Composite Restorations

Here are some teeth that were broken and chipped from an early military accident. I've added some composite to these teeth and they've turned out nicely. I still have to touch up the two canines, but so far the patient is very pleased with his new smile.

Anesthesia

This last quarter has been much better than 3rd quarter. During the 4th quarter at Pacific, the class is split into 8 groups. During the morning, we meet together as an entire class for courses in physiology, orthodontics, microbiology, radiology, periodontics, and orientation to clinical dentistry. In the afternoon, we split up into our groups and attend one week blocks each week for 10 weeks. The blocks include oral surgery, radiology, endodontics, periodontics, orthodontics, and anesthesia. They are giving us the final touches on our preclinical education before we see patients on July 8. I'm really loving the courses. We've learned how to do flap surgeries, extract teeth, do root canals on every tooth in the mouth, and administer anesthesia. We've also learned about invisalign, and will be able to take part in the invisalign clinic during our 3rd year.

This week we just finished up anesthesia. We learned to do the IA, Gow-gates, nasopalatine, greater palatine, local infiltration, posterior superior alveolar, lingual, and buccal nerve blocks. It was a lot of fun practicing on our classmates. And, it wasn't as scary as we all initially thought it would be back in July.

A Little Break

Ah...the weekend is here at last. Actually, you might call it the calm before the storm. We have 3 practicals and a physiology test in the coming week! I'm not sure when we will have time to study for the physiology test.

I passed my operative practical on Thursday. I went a little to deep (instead of 1.5mm, I was 1.7mm), and at 1.75mm a student fails! Isn't it insane that .25mm is enough to go from passing to failing? Sometimes I just have to shake my head.

In dental anatomy on Tuesday, we were assigned another project (this on top of 3 or 4 others that are due over the next 4 weeks). We are waxing up from 5 to 12. A big project, but not too tough...just time consuming.

I was excited for my fixed class on Wednesday. I thought I had done a lot of good prep work during the week prior to the class, and I was sure my row instructor would notice. But, instead, she found everything wrong that I had done and then told me to try harder. When professors told me this during the first quarter, I was a little taken back. But, by this quarter, I just accept that it's true, and that I have a long way to go until I'm going to be creating really good products.

I'm going to have a nice weekend, and try not to think about school too much. I'll post more early next week.

Let's Try This Again

Alright, alright! I’ve been bombarded with emails from readers like you who are tired of waiting for me to make another entry. What can I say? I could think of a hundred excuses for not making entries over the last three months, but none of them are any good. I just got tired during the 2nd quarter. It seemed like there was hardly anytime to breathe, and when a break finally came, the last thing I wanted to do was log on to the internet. But, here you guys and gals are waiting for me to stop making dumb reasons for not keeping up with this blog. So, I’m resurrecting this blog from the dead. I can’t promise daily posts, but I’m going to do it frequently—let’s say 3 to 4 times a week.

Let’s start with today:

February 6, 2006

Third quarter is the busiest quarter for Pacific’s first year students. Operative dentistry, dental anatomy, and biochemistry are all coming to a close. For us, that means a practical exam in Operative nearly every week. In fact, during the last 4 weeks, we’ve had two operative practicals, and over the course of the next 4 weeks, we will have 3 more. Count ‘em up! That’s seven practicals in 8 weeks. Maybe it’s difficult for you to understand how much pressure that is for a student, but keep in mind that we have 26 ADDITIONAL credit hours at the same time. In addition to preparing for operative practicals, we’ve had fixed prosthodontics practicals, 2 or 3 major dental anatomy projects, 2 physiology exams, 2 biochemistry exams, 1 OCP exam, etc. I haven’t had a weekend to relax since January 1, and it doesn’t look like I’ll have one anytime soon. I mean, last Wednesday, our fixed professors told us we needed to wax up seven teeth (4 mandibular incisors, 1 maxillary incisor, 1 maxillary canine, and 1 mandibular 1st molar), take 3 impressions (1 maxillary and 2 mandibular), fabricate 1 splint and 1 temporary cantilever bridge all by Wednesday! I spent nearly 12 hours after school last week working on that project alone, another 6 hours studying for today’s biochem exam, and I still need to spend a couple hours tomorrow evening fabricating the splint and temporary.

Next week, we have 3 practicals and a physiology exam! There aren’t enough hours in the day to do it all. The professors are mindful of the amount of work, but they remind us that we signed up for the accelerated program when we decided to come to Pacific. And, don’t misinterpret what I’m saying as complaining—I’m not. I love it! I’m learning a lot of dentistry and my skills are improving. In another 5 weeks, the infamous 3rd quarter will be completed (we have 10 finals during finals week!!), and 4th quarter will be here—and that means we get to see our first patient! It’s almost here! And, the students are all very ready to move on.

Today, after a biochem exam, that shocked most of the students because it was departure from the test files that we had, my group was assigned to the continuing care block down in the clinic. We rotated playing doctor with another student. Each doctor practiced perio-probing, using a plaque disclosing tablet, providing oral hygiene instructions, completing a prophy, and delivering a fluoride tray to our patients. Probably one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had in the clinic. Using the probe is a little trickier than you might think. On a healthy dentition, the probe might only be inserted a millimeter or two at most. Inserting the probe anymore than that can hurt the patient. So, it was fun to listen to pairs of students in adjacent operatories jabbing each other a little to hard. Can’t wait to see what happens next quarter when we start delivering local anesthetic to each other. Should be an experience to remember!

The afternoon was filled with physiology, endodontics, and oral pathology lectures. After a long night, and then a long day, these three classes put most of the students to sleep—especially this quarter. We are all exhausted. But, I wouldn’t trade my time here for anything else.

Trying to Stay Motivated

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

It's been a little bit difficult staying focused on school recently. The classes are interesting, but my mind has been wandering. Sometimes I get a little ahead of myself mentally. I start thinking about how great 4th quarter will be and I stop worrying about how much work there is to do this quarter. Since class started last week, we've already had a major quiz in anatomy, a quiz in dental anatomy, and a carving of tooth #21 (a mandibular 1st premolar).

It's becoming apparent that there are two roads a student can take as he or she moves through dental school. The first way is the most tempting. It's also the way that upperclassmen and professors will persuade students to pursue. The first road involves just learning what you need to know for tests. It's tempting because it's quick. It's frustrating because after you take the test that you studied for, not much information is retained. The second way is to really dig in your heels and learn the material . . . just because. This student's attitude is demonstrated by an anxious desire to want to wrap their heads around the topic/problem being discussed. In the end, this road will turn out the better dentist. However, in the interim, you'll get less sleep.

I think I'm currently running down the first road, but I'm looking over at the second road wondering if I should make the jump. Depending on the time of day, you'd get a different response from me if you asked. In the morning, I'm ready to dive in deep. But, by the evening, I'm happy just skating over the notes before bed.

All I can do is try again tomorrow. Our fixed prosthodontics course is tomorrow. I've put in way too much time on the first part of this project. I should have spent more time reviewing embryology. I'm looking forward to a day of zero didactic course work. I need the break.