------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status:

Fixed 2 in progress/2
DONE - Perio, Operative, Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable
------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!
Finished with DAU!
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (4/9 to graduate, 2 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate)
All assisting is complete!

It's All About the Numbers

2010-04-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

Let's be honest. Right now, you just can't get around it. We're desperate and cynical and the chalkboard in our lab says it all. I really just need 8 class II restorations that don't have to be pretty progress exams and finish my root canal and then I can handle whatever fixed I'll need to remediate; I will avoid operative remediation at all costs.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not blowing off any of my patients that need treatment that I don't "need" to do. I still have a denture patient with a one week recall appointment to do that's been sick, another denture patient ready to start extractions, my Nanna who's ready for her treatment, and a new patient coming in for a prophy. I'm just being very deliberate about scheduling the appointments that I need to make it to the finish line or as close to it as is humanly possible.

So, this week I'm back in clinic. Lots to do:

Monday: Fixed PE, perio rotation
Tuesday: class IIs, class III
Wednesday: no clinic
Thursday: class IIs, fixed PE
Friday: class III, finish endo (please, Lord!)

"Get your progress exams done" is the mantra from the head hancho, so that's what I'm aiming at this week. One crown is a gold survey crown that *will* be seated by the end and the other is a PFM that will most likely be seated - that one I really need to impress that day since I have OD rotation all next week and the porcelain deadline looms upon us. I would LOVE to impress both of those this week, but I don't have assistants lined up, so who knows.

Rotations left: OD (next week), Pedo (May), OMS emergency (May)
Endo: 1/2 - finish #19 on Friday????
Fixed: 3/13 - #4 sent to the lab, cut 5 and 6 this week
Operative: 39/50 (5/13 class IIs) - 3, maybe 4 class IIs this week?, 2 more class IIIs this week
------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status:

Fixed 0/2 (2 this week)
DONE - Perio, Operative, Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable
------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Finished with DAU!
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (4/9 to graduate, 2 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate)
All assisting is complete!

Don't Count Your Chickens Before The Eggs are Laid

2010-03-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

So, my potential bridge is gone, class II pt rescheduled, my second endo on a molar is crazy hard, and I lost two more crowns to fillings only. The best laid plans, right? So now I'm just on fire to get all of my class IIs done so I don't have to suffer this summer. I just haven't had the pts that need them. So I've done a little trading, and God is working a minor miracle for me by bringing my favorite patient back! The only problem is that this is all last minute and we all know that nothing in dental school is set in stone until it's swiped at the end of the treatment. Patients cancel, reschedule, get sick, treatment changes, and more pressing things arise like root canals or major surgery. I'm just going to have to do what I can. In 3 weeks....

Endo: 1/2 - WL in progress on #19 - it's really hard!

Fixed: 3/13 - #4 sent to the lab, 4 on the schedule to cut

Operative: 39/50 (5/13 class IIs)

------------------------------------------------

Progress Exam Status:

Fixed 0/2 (2 scheduled)

DONE - Perio, Operative, Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable

------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Finished with DAU!
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (4/9 to graduate, 2 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate)
All assisting is complete!

I'm on Pedo Rotation and the Fillings I do in there DON'T COUNT

2010-03-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

Just had to make that clear. I did a buildup on a pt Monday afternoon when they let us free from pedo (not sure why, but I'll take it!). Buildup means crown and she's scheduled along with her husband (#8 and 9 = two at once!). I have another #8 and 9 patient scheduled, too (I'm racking 'em up!) If you're counting, that equals 5 plus 4 = 9. That's a pass if I ever saw one. Just got to fit 2 progress exams in there and I'm not sure if I want to do them on #8 and 9. Hmmm.

Endo: 0/2 - Accessed #19 and cleaned and shaped #8
Fixed: 3/13 - prepped #4, have some leads for a bridge
Operative: 34/50 (5/13 class IIs)
------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status:

Operative - 2/3 (last is scheduled)
Perio -1/2 (last is scheduled)
Fixed 0/2 (1 scheduled)
DONE - Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable
------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Finished with DAU!
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (3/9 to graduate, 3 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate)
All assisting is complete!

Just Doing What I Can in 4 Weeks

2010-03-13T07:56:00.000-08:00

My goals for next week while I'm on pedo rotation:

* do not pulp JW's tooth (please, Lord!) and restore with buildup

* finish MT's denture and send to lab, deliver if pt cancels

* get all crown removals/remakes scheduled to bring up fixed numbers (WH, HJ, MW)

* get all class IIs scheduled and find classmates willing to share (HJ, MB?, WA)

* schedule Nanna in DAU again
* meet Ernesto's patient and get ok to do his bridge

* take impressions for MB's crown

When I get back to clinic, I have:
* My last operative progress exam
* convince JK to do a class II when he's getting a SOAP
* finish RCT on #8

* complete MW's buildups so I can do crowns (maybe both as PE's?)

* deliver denture if didn't do it during pedo
* clean and shape #19
* finish WA's consults and prophy, schedule class II

* impress #5 and send to lab

* last perio PE
* class II or take of crown with HJ

------------------------------------------------
Endo: 0/2 - Accessed #19 and cleaned and shaped #8

Fixed: 3/13 - prepped #4, have some leads for a bridge

Operative: 33/50 (5/13 class IIs)
------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status:

Operative - 2/3 (last is scheduled)

Perio -1/2 (last is scheduled)
Fixed 0/2 (1 scheduled)
DONE - Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable
------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Finished with DAU!
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (3/9 to graduate, 3 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate)
All assisting is complete!

Great is Thy Faithfulness

2010-03-09T18:03:00.000-08:00

The first two days of this week have been huge. Sunday night was miserable as I realized that the 10 weeks we have left of school was really only 5 weeks for me because I have so many rotations. You might be thinking, "Didn't you know this was coming and plan accordingly?" Well, that's true, in a way...but I've had such tunnel vision as I've plugged away on whatever I've had to do, carefully keeping track of my numbers and really just trusting that it would all work out in the end. A little irresponsible? Maybe. So I've been very methodical in my return from Spring Break, making sure that my time is being used to my benefit. This sounds selfish and not very patient-centric, but within the confines of ethical practice, I have to get done what needs to be done to move on to 4th year. It has to happen.

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

So on Sunday, despite my general feelings of hopelessness and demise, I cried out to God with the speck of faith I had left that He could really get me through this. Faith of a mustard seed, right? I realized that the phrase "oh, ye of little faith" (a category I found myself very comfortably sitting in) is always such a put down...but all it takes is a little. A mustard seed. Maybe that was just a way for Jesus to remind folks that while, yes, they were capable of having more faith than they possessed at the moment, they still had a little faith - enough for God to pull out all the stops and amaze them - at least. So despite all odds, I told God that yes, it was still possible to pass a progress exam where just about everything (except my actual work) went wrong. Yes, it is still possible for Him to provide all the right patients and situations to get my requirements taken care of. Yes, it is still possible for a tooth with a possible hopeless fracture to just need a root canal.

Monday: tooth with possible hopeless fracture is restorable and I start the root canal
Tuesday: passed progress exam - a true miracle
: get new patient who doesn't need perio and has class IIs (I need them!) and crowns (I need them!)
: get my Nanna in to fill an opening in my schedule, do 2 fillings, complete my DAU requirements, and get her appointed for my last progress exam

It's not just that things are going my way, when they haven't been in weeks past. It's not that I'm just more optimistic after some careful planning and swift execution. It's been a real kick in the pants of how little I trusted that God could do anything about my situation, so much so that I didn't even ask. Didn't even try.

Lesson learned.
______________________________________________________________

Endo: 0/2 - Accessed #19 on Monday and will start RCT on #8 tomorrow. Wow, what a blessing! All in one week! I'll keep praying that everything goes as planned and if not, that another will be provided.

Fixed: 3/13 - prepped #4, have some leads for a bridge

Operative: 31/50 - two more planned this week
------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status:
Operative - 2/3 (1 is scheduled for this month)
Perio -1/2 (second one in the works)
Fixed 0/2
DONE - Oral Surgery, Endo, Removable
------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Finished with DAU!
Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (3/9 to graduate, 3 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate)
All assisting is complete!

Spring Break and I'm Freaking Out

2010-03-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

When I get back from Spring Break, I have a ton of work to get done, and a lot of rotations that will keep me from getting it done. I'm going to have to be soooo productive during the time I have available, and have a really good attitude during the weeks when I can't see patients. I know things usually work out for people by the end of 3rd year, and I know God is in control of all this. I can't wait to see how He's going to make it happen. Wow.

I think all I did last week was a perio progress exam and a filling. Go me!

Endo: 0/2 (First NSRCT on Wednesday. I just got 2 possible RCTs assigned to me and will SOAP those Tuesday, I'm also pulping a tooth on Monday that I started last Wednesday. Yikes)

Fixed: 3/13 - prepped #4, have some leads for a bridge

Operative: 29/50

DAU: 9/10 to graduate

------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status:

Operative - 1/3 (1 is scheduled for this month)
Perio -1/2 (second one in the works)
Fixed 0/2
Oral Surgery - DONE
Endo - DONE
Removable - DONE

------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (3/9 to graduate, 3 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate)
All assisting is complete!

Week 5 - Still Alive

2010-02-19T19:37:00.000-08:00

In total this week, I did a filling, finished a perio case, delivered a denture and a flipper plus 2 more extractions. Eh, I'll take it. I actually saw 4 patients in one day (today) and did more than survive. It actually worked just fine. Huh. Next week I have an operative progress exam, I'm still working on another denture, a buildup, some consults, impressing a fixed PE, and a perio PE. Kevin has a lead on a bridge for me and I *have* to call him on Monday. I'm also screening another potential bridge patient on Thursday. I got a new patient today who has 2 possible root canals, so I pray that will pan out and I can get those off my list. I won't be able to do the other root canal my classmate gave me until after Spring Break.

In other news, I'm finding that some of my patients that I diagnosed early on in my clinic career are coming back to haunt me. Granted, I am not solely responsible for finding all the cavities and other issues - I'm still learning. I have licensed dentists checking everything I do and they've missed it, too. But it sure leaves me in a lurch and makes it hard to *esplain* it to my patients. 2 now. And they're married. Double trouble. They're both getting teeth pulled and not excited about it. Neither am I. So far I've lost 2 crowns out of it, and the wife *who was a completed case* is now back on my roll with removable - the last thing I need right now. I'm going to try to pass her off to a classmate. I can't afford any more removable.

-----------------------------------------------
Endo: 0/2 (I've been assigned a case and will do it after Spring Break. I just got 2 possible RCTs assigned to me and will SOAP those soon)

Fixed: 3/13 - prepped #4, have some leads for a bridge

Operative: 28/50 (2, maybe 3 next week - I'd love to be in the 30's by the end of the month)

DAU: 9/10 to graduate (I'm going to schedule Nanna so we can get her finished)
------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status (apparently, this is the key to moving on):

Operative - 1/3 (last 2 are scheduled for this month)
Perio -0/2 (one scheduled)
Fixed 0/2 (one in progress)
Oral Surgery - DONE
Endo - DONE
Removable - DONE
------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Finished with Perio! (2/4 to graduate, 1 tx planned)
Finished with Removable! (3/9 to graduate, 3 in progress)
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (46/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate)
All assisting is complete!

Snowed Out and Week 4.4

2010-02-16T18:01:00.000-08:00

I had to wait a few days to make last week seem like anything productive. Not that this week has proved to be any better. The snow last week put a wrench in my schedule and I'm still recovering from the set-backs. Such is life.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Removable: 1.5/3 to pass (4 to get an "A") - I'm delivering a denture on Thursday and a flipper on Friday = 3

Perio: 2/4 completed cases to graduate (I'm scheduled to do a Diagnostic workup progress exam on the 26th)

Endo: 0/2 (I've been assigned a case and will take impressions - since I'm going through a crown - next Tuesday)

Fixed: 3/13 - prepped #4, have some leads for a bridge

Operative: 28/50

DAU: 9/10 to graduate

------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status (apparently, this is the key to moving on):

Operative - 1/3 (last 2 are scheduled for this month)
Perio -0/2 (one scheduled)
Fixed 0/2 (one in progress)
Oral Surgery - DONE
Endo - DONE
Removable - DONE
------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!

Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (44/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate)
All assisting is complete!

Christmas in February and Week 4

2010-02-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

Last week was very uneventful. No-showed on Monday, did my oral surgery progress exam on Tuesday, crazy patient issues on Wedensday, jaw relations on Thursday (set teeth all night long), and anterior/posterior try-in and crazy patient issues on Friday. I finished up the denture at home over the weekend and turned it in today!

I also made a visit to Dr. Gannaway's office due to all the crazy patient issues to ask - PLEAD - for another patient. Since my fixed seems to be vaporizing before my eyes and I have no bridge, I'm a little panicked. He filled me in on Friday that he earmarked a patient for me, and I got her in my box today! Answered prayer. She needs a bridge (!), some fillings (!), and might be type II perio (!). That means I need to get her through consults, in and out of perio, hop on that bridge, and get those fillings done - all before April. I hope she's good! I'll keep plugging away as if she's not, but pray that she is : ) Early (late?) Christmas!

----------------------------------------------------------
Removable: 1.5/3 to pass (4 to get an "A") - turned in denture #2 to the lab today and started Nanna's flipper = 3

Perio: 2/4 diagnostic workups, 8/16 quads SCRP, 1/4 re-evals to graduate (I've arranged to share a pt to get my progress exams done)

Endo: 0/2 (I have one promised for February, but I need another!)

Fixed: 3/13

Operative: 27/50

DAU: 9/10 to graduate
------------------------------------------------
Progress Exam Status (apparently, this is the key to moving on):
Operative - 1/3 (last 2 are scheduled for this month)
Perio -0/2
Fixed 0/2 (one is scheduled for this month)
Oral Surgery - DONE
Endo - DONE
Removable - DONE
------------------------------------------------
D3 Finishes!
Finished with Nitrous! (3/6 nitrous to graduate)
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions! (40ish/100 ext to graduate)
Finished with Pre-Prosth! (4/6 preprosth cases to graduate)
All assisting is complete!

Week 3

2010-02-01T16:27:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to start a new denture today, but my patient cancelled...again. I seated a crown last week and did 3 fillings. Things are really slow and it's kind of depressing. I've lost all my bridges and even the crowns are starting to look grim. Ah, but the Lord will provide. The Lord will provide. The Lord will provide *it's my new mantra*...

------------------------------------------------

Removable: 1.5/3 to pass (4 to get an "A")

Perio: 2/4 diagnostic workups, 8/16 quads SCRP, 1/4 re-evals to graduate (I've arranged to share a pt to get my progress exams done)

Endo: 0/2 (I have one promised for February, but I need another!)

Fixed: 3/13

Operative: 27/50

DAU: 9/10 to graduate
------------------------------------------------
Finished with Nitrous!

Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions!

Finished with Pre-Prosth!

All assisting is complete!

2 Weeks Back

2010-01-21T21:08:00.000-08:00

Slow week, but short week! I have 2 more fillings and finished a perio case. I also got my operative progress exam approved pending one filling that needs to be done next to it. Whew!

Next week is good for fixed, as I take off a crown on one pt and do a buildup on another. I also hope to get a crown back from the lab and get that thing seated as my pt's temporary came off and she didn't call the school over the break get another one since she lost it. Praying that that one seats!

Removable: 1.5/3 to pass (4 to get an "A") - 1 complete denture in progress, and clearance to start another in 2 weeks! I'll also start a flipper next week and deliver as soon as we extract - gotta bump up that "0.5".

Perio: 2/4 diagnostic workups, 8/16 quads SCRP, 1/4 re-evals to graduate (I've arranged to share a pt to get my progress exams done)

Endo: 0/2 (I have one promised for February, but I need another!)

Fixed: 2/13 and one prepped and sent to the lab - 2 buildups scheduled and 1 just waiting on me to prep!

Operative: 24/50

DAU: 9/10 to graduate

------------------------------------------------

Finished with Nitrous!

Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions!

Finished with Pre-Prosth!

All assisting is complete!

1 Week Back - Just Plugging Away

2010-01-17T18:22:00.000-08:00

I decided to re-work my tallies here, keeping in mind that all I need to *not* worry about right now is getting through 3rd year, not graduating. It also looks more exciting to say I'm finished with things! : ) I just need to finish something significant, even removable will do!

Removable: 1.5/3 to pass (4 to get an "A") - I started a full over full on Friday (1)
Perio: 2/4 diagnostic workups, 8/16 quads SCRP, 0/4 re-evals to graduate (I've GOT to do my PEs)
Endo: 0/2 (I have one promised for February, but I need another!)
Fixed: 2/13 and one prepped and sent to the lab - 2 buildups scheduled and 1 just waiting on me to prep!
Operative: 22/50
DAU: 9/10 to graduate
------------------------------------------------
Finished with Nitrous!
Finished with Oral Surgery Extractions!
Finished with Pre-Prosth!
All assisting is complete!

5/8 of a Dentist

2009-12-19T20:20:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-14T18:41:00.000-08:00

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:

2009-11-08T20:19:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-02T16:56:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-30T17:09:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-09-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-08-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-15T09:22:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-07-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-14T15:12:00.001-07:00

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.

---------------

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.

--------------

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.

--------------

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.

--------------

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.

--------------

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).

--------------

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).

--------------

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!

--------------

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

2009-06-07T20:11:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-04-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-06T21:07:00.000-08:00

(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

2009-02-26T19:27:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-19T18:14:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-06T21:35:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-29T20:51:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-26T21:51:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-01-22T22:14:00.001-08:00

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

2009-01-18T20:16:00.001-08:00

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

2009-01-16T18:44:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

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.

6 Years!

2008-12-28T16:07:00.000-08:00

Sure doesn't seem like it was "that long" ago!

For Unto Us a Child is Born!

2008-12-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

(Original oil painting by my sister)

I'm Studying for Boards

2008-12-21T19:04:00.000-08:00

Right now, I'm going through an old released exam. Tomorrow, I'm going to blaze through some Kaplan. After that, I'll do another exam. I really just feel like I'll have to do as much as I can and pray that little bits come back to me as I take it. I'm really overwhelmed.

School's Out!

2008-12-20T17:26:00.000-08:00

(Yes, those are porcelain crowns. Yes, it is very weird. See the Tooth Artist, not me, if you want one.)

Right now, my countdown to boards says 13 days and it's really freaking me out!

Anyhoo, finals are over, all practicals complete, and I even cast my bridge before I left (while several others hung around to make jewelry for Christmas presents - fun!)

I came home to an insanely messy room, messy closet room, and messy sewing room. My closet room is my old bedroom where I keep my clothes. The problem is that there is so much stuff in there, it's spilled out of the closet to the bed, the floor, the chair... But, really, it's not all clothes, I promise. : ) I'm in no way willing to admit that I have a problem. I picked up a lot of that today which feels good, but I now have a lot of laundry to do....tomorrow....

I spent a decent amount of time today planning so that I can get my act together for Christmas. I know what I'm baking and have all the ingredients ready to go. I figured out what I'm sewing, and I'm going to spend some time tonight organizing a bit so that the sewing room mentioned above will be taken care of and I can get to work. And boards? Maybe I'll start tomorrow? Monday? See, the difference between the DAT and boards is that with the DAT, I was aiming high and this time, well, mediocrity is all I ask for. Really, just passing, is all I want. It's all I need : )

The New Monday

2008-12-08T19:59:00.000-08:00

Lately, Mondays have been glorious. I only go to fixed prosthodontics at 1:00 pm. So that means I wake up around 8:30, leave the house at 9:00, go to Texas Roast (site designed by my brother - who's site needs an update...) to get the BEST coffee around and then either study or shop my morning away. It's so relaxed. There's no traffic. It's the best : )

This morning, I ransacked Target for some warmer clothing as I have none. Last year, I borrowed Angel's sweater wardrobe as she was (and is again) pregnant and unable to wear said sweaters. I figured it's time to grow up and buy my own. I found some killer bargains on the clearance racks. One of my shopping secrets that I will admit to is my willingness to purchase clothes from two otherwise inappropriate-for-me departments: little girls and maternity. It just broadens your choices on the clearance rack and the kids' clothes are usually cheaper. See, I can usually swing an XL in the girls' depending on the garment/style/fit - shirts and some dresses only. As far as the preggers clothes go, well, right now, most "normal" shirts make you look pregnant anyway, and not all preggers clothes are made to fit a big belly (excluding pants, of course). I also did a little Christmas shopping and bought shrubbery at Lowes.

I was responsible enough to go to school, do a practice prep for tomorrow and go to fixed.

What a great Monday. Last Monday I studied for boards and pharm, but it was still a great Monday. Hopefully it's a peek at what a little bit of my break will look like : )

Obsessions

2008-12-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

Betsy tagged me to list my obsessions after listing hers and her son's, so here I go. Since I have no offspring to include, I include my cats:

1. Blogging. It has changed my life by taking up way too much time that should be spent studying and could be spent sewing. Or finishing our house. Or a myriad of other things that should have a much higher priority than being on the internet.
2. Sewing and all things related. Especially buying fabric. My stash is getting embarassing and very lopsided compared to the amount of crafting I actually get to do with it. If you have ever seen my craft blog, you understand.
3. Bargains. I very rarely buy anything (aside from necessities) that is not on sale. Clearance bin fabric, clearance rack clothes, the cheapest option on Amazon.com, eBay bargains, you name it. Ooh, the dollar store and dollar aisle at Target....My latest bargain = 2 pairs of prescription eyeglasses from Zenni Optical. Seriously good deals.
4. My DVR routine. Every day provides a nice list of shows to watch when I get home and need to decompress. When I can't go through this routine I get moody. Everyday includes a Gilmore Girl episode (sometimes 2) and John and Kate plus 8 (because it makes my life seem so nice and crazy-free). Then every day but Friday and Sunday have their own favorites.
5. Coffee. For some reason that was really hard to come up with, but it is so necessary for dental school. In the past, the last one would have been baking, but who has time for that and who wants to wash the dishes? Not me. And I would always eat the leftovers and that just makes you fat and have to diet and work out. Again. Not fun.

The Cats (Roxy and Reagan):
1. Food
2. Sleeping in the bed with us
3. Watching birds and bugs
4. A good rub
5. Trying to get outside. Only to eat some grass once they do and then throw it up.

Who to tag now? I'm gonna go with the last person to comment on this blog and that would be Mrs. Annie Hunt. If ya want to. Ya know, for fun and all. : )

Did you look at the sky tonight?

2008-12-01T18:51:00.000-08:00

Venus and Jupiter have hooked up with the moon and apparently this won't happen again until I'm...quick math in my head...72 ish. So I'll probably see it again. God willing. But had to capture it. Sure wish I had a digital SLR. I would have dug out my good ol' fashioned SLR, but who wants to drive to *insert your favorite film developer here* (what?) for 1 hr developing when I can put it on my computer and publish in like 10 seconds.

While Moping About No Pumpkin Pie, I Found This:

2008-11-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

Prayer of Thanksgiving
Lord, you are the Creator and abundant Giver of all good things. You have outstretched your hand to me, the lowliest of sinners.

I will never merit your grace and mercy. Your favor towards me is undeserved. You are altogether holy, and lovely. If it not for Christ's sacrifice on my behalf, I could never stand in your presence.

Thank you Father for your provision. Thank you Jesus for your friendship. Thank you Spirit for your fellowship. I praise You and am humbled by your graciousness to me this day and all others.

Amen.

Can I get an Amen?

Opera Buffa = Perfect Way to Start Your Break

2008-11-25T10:22:00.000-08:00

Figaro was amazing! It was so funny and so well done - I loved it! For all the studying of Mozart I've done, I never really knew how funny this opera was until I read the libretto. Then on stage, they did such a good job! We went the last night, so unfortunately, I can't encourage you to go see it now, but if you like classical music in the slightest, I highly recommend this opera if you ever get the chance. Don't worry, they have the English above the stage for the non-Italian speaking among us. What a great birthday present!

So it was nice to get a little dressed up and have a quiet dinner together and sit at the opera (for 4+ hours!) and just relax. No house, no school, just some good entertainment from my favorite composer. Next on the list....Don Giovanni. Maybe in the new opera house....

Thankful...

2008-11-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

1. That I'm out of school for a week.
2. That I have a husband working so hard to build me a house.
3. That I get to go to the opera tomorrow and enjoy some culture for a change.
4. For good friends that check up on me...even if it's early in the morning and I haven't had my coffee. Brave.
5. For coffee.
6. For parents who let us stay with them even though the cats puke on the carpet.
7. For DVR - no other way to watch t.v. when you're this busy.
8. For hobbies so I can keep my sanity.
9. For Jesus so I can keep my sanity.
10. For keeping up with old friends on the Internet.
11. For blankets and warm socks on cold nights.
12. For a brother who can cook up a mean chicken.
13. For the opportunity to go to dental school so I can serve others and the Lord. Even though I complain about it all the time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Semester Wind-down

2008-11-14T19:11:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, as the semester winds down, we just found out our grades for our first practical in our fixed prosth class. Crazy, right? Yeah, I thought you'd agree. So here's the story. We prepped a bridge in late Sept or early Oct. I thought I did ok minus some damage to an adjacent tooth - something that will improve over time and with REAL teeth. A month passes. This Monday they show ppt slides of practicals that were good/decent and practicals that were, well, failures to be exact. Remember that tooth damage thing? Well, one of those failures had pretty much the exact same damage as mine. And the preps showed signs that their maker struggled with similar issues that I struggled with. Torture! Plain torture! So I spent the week preparing my mind and heart for a possible disappointment come 5pm today. They told us Monday, that if you fail, you will have to redo the preps and they will give you 2 teeth in your box to do so. So a lot of us said we were just hoping to open our boxes and find no extra teeth inside and all would be good.

So today was a long day. I worked really hard all during fixed this afternoon and I'm slowly getting caught up (post the removable drama). When 4:00 rolled around, I started getting knots in my stomach. I kept working right up until 5:00 and went to get my box - the death march. I walked past numerous people pouring over the comments made on their projects, dreading what I would find. I got my key, opened my project locker, pulled out my box and walked back in the lab. I opened the lid, pulled back the flaps, and there was a tooth sitting at the bottom of my box. No, there were 2 teeth. Wait! Four teeth? What? Are you kidding me? My heart sank. Why would I have to do the preps twice? Were they that bad? I didn't even want to look at the paper. I pulled out my typodonts and looked at my preps. They really weren't that bad. What is going on here? Utter disappointment. But a bit of a peace because I spent so much time preparing myself with Truth so I wouldn't let it get to me.

So I pulled out the paper and looked for the grades at the bottom. 87 and 86? Why are there teeth in my box? Oh. The teeth would be taped to my paper if I had to redo them. Not just floating around in the bottom of the box. Oh! Huh. So the picture in the slides wasn't a picture of my teeth. Oh. Ok.

I never really got excited about it, just relieved. I shall not want. Just ready to put all this behind me. Never mind that we just turned in waxing practicals that we won't get back until mid-Decemberish.

Clinging to the Last Verse

2008-11-02T20:03:00.000-08:00

I saw the last verse posted on another blog and realized I'd never seen the other verses to our National Anthem. So here's the whole thing. I voted, but I've been generally put out by this entire election, all the hype, all the discord - I've really just stuck my fingers in my ears and tried to survive dental school. God is still God, still the ultimate One in Charge no matter what happens. I just hope I can pay back my loans one day : )

The Star Spangled Banner

(The Defense of Fort McHenry)September 20, 1814 By Francis Scott Key

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,

What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,

As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,

In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:

'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion

A home and a country should leave us no more?

Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

And the star-spangled banner forever shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

It's Official - I set the date.

2008-10-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

Candidate's Name: ABBY MANN

Program Name: American Dental Association

Exam Name: NATIONAL BOARD DENTAL EXAMINATION PART 1

Site Number: 0051 - PROMETRIC TEST CENTER

Site Info, Driving Directions

Site Address: 12342 COIT ROAD

Site City: DALLAS

Site Country: TX, USA

Site Phone #: 972-385-1181

Appointment Date: 03 Jan 2009

Appointment Time: 9:00 AM

Appointment Duration: 8:30

E-mail: rabby02@hotmail.com

Don't you love that the answer to "site country" is TX, USA? Yeah, that's my country.

This does mean I get to take finals, move, have Christmas, and study for boards. And take boards. But then it will be over. Just gotta pass, baby, just gotta pass.

Looking Forward to Saturday!

2008-10-23T21:06:00.001-07:00

Mom found these goodies at Central Market...my favorite pancakes from my favorite Austin restaurant for breakfast, Kerbey Lane, and some maple syrup to go with them : ) Mmmmm......just in time for the cold front!

Hearing from God

2008-10-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

That last post was just the beginning of what the Spirit has had to say to me lately. At least I already knew what part of the problem is: complaining. So God must have just been a-grinning away yesterday when I was *complaining* to Erik about church and going to a service where we don't know anyone and how I needed to study (to which my good husband pointed out that my priorities are a bit out of whack...I'll deal with that one, too)...because He knew we'd go, and that the sermon would be on.....you guessed it. Complaining. No kidding.

Philippians 2:14-16
14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life--in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

The part that really sucks about this is that people have noticed lately that I've been moody. That I've been letting things like bake sales get to me. Enough that one friend told me that he knew something was wrong, because of all people, I'm usually able to make his day better, and I wasn't smiling that morning. Granted, several people tell me things like that all the time and I think that God must be miraculously covering for me because I feel tired and beat down by dental school most of the time. They tell me I'm always happy... ha! Thank the Lord that the Spirit can shine in spite of me.... Anyway, in an attempt to APPLY the sermon, I intend to practice positive speaking in my blog as well as real life.

Another kick in the pants came from Dr. Cobb via his thoughtful emails...

"In the midst of battle and difficulty that we call LIFE, we make every attempt to carry on normally. We often feel that we can not eat spiritually regularly. When that happens, we do not look or feel well. Everyone notices..."

Everyone notices. A few of my craft blogging "friends" are in Canada and just celebrated Thanksgiving. They've been posting about gratefulness and God's goodness as they enjoy their holiday and now that we're certainly headed in that direction, I want to ask God to train my heart as it were and make it a season of gratitude - actively not complaining. I don't think God wants much to do with grumbling people. Too much maintenance. Too self-centered, and not trusting in him. Consider the Hebrew people in the desert. Yeesh. I gotta get out of my desert!

Tired

2008-10-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm doing more complaining than ever when I get on this blog. My other blogs are pretty positive and exciting things are happening. It's just that when I narrow my life down to dental school, there are very few positive things going on. I will list a few as evidence:

1) Courtney came and spoke at CMDA and I loved it! CMDA is my favorite time and I HATE it when removable interferes (which it often does...last semester the culprit was dental materials and I hated it then). Add Courtney *and Vietnamese sandwiches* to the mix and it makes for a great day : ) For me, CMDA is the best community I have here aside from family, and I think it's pretty sad to say I'm frequently absent and sometimes distant as I go through a lot of stuff in my heart and head this year. Things need to change, I think, if I'm going to enjoy the next few years.

2) Same day: Nanna and Grandaddy came up for Grandaddy's appointment with Stephen and I skipped 1/2 of path to visit with them. Great break in the day!

3) I had a good time this morning with the gals running the Race for the Cure (my first race in Dallas...just not the same: no hills, no capitol building to run to, so unfamiliar....) It's been good to develop friendships a bit more. I'm so slow to do that and I think people sometimes give up on me early, but I can definitely see improvement lately and I like that.

If you didn't notice, althought these things are school related, they have nothing to do with dentistry. Sometimes I find that disturbing, but a lot of the issues really just have to do with *the school* and not the practice itself. Several of us are going through a disillusionment phase due to the demands of BCD that some might call unreasonable, archaic, unproductive....I could go on. But the further you get into it, the brighter the light is at the end of the tunnel and the independence that comes with practicing one day is pure freedom compared to where we are right now. That was the whole point of getting into this mess, right? Right.

Well, it's October 19th and I just need to make it through the month. Then hell month is over and even though finals will be looming, we get a chance to breathe. This semester is flying (mainly because it's a day-to-day survival basis) and Christmas cannot come fast enough. I've had a hard time making myself study lately, and I'm trying to diagnose the issue. Right now, I'm just tired.

Piece of Cake?

2008-10-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

I know I got all grumpy about the people who said D2 was easy and called them "liars". I guess I spoke a little too soon. I mean, what we thought was "hell week" based on number of tests has turned out to be, eh, just a bunch of tests. 1/2 the questions are from old tests, which is unheard of in D1 world. And I'm a big fan of test day because I'm a relatively fast test taker (ok, I'm notorious) so I end up with an extra 30-40 minutes in my day to do whatever. And that's kinda nice. So today I had like an hour to do whatever. So I got caught up a bit in lab - cast my bridge, dug out the decay in my tooth, and did a bridge prep for the practical tomorrow. Productiveness is nice : )

Midterm Monsters

2008-10-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm in denial, checking my email, watching my Gilmore, and getting excited about the hot tub that awaits me...instead of studying for midterms.

Today we prepped fake teeth with fake decay in them and it was a nice look at what dentistry is...really is. I mean the unrealistically tiny perfect preps of Baylor Operative are silly. But thank goodness for the hand skills! The amount of lab work we do in fixed is completely unbalanced with the amount of crown preps we should be doing since that is what we will be doing 1/2 the time in our careers. NOT waxing and investing and casting and polishing, all of which I'm behind in. Hence the complaining.

I had some nostaligic time last night reading my blog from Day 1 and it's so hard to believe it was three years ago this December that I started studying for the DAT. That's crazy. This December, I will start studying for and possible take the National Board part I. It's the DAT on steroids. Serious anabolic steroids. Then we take part II which is more clinic based and then the WREB where we actually treat patients. I bought some dental decks from a 4th year and it can be a little intimidating to look at. Get ready for study updates and practice test scores come Christmas!

Sometimes Baking Helps You Get Through Dental School

2008-10-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

It also helps to eat what you baked - with coffee. Thanks, Jenn and Goodie, for the recipe! I'm baking tomorrow!

Chocolate-Cherry-Almond Biscotti

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Kosher salt

3/4 cup dried tart cherries, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup blanched almonds, coarsely chopped

3 large whole eggs, plus 1 large egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (essence)

1/8 teaspoon almond extract (essence)

Directions:

Position racks in the upper third and lower third of the oven and preheat to 325F. Line 2 baking sheets, preferably insulated sheets, with parchment (baking) paper. (We just used wax paper.)In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt until well mixed. Add the cherries and almonds and toss with your hands to distribute them evenly.In another bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg white, and vanilla and almond extracts. Pour into the dry ingredients. Using a fork, mix together the dry and wet ingredients, taking care to work all the bits of dry ingredients into the dough. This will take about 5 minutes. The dough will be (really) dense and sticky. Divide the dough in half.Place a piece of plastic wrap 18 inches long on the countertop. Transfer half of the dough to the plastic wrap. Lightly moisten your hands with cold water to prevent the dough from sticking to them, then shape the dough into a flattened log 12 inches long by 2 1/2 inches wide by 1 inch high. Lifting the plastic wrap and cradling the dough, flip the dough onto the center of one of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough, flipping it onto the second prepared baking sheet.Bake the logs until they are dry to the touch and firm in the center when pressed with your fingers, about 30 minutes. They will spread considerably and may crack slightly on top. Transfer to wire racks and let the logs cool on the pans for 30 minutes. The logs will be slightly warm to the touch.Carefully transfer the logs to a cutting board and set the parchment-lined panes aside. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs crosswise on the diagonal into slices 1/2 inch wide.Arrange the slices, cut side down, on the lined baking sheets, placing them close together but not touching. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and using tongs or a spatula, turn the biscotti. Continue to bake until dry and crisp, 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the biscotti to wire racks to cool completely. Store the biscotti in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. Serve with coffee or hot chocolate.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.~30 minutes prep time 60 minutes total bake time

Hmmm.

2008-10-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

Anyone who says D2 is "easier", lies. I think they do this purposefully so that you will see "light" at the end of the D1 tunnel and press on to better things. Then you get there, and realize the light was really a LIE and you're trapped! It's too late! Then they get you all excited about getting patients in the spring, and even tempt you with things like probing your classmates' teeth, scaling your classmates' teeth, even scaling (in my case) your husband's teeth so that you get all excited about doing some real clinical dentistry and hold on tight and press on so that you can enjoy something new! Then you realize you just add that on to your lab load. Hmmm. By D4, you're just running for the door, you get out, and rarely look back.

I had a not really bad, but tiring week, and plan on sleeping a lot now.

Thank you, blog world, for tolerating my vent. I will be a happier person next week. I promise : ).

Sometimes You Gotta Wonder...

2008-09-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

Dental school tends to draw people who are very detail oriented and then makes obsessive compulsive freaks out of them. Hence, the general distress when we turn things in to be graded. They scare you and use words like "automatic failure" and take extremely unecessarily long sessions to grade things leaving you wtih knots in your stomach as you prepare yourself for the worst. So when things turn out ok, well, in this case MORE than ok, you're left to wonder. Did I just get lucky? Were they undeservingly merciful? Did I just get the easy grader and won't know that I really suck? OR am I really not as bad at this as I think I am because they've made me an insecure freak? For some reason, operative has done that to me. Dental anatomy, totally different. I had a great outlook - I would leave my practicals, go study/eat lunch, come back, check my grade, put it in the drawer, and move on to more important things. I did fine and never freaked out. Operative leaves me at least 2 times a semester spending an hour trying to accept the fact that I probably failed, reminding myself that I get a drop and it will be ok, and then it turns out fine. Just fine. They let you know if you need help and apparently I don't. So please explain to me why a student with a B average in operative can't get over practicals!?!? I think I need a nice hot bath tonight to get over this. I'll use my fun new bath stuff I'm getting at the Bath Junkie social tonight! : )

Next time I think about saying, "I feel like I got hit by a truck..."

2008-09-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

I'll keep my mouth shut. Tonight Mom, Dad, Erik and I went to the Dairyette to get a delicious hamburger and then run across the street to the football field at Bishop Lynch to watch my cousin Sarah march in the Terrell High School band. After halftime, we ran back to the car to eat our food and in the midst of dinner, the carhop got hit by a pickup. A lady ran over her feet and pinned her between two cars. After a lot of excitement, it all turned out ok...she actually walked away when all was said and done. Thank God her mom was there who is a nurse, so she was in good hands until the ambulance came (by the way, my mom called 911 and was put on hold...yes, on hold! My dad had to run across to the football game and get a cop who radioed (?) in for an ambulance!). It all happened when someone was basically really rude and impatient and it turned into a life changing night for that lady driving who has to live with what happened for the rest of her life. Yuck. We are so busy and so self-centered a lot of the time (at least I know I'm guilty) and we make rash decisions and don't think. So slow down. Be nice to people. Take a look at the big picture and enjoy life.

Getting in the Groove

2008-09-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

This week was decidedly better, and I give it all to God. I also lend a lot of the mental health improvement to the lovely weather (also from God) and some good time with my family (again, God). I decided to be practical about getting work done - to use my time wisely in class, take advantage of the help you get from professors while in class, and only work outside of class when absolutely necessary. And only when you really know what you're doing. I haven't freaked out about tests, but took them seriously. And it's also been a good soup week in the hospital cafeteria, which is always a bonus.

On a side note, I went to my 10 year high school reunion on Saturday with Ellen by my side. What a great friend...I miss her so much. I also had lunch with Courtney last week, so two long lost amazing friends in one week is pretty good. Grounding, refreshing, challenging, Godly gals the both of them. It was so fun to catch up and remember good times with them and everyone else I saw at the reunion...it's also fun to be making more of them right now, which is so much easier to do when there is time to breathe in dental school!

Gotta Catch My Breath

2008-09-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

I'm going to have a really long week. I sit down every Sunday and plan out exactly what has to happen each day in order to make it (let me emphasize "make it" - not get ahead). I also start my perio rotations this week, so I'm losing some of that "off" time that is now lab time since some due dates are approaching and I need to step up the pace. So I plan on being in the lab as long as it takes tomorrow to totally catch up with operative and fixed. And then there's removable...guess I'll have to stay late Tuesday, too. Unfortunately, I also plan to work through lunches, and I'm so miserably behind in path after that absolutely miserably embarassing practical, that every free moment will be devoted to catch up. And I have 2 tests this week. I'm just grateful that God will give me the strength to do all this...even if it's really hard. Because He knows I don't have it in me.

Lessons Learned

2008-09-01T19:26:00.000-07:00

It was a really long week last week as I kept losing things. My ID badge never showed up and the card machine was broken, so I went all week long without until finally on Friday, I happened upon a working machine and the clinic director ready to help. Yay. I apparently left my Mx typodont in my sim head on Thursday as I was rushed out of the lab for the 4th years to take over for a progress exam. The guy in my spot took it with him and I was upper arch-less for the entire week. I spent perfectly good study time (and chilling time) on eBay looking for cheap replacements, but in the end my friend Regan who graduated last May was gracious enough to give me hers, which I picked up on Friday afternoon. Needless to say, typodont-napper fessed up and is supposedly going to return it to me (although I will probably have to get it myself...). Next was my mixing bowl, but that was easy as Alex and just packed one of mine up with his. Not bad. Next problem was that I left my handpieces out just in time for the next progress exam, but they were in their rightful place when I returned. Yeesh! I have got to straighten my act up! And I actually need to start studying. Really. I'm kinda behind....in everything but fixed and radiology : ) Cuz we have pop quizzes in those classes : )

Eh....It's Not Really that Bad

2008-08-22T16:22:00.001-07:00

So after a week of insanity, I made some very important decisions.

1. It's ok to be behind. Just a little bit. Because then the wet lab will clear out and you won't lose your mind in the hustle bustle of the people that insist on being the first to get checked off. Who needs that? And there's PLENTY of time to catch up. Plenty.

2. Organization is key to success. Because success requires that you turn things in on time and don't get behind. 15 mins saved here and there can add up!

3. It's important to stop working and eat lunch.

4. Working in a group is always a plus.

5. Going in on the weekend is ok. Just for a little bit.

Top 10 Reasons I'd Rather Be Studying Gross Anatomy

2008-08-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

10. You can study gross anywhere: couch, bed, Starbucks, bathtub.

9. You can watch the olympics while studying gross.

8. Studying gross anatomy doesn't involve the phrase "Crap, now I have to retake the impression."

7. The brachial plexus is way more interesting than scraping alginate out of your rubber bowl for the 15th time.

6. You can study gross while eating or drinking (well, except in the cadaver lab).

5. Working in the cadaver lab may smell funny, but does not smell like defeat.

4. Listening to Dr. Hutchins' sound effects is more entertaining than the screech of the trimmer.

3. My gross notes are way more organized than my lab station.

2. My sim head isn't slimy and wet, but he can't provide hours of endless dissecting fun, either.

1. Surgical blade beats buffalo knife anyday.

D2- Day 1

2008-08-18T14:12:00.001-07:00

Today was good but a little crazy. It started a little early for me...6:15! I left the house at 7:00 and got to school around 7:30 with time to spare even though it was raining and there was a little traffic. I also broke my back windshield wiper - turned it on and it snapped in two! I parked in the D2 lot - what a blessing - so much closer to school and less 6 floors of parking garage to go up! - and lugged a bunch of stuff to my desk. I took a lot of it to Lauren's desk and left her a piece of brown paper and a note + the books she bought from me and some other goodies I just wanted to get rid of. Good fun. So then I rushed to grab some tea and a granola bar which I couldn't eat before class started so I hid them in my drawer and tried to catch my breath (they're really being sticklers about this no eating in the lab thing this year...)

Sitting way in the back of the room, I could get away with quietly transferring my D1 tackle boxes into my new ones since the old ones don't fit in these drawers (go figure!) Turns out Monday mornings will be a bit of a blow off and we'll actually get to sleep in some - YAY! We got out early and I had time to get my parking permit and a hole punched in my ID card. Went to make some hot chocolate because my new citrus green tea was uber nasty and got "caught" by Moira *roll my eyes* getting water out of the hot water tap in the D1 lab. Why can't we have a hot water tap in our lab? I miss it so much.

Next was 2 hours of pathology and I must admit...I dozed. Just a little during the second hour. I'm not used to sitting and doing nothing for extended periods of time.

A long lunch followed with a no show from Karen (probably stuck in clinic) but a lot of others came and joined. We then had fixed for an hour before group B got to leave early.

So, I went to Walmart. Needed a few office supplies and some more storage solutions and some bread and parmesan for dinner tonight. I lost my ID badge somewhere in the store and I'm hoping I'll get a call tonight that someone turned it in. If not, oh well.

A lot of us are a little nervous about jumping into all of this, but probably not as nervous as the D3s who had fillings and root canals to perform on real patients this morning. Yikes!

But I Don't Wanna Go...

2008-08-16T20:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's not so bad. School hasn't even really started, and I've already loved seeing everybody again (we had a side-splitting, wrinkle-making get-together last night) and getting my STUFF ready to go. I'm such a sucker for organization. In fact, while I was up at the school all afternoon getting the insane amounts of supplies we got on Friday in some semblance of order, I noted that several of my classmates had gone and bought label makers. As crazy as it may be, I have always eyed and envied those little devices that print out those neat little stickers that can say whatever you want and stick on whatever you want. Every end-of-summer trip to Target consisted of a few moments in front of the label makers trying to justify the need for one in the lab *and it really would have been GREAT in the lab* and I would always back down and just buy more markers or scissors or something. So now I'm really tempted. I mean, really. So far, the term "orientation" in dental school means "we have 7 HUGE boxes of expensive stuff that you need to come and account for and then cram into the 2 lockers and 4 little drawers that we have for you." It's always a task to figure out which upperclassman to believe when it comes to what to buy, and I've done a pretty good job so far feeling out which way to go. I have a few things to return, but we'll see. I might actually end up using some of it since I can't use any of what I bought last year. But that's ok, too. See, I got to buy the really cool scrapbooking organizer I've also eyed for a while now. So this "Christmas in August" is over and almost all of my new dental goodies are carefully tucked away in the closet ready for me to play with them on Monday.

So Long 11138 Wyatt

2008-07-28T22:54:00.001-07:00

You were hard to study in with romping dogs and kids and hard to sleep in with lawn mowers, romping dogs and kids. But man, you were so close to school. Therefore, you will be missed. On to bigger and better things...including gasoline bills (bigger, not better).

Arrrgh....Boards

2008-07-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

Kaplan study books have reared their ugly heads once again. I got my book for boards and I'm not exactly thrilled. I have continued my attempt to go through my gross notes and the process has proved easier now that I've gotten to the sections where I started outlining and summarizing each section. So my notes continue to go digital and maybe they'll help somebody. I feel like I'm back in my old habit of prepping lessons during the summer like I did when I taught. Don' know if I'll exactly make it through gross this summer, but it's a big deal, so I'm working on it. I think I'll do biochem next...that seems like the other big class I need a refresher in from the fall. I really don't know when I'm going to take boards. I keep flip-flopping and Erik would love it if I set a date, officially. Cause then I would study. I don't know. I'll finish test 1 from gross this week and move on to the next. I may start trying to crack this book in the evenings and save the decks for a little bit closer to D-day.