X-Rayz

What a LONG day! This post is going up late as I just finished my radiology practice session not to long ago. That happy head above is Dexter, the radiology practice dummy… I can't help but smile every time I see him.
Must sleep. Another long day tomorrow... derm lecture followed by a lovely afternoon of endo. G'nite.

BBQ and Dentures

It was a BEAUTIFUL day for a BBQ… a dental school BBQ to be exact. The first annual "College of Dental Medicine BBQ" was held last year and it was a great success. This year proved to be just as awesome. Sunshine, yummy food, and a DJ made for a lovely lunch hour. Holla DMD class of 2013!


And then reality hit and I had to go work on my denture case. So, as I promised I included pictures of the lab session. Check 'em! 

Models and Triad base material to begin. ^

Laying down the Triad in a "rope like fashion" ^

verything covered up and ready for a light cure ^

Cured Triad in the back and marked up my models with guide lines ^

Adding wax. ^

My favorite part… the fire :) ^

Firmly adhered and voids filled in. ^

Pretty as can be and ready for more work next  week. Stay tuned! ^

Monday=Funday

So today is Monday. I usually am not a fan of Monday's, but today wasn't so bad. It was nice to see all my friends at school again (I sound like I am in second grade.) Everyone was in such wonderful moods because they had just enjoyed a relaxing (and hopefully productive) spring break. So as far as Monday's go… I can't complain about this one. 
One of my very good friends took her boards today. I think I was more nervous for her then she was. She finished a little early and she sounded pretty calm when I spoke with her. I can't imagine the relief she must feel! I am super happy for her and I know she did well as she is quite smart… ok now I am just sucking up incase she reads this. haha!
I have a busy week coming up. We are in the dermal system, and we are still working on endo and dentures in ECD. Additionally, I have an afternoon i'm spending at an elementary school doing oral health screenings and I have my final practice session before my FMX competency in radiology. All while continuing to study for boards. Whew! I may have to just IV the coffee into my veins this week :) 
This is a random picture of my half done denture case that will get some TLC this week. Pictures to follow… of course!  

Happy Monday!!! 

Spring Break Partyin!

Spring break huh!?! Is this some kind of sick joke? I don't think I have ever spent the majority of my vacation time at a library or some other studying facility. It makes me a little sad to spend this time taking millions of practice tests, reading (and re-reading) notes, and flipping through dental decks. But in all honesty, I know it is for the best. I will be glad when I am not as freaked out before the boards. (I say that more as a wish… like I am hoping I won't be as stressed later on). 
I also have had some company here the past few days which has been a blast. I have the most wonderful friends and family and I couldn't be more blessed. 
I promise more dentistry related posts will be coming but I do not go back to school till Monday… and all I am doing out of school is boards junk. 
New Mantra… productivity. productivity. productivity. Cheers!

A little Class IV action…if you will

These pictures were taken last semester on some random day in sim clinic. I apologize for the poor quality of the photos, as most of them are out of focus. I was certainly not on my "A" game that day. Enjoy! 

Cutting away tooth structure to simulate a class IV. ^

Almost done taking away structure… still need to break the last little bit of contact. ^

Building the incisal shelf. ^ 

Adding the mamelons. Aren't they so cute! ^

After Light curing and a final layer of enamel. ^

All shined up and ready to go. Please don't mind the condition of the rubber dam at this point. ^

Grillz

Curiosity gets the best of everyone at some point and this is when my husband fell victim. My loupes were calling his name and he just had to test them out. Maybe he is supposed to be a dentist?! I mean, check out that grill he whipped up.

Study Aids?!

All of the items listed  below are aids I have bought (or they were given to me) to help me learn better in the past 2 years. These opinions are my own… you may love what I hated or hate what I loved, but thats what makes the world go round, right?! 

First, none of the materials listed below were required for my program. These are additional resources that I found because I felt like I needed information explained easier or I need the loads of information condensed. 

Second, I could have done without all of these items. Yes, some of them were super helpful and I would totally buy them again, but I technically didn't HAVE to have them.

Finally, I am a major visual learner. I can have someone verbally explain something to me for 3 hours but the second they draw or show me a picture I will understand. 

Enough blabber… on with the show!

This is an Anatomy Coloring book I bought during Gross Anatomy. I must have been desperate or feeling overwhelmed at the time because I don't how I thought I was going to have the time to color! The book is really neat and a wonderful tool if you have the time to color all the pages. I would not re-purchase this item. 

Yay! A resource I LOVED! This is the Lippincott's Biochemistry book that I used for my MCBM (micro and biochem)  course.  I can not say enough good things about this textbook. The illustrations are wonderful and the chapters are easy, and dare I say it… maybe even fun to read. Concepts are explained in full without being too wordy or intense. I would buy definitely buy this book again. 

These are Gray's Gross Anatomy flash cards. Again, must have been feeling desperate when I bought these. I maybe looked at a few of them once or twice but never really bothered with them again after that. In my defense, GA was the first class I took and I was hastily trying to figure out how to study and retain information. Sadly, it looks like it costed me a little money to figure it out. I would not re-purchase this item. 

The is another resource I used for MCBM. I do believe I bought this before I purchased Lippincott's. This book is ok. It isn't horrible, but it was nothing to get to excited about. One bonus about this book it that at the end of each chapter there are quiz questions and they were actually pretty similar to my test questions. I used this more for the micro part of MCBM and the Lippencott text for the biochem. I would maybe re-purchase this book. (I'm really on the fence with this one…sorry.)

This is a Neuroanatomy text book. I bought this after a friend recommended it to me, and I am super glad I did. This book is amazing. It is only around 130 pages and it contains almost everything I needed to know for neuro. This  is another very easy read, with wonderful diagrams, and concise information. All of the nerve pathways are laid out very simply, and the lesions are included in the drawings and text. I would buy this book again for sure

A brain model? Oh yes. This is that visual learner in me coming out. I bought this at the very beginning of neuro when I was feeling panicked about the brain anatomy. This is the model with all the arteries and nerves on it. I did use it and it was helpful, but certainly not necessary. I would probably not re-purchase this item. 

Another view of the brain… with half of it disassembled. Yah, maybe it was an impulse buy but it is a great conversation starter now.

This is an EKG interpretation book. I got this book for cardio, which I took in my second year. This book is really great. I read it all in about 2 days. (It's only like 90 pages). Another text book with concise information and great diagrams. I would re-purchase this book. 

These are little tooth models. Our faculty gave us these at the end of last year. I am still not sure why they gave them to us, but I like them. They are anatomically correct and they are good for hammering in that dental anatomy. I would accept (?) this item again. haha. 

This is a dental model by Viade Products.  Our dental faculty told us about this product at the end of last year and recommended it to us for boards studying. I think the majority of my class bought it. I really like this model for a few reasons. First, the gingiva on it is clear and this allows you to see the roots and better visualize how the teeth are positioned. Second, each tooth is removable and the anatomy is pretty accurate. Finally, it is really durable. I have taken mine all over the place and used it quite a bit and it still looks new. I would for sure re-purchase this product. 

Another view and showing how the teeth can be removed ^

Coffee and Review

May 31st, 2011. Yep, that is the day I will take the NBDE part I. Im not the first in my class to take it, and not the last, Im right about in the middle. A good spot to be when taking boards…if you ask me. 
How am I studying for boards? I am mostly using Dental Decks and old practice exams. Maybe a little NBDE First Aid mixed in. It is the magic formula? The winning combo? The best plan ever? Not sure yet, but I will be sure to let you know. 
My spring break officially started Friday at 5pm, but it hasn't felt much like a break yet. I am really trying to get some board material covered so that I am on track when May rolls around. Don't get me wrong… I am not working too hard.  I had a lovely morning reviewing old board questions at a coffee shop, followed by an afternoon of shopping :)

Oldies but goodies

This is a series of pictures I took awhile back when I first got to prep an "infected" tooth. I didn't know why I took the pictures at the time (I had not started my blog)…but it looks like they came in handy. Enjoy!

The setup: composite instruments ^

The "infected/ decayed" tooth ^

Another view of the decay ^

Accessing the decay. High speed handpiece to reach the decay, slow speed handpiece to remove it. ^

After the removal of the bulk of the decay a liner was laid down. ^

Preparations for inter-proximal access. exciting! ^ 

After restoration with GI (glass ionomer). Looks healthier at least!

Nostalgic look at first year dental school.

(Pretty makers are almost guaranteed to make me smarter, right?)

What is the first year of dental school like? Is it hard? Like how hard? Similar to undergrad? I had all these questions and many more when I was getting ready to apply/start dental school. Now, I have been asked all these questions and many more. I am ready to give some answers… probably a very long one.

I would like to say that this is solely based on my opinion…if you are also in dental school you may have had a different experience. I am not saying this is how all schools are or how everyones first year will go. This was my year… the good, the bad, and the ugly :)

My curriculum is set up in block classes. For those that are unfamiliar with that, it means we take only one science class at a time. For example, during the first 7 weeks I was only in gross anatomy. No other sciences. We would have cadaver lab in the morning (8-noon) and then at 1:00pm we had lecture/quiz. Some days lecture only lasted 1 hour, somedays it was 2 or 3. It just depended what needed to be covered that day.

The order of science classes I took went something like this.

Gross Anatomy: ~7 weeks

Head and Neck Anatomy: ~3 weeks

MCBM (Basically a micro/biochem course): ~ 7 weeks

(End of first Semester)

IDIT (immunology course): ~6 weeks

Blood and Lymph: ~2 weeks

Neuro: ~7 weeks

Musculoskeletal: ~3 weeks

Those are the sciences that we covered my first year. We had the option of going to class. (only gross anatomy had quizzes and cadaver lab).

SIDE NOTE: One of the hardest thing about being a D1 is figuring out how to study and absorb the massive amounts of information being slung at you. I thought I knew how to study from undergrad (BHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…yeah right.) After a harsh reality check, I quickly realized I need to re-vamp my study style. I switched from group study to studying alone until right before a test. This worked for me. Won't work for everyone. I wish I could tell you a quick way to figure out your study style, but honestly it is trial and error.

So anyway, we had the option of going to class. I am not a morning person. 9am class is manageable (im not excited about it but I can do it), but 8am class is hell. I do not function at that hour. So I quit going to 8 am class (after gross and head and neck) and started staying home or going to the library and going over lectures on my own. It ended up working pretty well. I got to sleep in a bit more, and was much more productive when I started because I wasn't bitter about being up so early.

My typical day:

9am: wake up get ready

10:00: be at study spot ready to study

10:01-1:00: learn lectures from that day

1:00-1:17: facebook :)

1:18-1:30: Eat

1:31-6:00: Learn more lectures from that day

6:00-6:30: facebook and eat more

6:31-11:00pm (or later): learn more lectures/review previous material

Now this might seem intense to some people or exaggerated. I am being completely honest. I needed that much time to understand all the information. I am very type "A", and I wanted to know all the little details. Did other people study less then this? Totally. But this is what I did. I can't say I would do it all the same if i started over, but it was a learning process and I did what I thought was best at the time.

So that was the science courses I took in my first year… but I am in DENTAL school so where is all the dentistry?!

Throughout the entire first year we took ECD (Essentials of Clinical Dentistry). It was every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for 4 hours (and some weeks they added afternoons or morning sessions). ECD consisted of lecture for an hour-ish and the working on our hand skills. I starting drilling within the first couple weeks I was in school. I didn't say it looked good, but I tried. In ECD we covered Class 1,2,3,5,6 composite and amalgam preps and restorations on adult teeth and Class 1 and 2 on pediatric teeth. We learned dental anatomy and spent a lot of time learning about the materials we were using. Additionally, we learned about common oral lesions and gave intra/extra oral exams. We had a few community service projects worked in too. (elementary school presentations on oral health, Give Kids a Smile, etc.)

All in all, that was my first year of dental school. Was it hard? HECK YES. Were there things they (faculty) could have done better? TOTALLY. Were there things I could have done better? FOR SURE. Do I think I am getting a great education? ABSOLUTELY.

No dental program is perfect. This is a look at how mine is run. Changes are being made constantly to the program. If a D1 at my school read this, they would probably say they are having a different experience.

Hopefully this is just a glimpse into someone else's experience. I am not preaching or predicting what your experience will be. Now I need to study. I had a slow start this morning. Didn't wake up till after 10:00am. It felt so good. apparently I needed some sleep…oh and did I mention that I went to bed last night 9:00pm?!

I am enjoying a cup of coffee and catching up on some celebrity news, and as fun as that is I do need to hit the books. The NBDE I books to be exact.

Cheers to me being productive today!

Step by step Endo

The setup: Hand Files, irrigation syringe, GG burs, round burs, and endo instruments. ^

Start point: fake tooth embedded in pastic. Red in canal simulates infection. ^

Start point: fake tooth embedded in pastic. Red in canal simulates infection. ^

Beginning of access. Canal exposed, but need to open the coronal part more. ^

Insertion of 1st hand file. Begin shaping and cleaning. ^

Increasing size of files. Continue shaping and cleaning. ^

Again, continue increasing size of files. Continue shaping and cleaning. ^

Determining Master Apical File (last file to fit in to clean canal) ^

Clean canal. Beautiful! Now to fill it back up :)