Special kind of homework

My makeshift laboratory, in the kitchen. The gas stove is my ghetto bunsen burner. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

Mostly, this is happening because I did not haul myself to (school) lab this week like I should have. -__-

Calling it a night. Resuming tomorrow morning.

Wake up call

I had a competency today on composite restorations-common, non-metal fillings. I did average, neither horrible nor exceptionally well. This correlates to the amount of work I put in; ie did not work as hard as I could have/should have, but for some reason I got in it my head that I didn't need to practice too much and could "wing it". Don't know who I was kidding.. lesson learned.

Though I understand I deserved what I got, I really wanted, and even kind of expected a great grade today. But because that didn't happen, I'm now super motivated to work harder this semester.. been slacking off a lot lately. So at least something good came out of this?

Another milestone

Today we (D1s) did our first local anesthesia injections!

Not going to lie, I was pretty nervous about it. I'd like to thank Youtube for the videos I watched to prepare. :) But I got through it.. it was easier than expected, but I still felt bad for my classmate, who graciously endured through my noob injections.

Some pics:

My first patient!

Giving the injection.. trying not to mess up..

Yay! Successful team!

Slowly getting one step closer to becoming a dentist!

1 down, 7 to go

My first official semester of dental school is over.

The semester started off rocky. I was tense, anxious. As of right now, I feel comfortable. Neither hating nor loving school. I think I enjoy dentistry, but the unnecessary hoops that school makes me jump through, and the high school-esque atmosphere it harbors are things that I could live without.

Next semester seems daunting.. January 3 until mid-May. And then summer school right after. Then boards after that.

Guess I gotta get my rest while I can.

Looking forward to hearing "I hate the dentist" 93874398 times..

10 reasons why your dentist probably hates you too.

A classmate sent this blog post to our class.. just a humorous rant about what this former dentist wishes she could have said to her patients sometimes.

What struck me most about reading this was that the author mentioned that she left her career as a dentist and is now doing something else. Out of curiosity, I tried to learn more about why she decided not to continue practicing. I found another post where she states, "It’s been 10 years of thinking, 'it will get better,' or, 'I just need more experience,' or, 'maybe it’s the job and not the career.' It’s been filled with ups and downs of trying to make it work while simply wanting to give up. There were moments of clarity when I knew it wasn’t my match. There were other moments of clarity brought on by the few precious experiences that made me smile at the end of a day– only resulting in utter confusion. And ultimately I was left feeling defeated because I almost always felt like I was not myself."

In my undergrad days of praying, "soul-searching", and figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, my biggest concern about going into dentistry was that I would grow to resent this field, or fall out of love with it, or realize that it's not for me at all. Even at age 20 I knew that I was young and clueless, and picking a career path could very well be the equivalent of drawing it out of a hat.

I don't know. I guess I keep searching for personal confirmation that I'm in the right place. Perhaps it's pure naivety, but I'm looking forward to being a dentist. The thought of seeing my first patient excites me. In other words, I don't identify with this writer at all, which I'm taking as a good sign.

And if I'm wrong, it's comforting to know that it's possible to get out of the business. :) Just saying..

Closing the door on cadavers

Today I went to the interment ceremony for the cadavers we dissected in Gross Anatomy earlier this year (seems like AGES ago). For some reason I felt compelled to go, even though it was an optional event. I debated with myself for a while, since I'm usually reluctant to go out of my way for functions outside of school, but I'm glad I went. Very thankful to those that gave up their bodies so that we could learn.

In other news, I lost my phone at the ceremony but a good Samaritan picked it up. The last person I happened to call was a classmate, so Samaritan called my classmate, who went back and got my phone for me. Thankful!

And I think those are the highlights of the day. Oh I went to spinning class today.. went 16 miles.. coulda done more but I had to go pick up my phone.

Sick?

My throat is sore and my body feels like it got hit by a truck. I don't have a thermometer but my face is subjectively warm.

It all started yesterday in my afternoon class. I kept falling asleep during lecture (normal; no reason for concern) and afterward, when I was in the lab, my fatigue did not go away. I felt so spacey and lethargic even though I slept enough the night before and had my daily coffee fix. Halfway through, I just got up and started wandering slowly to the bathroom and around the classroom even though I'm usually good about focusing on my work during class time.. my bench table neighbors were like "um are you ok?".. "rough week huh?"

Yesterday I just figured I was having an off day, but judging by the way I feel right now, the clues point to infection infesting my poor body. Eek. Come ON immune system, do your thang!

I have a test tomorrow, so the show must go on tonight, but come tomorrow afternoon, it's bedrest for me. Unless I miraculously feel better.

Long day

Today I spent 8 hours in lab. 4 hours in Operative, cutting preparations on teeth, and 4 in Dental Anatomy for a competency where I had to carve a tooth out of a block of wax.

By the end of the day, I was TIRED. My hand was cramped from carving, and sitting for such a long time is surprisingly exhausting. But, a funny realization occurred: I enjoy this. I think it's especially telling that I like the work, despite the fact that I still feel mediocre at what I do.

To be honest, at this point, even if I hated dental school, I wouldn't quit. I'm too far into this, I worked too hard to get here. Some people, ie of the "life's too short to not be happy" school of thought, may disagree with this hypothetical decision, but it's such a relief to know that so far, I think I'm in the right place.

On being left-handed

As a little Asian girl, being left-handed was always a point of surprise to many people; namely, Korean adults that thought it was weird or flat-out wrong. Even my mom briefly thought about training me to have the standard right-handedness.

Growing up, the issue became inconsequential. I adjusted to our right-handed world, it became more acceptable to be left-handed, and it was just no big deal.

However, I just HAD to choose a profession where handedness matters, to a certain degree. Out of 96 people in my class, only 4 of us are southpaws. Today, we were working on one of the lower right teeth, which is relatively comfortable for most of my classmates. I was struggling. Not playing the blame game because I def have a lot to practice and learn regardless, but I realized that part of the reason was because I had trouble positioning my dominant hand in the mouth.  It wasn't until I talked to another left-handed classmate, who had some difficulty as well, that this clicked. Had we been assigned a lower left tooth (and we probably will be at some point), it would have been easier.

Anyway. I like being left-handed. Adds to what makes me special! :P

Operative!

We started the lab part of Operative today. Basically making restorative/amalgam preps (drilling) on fake teeth. This is what lab looks like, and what I did all day.. sitting at my work station with my mannequin. Since I'm a lefty, I'm on the end of the row and work in the opposite direction as most of my classmates. I like this class because the simulations are getting more real. We're getting closer to treating patients! I mean, at this point I don't think anyone should let me near an actual person's mouth waving a high speed handpiece around, but still. Closer. :)

D.5 revisited

Went to a shindig tonight for the new D.5s (I am currently a D1. Last year I was a D.5). Not too many of them showed up due to miscommunication. Not anyone's fault, but it ended up mostly being just my class hanging out. Weird how I was sitting in the D.5s place just last year, not sure how the year would turn out. And now here I am! Thank God.

Also, I got a filling done today. I had the hardest time getting numb.

Carving music review

I had a 4 hour carving session today. I knocked my wax tooth out in 3, but that's still a few hours of uninterrupted work. So I decided to check out a new album, Wolf Gang's Suego Faults.

I have a hard time liking artists in their entirety. It's usually a song here, a song there that I enjoy in an album, and could live without the rest of it.

This album is no exception, but there are a handful of notable tracks that include:
-Lions in Cages
-Stay and Defend
-Suego Faults
-The King and All of His Men
-Midnight Dancers

But it's a solid album overall.. even the songs I found myself skipping over weren't ear-bleeding awful. I would elaborate but I'm currently studying for a test tomorrow. Seriously, tests put the damper in life.

As the season changes, so do my classes

So. I've traded in Gross Anatomy and DentSim for two new ones, Dental Anatomy and Periodontics. I must say, the change is for the better so far.

Dental Anatomy consists of lecture, and then carving teeth out of wax. Today was my first time in working in the lab. It's pretty relaxing, once you get into the zone. My ipod battery died earlier in the day (RIP Steve Jobs btw.. his ipod has made many a run/walk/travel that much more enjoyable for me), but I'm definitely charging it tonight to listen to while working tomorrow.

And Perio! A Godsend. The dr/professor is very type A. The class is extremely organized and structured, down to a seating chart. I thrive on this type of instruction. I hate when things are unclear and loosey goosey. I know what exactly expected of me by the teacher, and vice versa. Some people might dislike the rigidity, but it's like I can almost relax because I know there won't be any curveballs thrown at me, or missing pieces that I might forget. Unlike some other classes I'm studying for right now.. a couple of them have been a lecture here, a lecture there with no consistency in time/place, and then like 2989483 documents that we're supposed to sift through and memorize.

Tentative opinions.. I may change my mind as the semester goes on..

Specialization

Today we had a huge lecture on all the different kinds of specialties there are in dentistry. For each specialization, a representative doctor gave a little presentation. Ortho was conspicuously absent from the group. Which was fine by me, since I currently don't see myself pursuing that route.

As of right now, I'm not too keen on specializing (the general dentist sold me on the fact that general dentistry encompasses all specialties), but it is an option that I want to keep open in case I change my mind. Of the ones presented, I am still most interested in endodontics. Maybe because I worked in the dept last year, but it still seems like it would fit my personality the best. However, my roommate thinks I'll be singing a different tune once I actually start practicing/performing root canals next year. We'll see..

Going to the almost dentist

As a dental student, I get free cleanings at school. And my roommate, who is a 3rd year dental student, is in need of patients. So it was a win-win situation today when I went in to get my teeth cleaned by my roommate. I've never been personal friends with my previous dentists, so it was an interesting experience having a buddy get all up in my grill like that. I apparently have some weird, but "beautiful" (says the attending dr, who was overseeing everything) teeth. A couple of my teeth are rotated, I have something in one of my sinuses (the attending is making my roomie look this up and talk to some pathologist about this... sorry, J), I have an extra bone in my palate, and an unexplained indentation on one of my molars. And I have 2 caries/cavities. :( So I have to go back for another appointment. This is by far the most comprehensive check up I've had but in all honesty, it was fun! What's a better way to learn about teeth but to look at your own?

Loupes day

We had a loupes fair today at school. Loupes are essentially glorified binoculars, but are useful in dentistry, especially for ergonomic purposes. Honestly, the session was just mass chaos and confusion for me. Vendors were saying completely contradicting information, and I had no clue what to look for in ones that were right for me. I decided not to purchase anything today because I wanted to weigh my options before I invested in a product that I'll be using for the rest of my career. But at this point, it seems like I might as well throw them in a bag and randomly just pick one. Indecisiveness..

TGIF

I've been coming home exhausted every day this week, but I'm okay today for some reason. Feeling pretty mellow, well rested, and up for anything tonight. Glad that the week flew by quickly though.

Good news on the Dentsim front: passed my second #18 Class II today! Barely, but it still counts. I've been so focused on studying for my Gross test that Dentsim has sorta fallen by the wayside.. today I just wanted to pass, and leave so I could go back to the cadaver lab to study. I think dental school is all about prioritizing what's important at the moment, and what's not.

Correatown-All The World (I Tell Myself)

Rainy Tuesday. Just caught a few episodes of Friends.. I honestly LOVE this show. I haven't seen it in a while, but it was perfect "unwinding" tv, especially with the weather. It never ever fails to make me laugh, even though I've seen almost every episode, multiple times.

Anyway. We opened the skull today in Gross Anatomy. My group's brain oozed out and was mushy so we had to throw ours away. And I passed one of my Class II #18 tooth preps! After mucho failing. One more to go..

Edit. I have to include this quote from the NYT for the day, on how competitive getting into preschool/private school is these days. It is disturbing yet amusing: "One of the lucky 17 who got into Trinity’s kindergarten class with no previous connection to the school, and who helps make it diverse, is the daughter of Rajeev Bhaman, a portfolio manager, and Gala Prabhu, a management consultant. The low acceptance rate led the couple to apply to nine schools in a process Mr. Bhaman described as 'my full-time job for four months' and 'way more difficult than anything I’ve done academically in my life, including applying to university in America from India.'"

Ridiculous.

Scrubs

Got my scrubs today! To commemorate, here I am, modeling the top.. even though the main point of the picture, the embroidery, is kinda hard to read. It just says my name and "Dentistry 2015". Exciting.. but I am sure the novelty will eventually wear off, since I have to wear this everyday for the next four years.

I had Dentsim again today.. def got fed a piece of humble pie, coming in to class feeling high and mighty after my last competency. Class II #18 tooth preparations are no joke for me! Good thing we're not going to be tested on them.. for now. Hopefully I'll get better so that I don't eff up anyone's teeth in the future.

First test

My first test of the semester tomorrow. Naturally, I used a good chunk of time youtubing and finding music today. Sigh...

However, I had a Dentsim competency today, which is drilling on a tooth in a mannequin.. did better than expected. Thank you God, because I was definitely failing on some of my teeth during practice times. It's a gamble to try to perfect the tooth prep, because one little mistake could bring the score down to failing. So I went as far as I could until 1. I liked my grade and 2. I got nervous that I would mess the tooth up completely, and then stopped. I think I was capable of improving it a little more though.

I will say that Dentsim makes me excited about dentistry. I can't say the same about Gross Anatomy...