Monday, August 9, 2010

End of First Year

Here's a little video to recap some of the things that have happened since I last posted.  The first year came to a close....finally!  I was happy to be off for the first weekend, mostly because Mom and Dad came to visit.  It was a great time, but it made for a difficult time getting back to studying for boards when it came time for my parents to leave.  Studying for boards sucked!  It was like reading a book you know well enough that it is super boring, but not well enough that you can do well on a test.  It was a rough road, but I did pretty well on my board exam, and life has been pretty sweet since.  Lauren has been getting bigger and bigger, and our little guy has been kicking up a storm lately.  We can't wait to meet him :)

Friday, April 9, 2010

Its been forever


Holy crap how time flies.  I feel like it has been forever since I have posted anything...and in reality it has been virtually forever.  I have had so much happen in the last few months that it makes my last post seem like it was decades ago.  I have continued to tear up dental school like a fat kid tears into a twinkie wrapper.  I had a very successful second quarter, with all A's (although 3 were A-'s).  My performance last quarter was somewhat inspiring when you consider that I completely fractured my collarbone the week after we came back from Christmas break.  Now for typical breaks, they put you in a figure 8 sling or a regular sling, then wait for it to heal.  Well....not for me.  Apparently I need to lose some weight because I not only snapped it in half, but I displaced the distal half so deep into the soft tissue of my shoulder that I needed to have surgery to reset it.  So, February 2nd came around and I was set to go under the knife.  Its funny that I have never really thought of what surgery would be like.  I feel that I was pretty optimistic during the surgery prep, considering I had just got out of a 7AM Respiratory Physiology test (and I know what you're thinking, I wonder how having surgery that day affected his test score?  Well, you'll be happy to know that I slapped that test in the face).  I anxiously sat through the surgery preparation, the entire time trying to entertain the nurse prepping me.  I believe I was asked at least 5 times to verbally describe what the surgery was to achieve, and I even had to write it down.  As I did this, the question of why we don't have tort reform came to mind...but I digress.  I was pretty pumped to talk to the anesthesiologist because we had just learned all about the brachial plexus, which is the bundle of nerves that does motor and sensory innervation to the arm/shoulder/neck.  He was to do a nerve block on the brachial plexus which ended up being the best part of the surgery.  Not too long of a wait and I was being wheeled into the surgery suite with antibiotics and some general anesthetic being introduced into me.  As I started to feel whoozy, I was asked by the doctor where I had gone to school.  I mentioned that I had gone to BSU for both of my degrees, and right when I said that, one of the PA's in the room turned around from what she was doing and said she had gone to BSU! "Really?" I asked.....................which was the last thing I remember.  I awoke later, feeling totally effed up.  I think the worst part of surgery is the tube they so beautifully shove into your trachea.  I felt like I couldn't breathe.  Even after making the trip home and picking up the meds, I was still having trouble breathing.  When we got home and I took my prescribed meds, I started to pass out, but woke up repeatedly as I felt like I had stopped breathing.  Of course this was alarming to me, as I know CNS depressors can depress respiratory function.  However, I pulled through, and felt much better the next day.
Now, of course the doctor told me all about the metal plate, and I realized this would be held in place by a few screws.  But 72 hours after the surgery I was itching to take off my bandages and see what was going on under there.  For some reason, it never occurred to me that my incision would span MY ENTIRE SHOULDER.  I swear the scar runs from the manubrium of my sternum all the way to my AC joint.  So now, I not only have a metal plate and 8 screws, but I have a scar that looks like I got in a knife fight in Brazil...which has become my story because bike wreck is so disappointingly boring.
Bone breaking and surgery aside, I had to finish the quarter strong.  Of course, what would be life without a little animosity?  Saturday morning before finals week, I got up early to walk the dogs and get a jump on studying.  As I walked in from leading Penny around the complex for her morning poo, I found Lauren sitting on the couch...pregnancy test in hand.  While I felt an overwhelmingly intense feeling of joy, I also was stressed by the thought that I would have to be composed enough to make it through finals without telling family or friends before a doctor could make a professional confirmation.
I am glad to say I survived those finals, and the doctor confirmed that we were in fact expecting.  Lauren is now 12 weeks along and we are due 10/21/10, although I think I may have to pay the doc some extra dough to induce Lauren 11 days early because 10/10/10 would be a kick ass birthday.  Of course I am hoping for a boy, but lets face it, I have the worst luck.  I am looking forward to Monday, when we get our first 3D ultrasound to check for down syndrome.  I will be sure to post those pictures.
As for this quarter in dental school, I continue to do really well, and I am hoping to improve upon last semesters scores.  I had the distinct honor of dissecting a chubby cadaver in our head and neck course.  While I thank our lady for being kind enough to donate her body to science, I still had to cringe when we cut into her neck and shoulders to reveal inches of fat.  Its funny how you could walk out of lab everyday saying "well, if that didn't land me in hell, tomorrow's dissection will."  We picked out fat, decapitated (sort of) and sagittally section her face before finishing the lab portion.  As far as the dental lab goes, I started off shaky with a near fail on a mandibular molar wax up, however, I made up for it by acing my maxillary first molar wax up last week.  Hopefully I can continue that success on our next practical, which is our last as D1's.
We have been able to have some fun.  During some of our down time, my buddies and I have been hiking on Camelback mountain twice.  This is quite the climb, even though the trail is only 2 miles each way.  It is pretty much like rock climbing and jumping boulders all the way to the top.  We also had the pleasure of going to a local water park called wet and wild.  It was a little cold the day we went, but the slides there are pretty awesome, and promise to make a great refuge during the long hot summer.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

First Thanksgiving

Our first Thanksgiving, not only as a married couple, but also the first away from our families.  We decided that since we were stuck in Arizona on Thanksgiving, that we would prepare our own feast.  Being that there are only two of us, and one can only eat so much turkey, we decided to get a turkey breast instead of the whole bird.  Lauren (mostly) and I started making dishes the day before Thanksgiving, in preparation for what would be a wonderful meal.  The menu included Turkey, rolls, mashed potatoes, steamed carrots, stuffing, yams, cranberry sauce and two lovely desserts....obviously a rather large meal for the two of us.  Luckily we didn't indulge too much, and avoided what my lab professor, Dr. Smith, calls "Postprandiol Torpor," or the sleepiness you feel after a large meal.  We were also lucky enough to find a bottle of wine that was produced in Idaho...at the same winery we were married at!  Here are some pictures from our awesome Thanksgiving.  We love and miss all of our family members, and we wish we could have spent today with you all!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UveFyazm9z0

Sunday, November 22, 2009

1st Quarter Down!


Its been a while since my last post, which I blame on the total lack of motivation I have encountered on my first quarter break.  I was surprised at how easy our finals week was here in dental school compared to what I experienced at BSU.  I guess I use the word "easy" loosely because everything we do here is difficult, and finals week was definitely more work than a regular week...I guess what I am trying to get across is that I feel as though I am getting the hang of this whole professional school thing (the photo above is of me studying for finals at 6am).  The semester went very well for me grade-wise, however, I need to work on my waxing if I am ever going to get anything other than a "C" in lab.  It has been nice to relax and take some time off from the grind, but I can't help but feel a little bored with waking up every morning with no goal or motivation for the day.

This video outlines some of the last things we did in lab this year.  The first series is of a project in which we will be waxing up a full mandibular left quadrant starting at the first premolar and waxing all the way back to the 2nd molar.  The lines you see marked on the teeth will give me a reference as to where the cusps need to be placed in order to have maximum intercuspation and the correct occlusal relationship.  After marking the teeth, we shaved off 3-4mm of the occlusal surface.  The next video in the series shows my first ever sealant application to a real molar....that was removed of course : )  It is interesting to me that only 33% of teens have sealants, even though they are remarkably efficient at preventing caries in the pits and fissures of occlusal surfaces.  Dr. Simonsen was one of the founders and biggest advocates for sealants, which made for a very interesting and inspiring lecture.  Basically, what you can see me doing in this video is starting by drying the tooth after thoroughly cleaning it, then I applied the acid which etches the surface of the enamel, thereby allowing for adherence from the sealant resin.  I then rinsed and dried the acid, and applied a primer that would be partially dried off.  The sealant material is then applied over in the pits and fissures of the occlusal surface of the tooth, and is "set" with a blue light that causes the material to harden.  Last in the movie series is my first experience with a high speed handpiece.  We received a little block with random drawings of teeth on it with little "preps" outlined in them.  I came to find out that this little block is called a "learn-a-prep" and is a tool to learn how to use a drill.  It has 3 layers to simulate enamel, dentine and pulp.  As you can see in this particular case I was just practicing making squares and staying in the lines....I have a ways to go before I am efficient.

We have had the opportunity to have some fun before and during break.  Before the break we went to two Halloween parties....I was Stew from "The Hangover" and Lauren was Jade, the hooker he married in Vegas : )  We had a blast at the parties and ended up walking home at 3 in the morning....great night.  Between going out with friends and catching up on college football, we have managed to go camping at Bartlet Lake, north of Phoenix.  It was quite the experience : ) We didn't realize how bitter cold it would get at night, so we froze our asses off, but were treated to the sounds of nature as javelinas roamed through our camp and coyotes could be heard howling in the distance.

Monday, November 9, 2009

PFM-Off




The first ever PFM-off, or "prep-off" if you are a first year dental student and don't yet know what PFM stands for. Since our beloved Dr. Simonsen is no longer our dean (tear) and got a promotion to create a few new dental related programs at MWU, and our famed Dr. Gilpatrick got a promotion to dean, our first year decided to celebrate the accomplishment of these men by creating a fun competition between our lab instructors to see who could prep a tooth the fastest. The teams were 3 members each and they had to prep a #6, #8 and #10. As you can see, it was a nerdy event that only a dentist could love. I am proud to say that my bench instructor was part of the winning team!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Ahhh the Grand Canyon, truly one of natures wonders. Here are some highlights from our trip!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Max and Liam (my nephews),
Greetings from Arizona! We miss you both very much! Grandma and Grandpa travelled all the way down here to witness a very important step in my life. Unfortunately they brought bad news from home. They informed me that you told them that you had forgotten what I look like......devastating. Through the entire ceremony and weekend I have struggled with the fact that you will be 8 and 6 when I get home...if I am able to move back to Idaho. In light of you forgetting what I look like, I made a video to remind you of what I look and sound like : ) enjoy!

White Coat Ceremony:
The white coat ceremony has been around for over a century, however, it wasn't until recently that the medical field adopted this prestigious event. It started in the sciences field, as Ph. Ds would receive their coat, signifying their commitment to the field of science. More recently, the medical field adopted this event, as physicians believed it was important to recognize the relationship between medicine and science, thus the white coat ceremony began. This day has so much more meaning than just receiving a white lab coat, but it gives my journey through dental school a purpose.....to serve my fellow man and commit my life to being the best healthcare professional I can. This is my pledge to serve my patients in an ethical, compassionate manner. At the end of the ceremony we all took our oath to uphold the high standards of MWU CDM and the entire healthcare field.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Creep-ilicous, but interesting...


Some tidbits about my life since the last post. I have continued doing well on my basic science examinations. Today I took my 3rd test, which finalizes 4.7 credits and completes BASIC 1501, now I am in BASIC 1502. I went into this test with a 96-ish average, so I don't think my grade will fall below an "A" (although I could be wrong). Yesterday we had our first Lab Practical, unfortunately I didn't practice enough and my tooth turned out horrible! Despite my lack of practice, I feel that my finished product would have passed, even if the grade was not to my standards. However, with 10 minutes left of our 2 hour practical, my incisal edge (the tip of the tooth) broke off completely down to the original preparation.....so needless to say I failed and will be retaking the test at a later date : ( While I am extremely frustrated with my performance, I am looking at this in a positive light. Since I failed, I get to join the many other people who failed to learn more about how to create a perfect veneer. This can only make me better at waxing, and in the end will make me a better practitioner. Lucky for me, our faculty is very caring and wants everybody to become top-notch dentists.

Of all the cool things I have learned so far at MWU, this has to be the most interesting...and sort of funny. Attached is a video about a lady who lost her sight for 9 years due to some problem with her cornea or something. They took out her canine, drilled a hole in it and used it to position a lens into her eye, restoring her sight in that eye. Pretty amazing what they can do. The video is funny because if you listen to the lady, she sounds so funny......"They took my toof....and put it in my eye!.......Imagine that!" HAHAHAHAHA!
Also, if you have seen the movie "District 9" she kind of looks like that guy when he is transforming into a "Prawn."

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

1st, 2nd and 3rd Week... Lab Project 1...

Well, I finished my second test today. It was much more difficult than the first test, as it was over pretty much all of liver metabolism in the fed and fasted states. It was pretty rough, but I fell like I did pretty well. I am starting to fall into a rhythm with studying, classes and playing : ) Its nice to have so many friends that we are already so close to. Lauren is able to spend the evenings with Jordan and Anthony's wives, so all three work to keep each other entertained while the three of us are studying. I have figured out how to make videos on my laptop, so hopefully I will soon be shooting and creating a full-length feature that will follow the lives of us 3 creepy guys just trying to get through dental school.
I felt that my first assignment for SimClinic should be a monumental occasion, so I decided to get a little video of it. I got an "A" on my wax up, but I was marked down for having a little too shallow crest of curvature. My incisal edge was also a little short, however, being a rookie to using a typodont, I didn't realize that when I screwed the tooth back in, it would be held more tight and thus deeper into the socket....next time I'll have to adjust the screw to keep this from happening.
Although we study a ton (pretty much every night for 4-5hrs and 8hr/day on the weekends) we have a lot of fun. Last Friday we got together and played a games with quite a few of our friends, and Anthony came over last week to see Belle and Penny.
All this studying has really made me tired, and any spare time has been spent trying to keep Lauren up on her "Matty" fix, so I haven't had a lot of time to post, but I'll try to keep it up : )