So I have had the craziest weekend ever- straight out of Jerry Springer. I've wanted to move out of the craigslist place I have been in for a month because of these 2 cats- I hate cats and everything about them, mostly their hair. I lived with a single mother and her daughter in a 5 bedroom house in South Bethesda in a really nice neighborhood. Turns out this lady was just renting and it seems like she needed extra cash flow so she was renting out the extra room. Anyways, it was in a posh neighborhood and easy to get to the metro and grocery store, etc. So even though the 18yr old daughter always had her techno music too loud and the mother didn't clean any part of the house ever... I thought I would suck it up for 23 days unless I found something super better.
I did notice when I moved in that the mother had a black eye, but I didn't want to be rude and ask about it. One night she comes home and is screaming at some man on speaker phone like "you piece of crap, why don't you just go back to your wife" - no, seriously. So like an hour later I am on the phone with my dad and the man that she was talking to (I suspect) comes over in the house and is like screaming cussing her out for like 15 mins. (Yes, the daughter was there too). I just stayed in my room and was thinking that I was in a crazy house. My dad was like, 'just mind your buisiness you don't know the situation.' BUT, I've watched a lot of TV in my little life and I KNOW this situation!!
Well the daughter goes away on Friday to go live with her dad in Colorado for the summer. That night (last Friday), this man comes over to the house and ends up spending the night; well that sucks because the bathroom doesn't have a lock on it and I refuse to shower when a strange man could come get me... so I don't (eww, I know). In the morning I was introduced to her 'friend Bob.' I had plans with my little brother and so I was like 'hi and bye'. So after spending the day out at the Air and Space Museum at the Dulles Airport in VA (which is incredible) and going on a hike along the Potomac, Brian and I go back to my place for dinner. Then I take him to the metro so he can go back to his school.
When I get back to my place homeboy Bob and momma-lady are smoking mary jane and drinking some wine. They are very polite and offer me some, but needless to say I was sketched out. I was like - I have to get out of this place. So I pack all my stuff and want to go, but I don't want to make a scene so I decided I would leave either super early in the morning or when they left. Naturally, I couldn't shower again that night and got no sleep bc they were super loud and obnoxious right next door to me. Well they wake up at 4 and are chatting super loud and then go to the kitchen at 6 something. I am like scared to leave bc I don't want to make a scene, plus this man is at least verbally abusive, so I am just watching TV hoping they would leave- even though I can hear guitar playing. Sooooo, a cell phone alarm is going off in their bedroom for like 15 mins and it is making me mad bc I can't listen to my TV show- so I decide to go tell them. But when I go to the kitchen, they weren't there- they were in the basement. So I gathered my stuff (took 4 trips to the car) put the key on the desk and left. My heart rate was 500000BPM :)
But then I was homeless... so I went to go stay at my brothers dorm and spent all day calling people to move- but no one wanted me. I called 11 convents even! I didn't want to rent from another stranger and so I was calling friends of friends. I am now safe with a friend's family, praise the Lord. It is pretty far from my work (took an hour and 30 mins to get here by public transportation today!!), but all is well.
Moral: Don't get a room off craigslist... it's like a box of chocolates- you never know what you're gunna get
In other news, I got 0 results from my week long experiment and so I hung out in the dental clinic for a while and I had just missed a 25yr old girl with metastatic breast cancer who needed 4 hopeless teeth extracted who had been on bisphosphonates for 3 years currently going through chemo therapy... treatment plan?
I say nothing, but one doc said cut off the crown and bury the roots (with out root canals bc that is too risky). What do you think?
Kelly
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
An encounter with gutta percha
I can't believe our first rotation is almost over; these 4 weeks have flown by and I feel like I've been in this other dimension this whole time. Anyways it'll be back to reality on Monday!
My rotation at St. Luke's-Roosevelt hospital has been interesting and eye-opening. Today I did my first root canal procedure outside of the dental school and... gasp! away from the comforts/confines of the Endo department.
Examples: They only take 1 radiograph here, and it's the master cone radiograph.
They only have stainless steel files and rotary instruments, so you twiddle and ream with the same files.
No accessory cones... the sealer fills the extra space.
And this was my first time using gutta percha, which feels different than Resilon and doesn't sear as easily.
On another note, guess what this is:
On Thursdays I spend the day at another St. Luke's hospital, where the OMFS department is located. They have the oldest xray machines I've ever seen. To expose the radiographs you press that red square in the upper right corner. Umm yeah.
Here's another interesting picture I came across and had to share with everybody! There's also an Amalgamated Bank.
See you all soon!
sabine
My rotation at St. Luke's-Roosevelt hospital has been interesting and eye-opening. Today I did my first root canal procedure outside of the dental school and... gasp! away from the comforts/confines of the Endo department.
Examples: They only take 1 radiograph here, and it's the master cone radiograph.
They only have stainless steel files and rotary instruments, so you twiddle and ream with the same files.
No accessory cones... the sealer fills the extra space.
And this was my first time using gutta percha, which feels different than Resilon and doesn't sear as easily.
On another note, guess what this is:
Here's another interesting picture I came across and had to share with everybody! There's also an Amalgamated Bank.
See you all soon!
sabine
Last week in NoVA
Whoa, I mean, who can top an inside-out face and a giraffe chase, Josiah!?!? Awesome. Or a pedophile. Wait.
She had a blast.
My rotation in Virginia has been fun over the long weekend because Drew came up to visit from NC. We went to the 'famous' Georgetown Cupcake in D.C. (of DC cupcakes on TLC). They really were as amazing as people say and true to the hype.
The icing is so light and deliciously fluffy, and the cupcakes are super moist. OMG so GOOOOOD!
And these cupcakes totally have to do with dentistry because.... they are filled with sugar that causes tooth decay. And I am ridding the world of about a dozen of them, with the help of my husband. We are superheroes. Sugar-fighting superheroes.
I also went out canoeing at the local lake with my brother and his friends (and Scout) searching for turtles to put in my brother's new aquarium. No turtles, but Scout had fun getting dunked in the water because it was like 100 degrees).
She had a blast.Hope everyone else had a lovely Memorial Day Weekend! Many thanks to those who serve and who have family members who serve in the military! I know I'm proud of my Air Force poppa!
XOX
Tay
Tay
Monday, May 30, 2011
Small Talk with the Inmates
As part of my orientation to the prison system, they told me to not develop relationships with the inmates, not ask them personal questions and not divulge any personal information about myself to them. So completely opposite of my appointments at the dental school, there is little to no conversing that takes place. And when it does, it's awkward small talk at best - from last week:
Inmate: This is better than Obama-care, I've been getting free dental care for 16 years
Me: Well that's one way to look at the positive side
Inmate: Yeah, tell your friends to stay away from marijuana, that mess landed me 30 years in here...actually, I could go for a joint right now
Needless to say, the past three weeks have been very interesting. I've done a bunch of fillings, some extractions, dentures for an 80 year old murderer who held a police officer hostage in 1951, finished up some partials for a pedophile, a root canal on a drug dealer who caught a baseball with his mandibular incisors, and an admissions exam on a 78 year old MD who was just arrested for insurance fraud.
4 more days in the big house, and I'm not planning on ever going back!
Melissa
Inmate: This is better than Obama-care, I've been getting free dental care for 16 years
Me: Well that's one way to look at the positive side
Inmate: Yeah, tell your friends to stay away from marijuana, that mess landed me 30 years in here...actually, I could go for a joint right now
Needless to say, the past three weeks have been very interesting. I've done a bunch of fillings, some extractions, dentures for an 80 year old murderer who held a police officer hostage in 1951, finished up some partials for a pedophile, a root canal on a drug dealer who caught a baseball with his mandibular incisors, and an admissions exam on a 78 year old MD who was just arrested for insurance fraud.
4 more days in the big house, and I'm not planning on ever going back!
Melissa
Africa
No crazy stories to report from the other side of the globe (Melissa, yours was the best). Lots of people need their teeth fixed. I have 3 chairs to cover. On our busiest day so far I saw 19 patients. Assistants are amazing; I want to bring one back with me to school.
Free fibula surgery today. Kinda blew my mind…. 11 hours later my mind was tried, but still amazed.
I've been riding my dirt bike on the plains every chance I get, always chasing/terrorizing the wildlife. :)
Not looking forward to going back to the USA (or dental school). Maybe Mumford would just let me stay here the second rotation too? HA!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Water, water everywhere!
Steven and Tim - flood survivors.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Northern Virginia Dental Clinic + Taylor Mac
hello peeps,
I hope those of you who were able to make it to the Myrtle NCDS meeting had as much fun as I did. Whoop! I am not much of a shag dancer, though, that's for sure.
I'm now back in Virginia at the Northern Virginia Dental Clinic which is in Falls Church, VA.
I'm staying in Springfield, VA with my parents, which so far has not led me to pulling all of my hair out... not yet anyway. I brought my chihuahua, Scout, with me - she is having fun, too. But anyway, back to bizness - the clinic is about 15 miles from my parents' house, but it takes me 45 minutes to get to the clinic (boo - D.C. area traffic)! I haven't gotten in a major traffic jam (i.e. no motion) yet, and I hope it doesn't happen.
The clinic is a bit sketch (see above) I mean it IS a one stop shop - you can get a filling, deposit a check, make sure your life insurance policy is up to date, and then get your hair did. Niiiiice.
It's not quite a free clinic - the way it works is various agencies in certain Virginia counties refer patients to the clinic; then, to schedule appointments the patients pay $40 per appointment (so the pts don't pay for the work itself, but for the appointments... needless to say if that was how the dental school worked they'd be RICH)! It works well to prevent patients from just not showing up, though, which is a problem at a lot of free clinics... so that's good.
I have my own operatory (with a sign - "NCU" haha, see below) that contains a chair very much like the ones we have at school. It's nice, the people are really sweet - only a couple are regulars (the overseeing doctor, and a lead assistant). The rest are volunteers. I see about four patients a day, two in the morning, two in the afternoon - for 1.5 hours each. I do about 2-3 fillings per appt which is cool and way faster than at school, at least for me. One day I got to extract 11 teeth in an hour (it sounds awesome when you say it like that)... but they were seriously "woodsen teeth," i.e. I did not use elevators or forceps... they came out when I used the woodsen periosteal elevator. Just "plop." I'm not a huge fan of my preceptor - she's kind of quiet and not very personable, and isn't interested in "teaching" really... but otherwise, it's alright.
On a funny note, for the first week my signs read "Tyler" and then "Teylor" and finally "Taylor." For some reason despite the fact that I called them and spoke with them on the phone, they thought I was going to be a boy, and that my name was Tyler. Sorry to disappoint, NVDC.
And what time at a free clinic would be complete without the poor patient, who couldn't afford the $40 to schedule her next appointment, checking her schedule on an iPhone 4? Not mine! Also - gotta love that old-school scheduling method, the gigantic paperbound notebook. Shout out to Mary - best front desk person evAAaaar!
Looking forward to seeing you guys again soon (except Kevin). ;) It's lonely up here in VA! I will say UNC is quite well known and the dental school is definitely well respected. I just hate that every other person I tell I'm from UNC smiles and is like "oh, I LOVE the Tarheels!" and I have to smile back halfheartedly and be like "Thanks..."
:-D GO DUKE!
Love,
Tay
P.S. I hope you all didn't get an e-mail every time I edited this sucker and re-posted... it's been like, eight thousand times b/c clearly, I can't shpell.
I'm now back in Virginia at the Northern Virginia Dental Clinic which is in Falls Church, VA.
I'm staying in Springfield, VA with my parents, which so far has not led me to pulling all of my hair out... not yet anyway. I brought my chihuahua, Scout, with me - she is having fun, too. But anyway, back to bizness - the clinic is about 15 miles from my parents' house, but it takes me 45 minutes to get to the clinic (boo - D.C. area traffic)! I haven't gotten in a major traffic jam (i.e. no motion) yet, and I hope it doesn't happen.
It's not quite a free clinic - the way it works is various agencies in certain Virginia counties refer patients to the clinic; then, to schedule appointments the patients pay $40 per appointment (so the pts don't pay for the work itself, but for the appointments... needless to say if that was how the dental school worked they'd be RICH)! It works well to prevent patients from just not showing up, though, which is a problem at a lot of free clinics... so that's good.
I have my own operatory (with a sign - "NCU" haha, see below) that contains a chair very much like the ones we have at school. It's nice, the people are really sweet - only a couple are regulars (the overseeing doctor, and a lead assistant). The rest are volunteers. I see about four patients a day, two in the morning, two in the afternoon - for 1.5 hours each. I do about 2-3 fillings per appt which is cool and way faster than at school, at least for me. One day I got to extract 11 teeth in an hour (it sounds awesome when you say it like that)... but they were seriously "woodsen teeth," i.e. I did not use elevators or forceps... they came out when I used the woodsen periosteal elevator. Just "plop." I'm not a huge fan of my preceptor - she's kind of quiet and not very personable, and isn't interested in "teaching" really... but otherwise, it's alright.
Looking forward to seeing you guys again soon (except Kevin). ;) It's lonely up here in VA! I will say UNC is quite well known and the dental school is definitely well respected. I just hate that every other person I tell I'm from UNC smiles and is like "oh, I LOVE the Tarheels!" and I have to smile back halfheartedly and be like "Thanks..."
:-D GO DUKE!
Love,
Tay
P.S. I hope you all didn't get an e-mail every time I edited this sucker and re-posted... it's been like, eight thousand times b/c clearly, I can't shpell.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Update from Greene Dental Services - Snow Hill, NC
Greetings!
As I was driving on my way back home this evening through the country back roads and through the boondocks of NC, enjoying the beautiful scenery of vast wheat, corn and tobacco fields, I thought of you avid followers of 2012 Summer Rotation blog. So I decided to post on here for all you who are perhaps bored out of your minds and decided to check here to see if anybody else was bored more than you or perhaps bored enough to actually sit down and write something here - or maybe someone had lost their diaries and wanted to share their late night loneliness with others, or may be there is an hungry kid in Africa who.....
First thing first, during the my past few days that I have been here at the GDS, I have seen many patients who simply can't afford more than one procedure at time, considering that they'd only pay 25$ per procedure (if they qualify for 200% below the poverty line), when they clearly need comprehensive care and not one filling or one extraction at the time. Nevertheless, this facility is providing a great deal of dental services to these individuals and at the end of the day they are still running as a business which is only partially funded by the federal and state grants and they'll still have to sustain themselves by charging the patients. I must add if it wasn't because of this clinic and places like this, many of these people will probably end up in the ER with a dental emergency or simply suffer for the long period of time before anything could be done for them if at all.
One of the thing that I was very impressed with was the amazing efforts of Dr. Doherty who is my preceptor here at the GDS and he is basically running the dental clinic both at the Snow Hill location and in Greeneville. He told me that they would see kids with orthodontic problems for many years but their families could not afford a more comprehensive ortho treatment, so for 2 years on the weekends Dr. Doherty went to DC to participate in an ortho program and got a certificate to be able to do more complex cases for these kids. I have to tell you this guy really takes pride in his work and fixing these kids' smiles gives him joy like no others. Come to think about it to a great extent he does change these kids lives for ever, when they would not have ever dreamt of such things a few years ago.
I think I will stop my rant here and leave you all to to think how you can perhaps partake in helping the underserved with your vast knowledge of dental sciences and oral health in your future dental careers!
Here are some pictures from my daily commute: Don't try this at home. Taken by professional driver/photographer!
Keyvan
As I was driving on my way back home this evening through the country back roads and through the boondocks of NC, enjoying the beautiful scenery of vast wheat, corn and tobacco fields, I thought of you avid followers of 2012 Summer Rotation blog. So I decided to post on here for all you who are perhaps bored out of your minds and decided to check here to see if anybody else was bored more than you or perhaps bored enough to actually sit down and write something here - or maybe someone had lost their diaries and wanted to share their late night loneliness with others, or may be there is an hungry kid in Africa who.....
First thing first, during the my past few days that I have been here at the GDS, I have seen many patients who simply can't afford more than one procedure at time, considering that they'd only pay 25$ per procedure (if they qualify for 200% below the poverty line), when they clearly need comprehensive care and not one filling or one extraction at the time. Nevertheless, this facility is providing a great deal of dental services to these individuals and at the end of the day they are still running as a business which is only partially funded by the federal and state grants and they'll still have to sustain themselves by charging the patients. I must add if it wasn't because of this clinic and places like this, many of these people will probably end up in the ER with a dental emergency or simply suffer for the long period of time before anything could be done for them if at all.
One of the thing that I was very impressed with was the amazing efforts of Dr. Doherty who is my preceptor here at the GDS and he is basically running the dental clinic both at the Snow Hill location and in Greeneville. He told me that they would see kids with orthodontic problems for many years but their families could not afford a more comprehensive ortho treatment, so for 2 years on the weekends Dr. Doherty went to DC to participate in an ortho program and got a certificate to be able to do more complex cases for these kids. I have to tell you this guy really takes pride in his work and fixing these kids' smiles gives him joy like no others. Come to think about it to a great extent he does change these kids lives for ever, when they would not have ever dreamt of such things a few years ago.
I think I will stop my rant here and leave you all to to think how you can perhaps partake in helping the underserved with your vast knowledge of dental sciences and oral health in your future dental careers!
Here are some pictures from my daily commute: Don't try this at home. Taken by professional driver/photographer!
Keyvan
Saturday, May 21, 2011
PULPED
Pulped my first tooth yesterday. It was a beautiful prep on tooth T, delightful outline form. Then, deep inside the floor, an ominous pinprick of vivid crimson. Pulpotomy, SSC. The child smiled, and I learned some lessons. Don't trust primary tooth anatomy. Hell, don't trust anything.
-Kev
-Kev
Sunday, May 15, 2011
News from the Home Front
Thanks for all the posts everyone!! It's been really interesting (and sometimes hilarious, Melissa!) to read them :D
Life at the dental school is creepy quiet now with half of y'all gone, no more class of 2011 and all the auxillary students on summer break. Group Practice though is so great! Being able to present to your attending and resting in the knowledge that the treatment plan isn't going to drastically change at the next treatment session is a welcomed relief :D Also they tend to treat you like adults, as in "What do you think the plan of action should be?" not "Here's what you're going to do even though up until now you've been doing it a certain way because I like doing it this new method that you're going to get questioned about next time by your next attending."Ah, sweet professionalism.
Also if you would take a moment to fill out this Survey about Student Fees that would really help out.
Keep the posts and stories coming! One week down... 3 more to go in the cycle!
Elise
Life at the dental school is creepy quiet now with half of y'all gone, no more class of 2011 and all the auxillary students on summer break. Group Practice though is so great! Being able to present to your attending and resting in the knowledge that the treatment plan isn't going to drastically change at the next treatment session is a welcomed relief :D Also they tend to treat you like adults, as in "What do you think the plan of action should be?" not "Here's what you're going to do even though up until now you've been doing it a certain way because I like doing it this new method that you're going to get questioned about next time by your next attending."Ah, sweet professionalism.
Also if you would take a moment to fill out this Survey about Student Fees that would really help out.
Keep the posts and stories coming! One week down... 3 more to go in the cycle!
Elise
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Alexander County
Hey guys! I got the pleasure of reading all of the posts during lunch today. I couldn't believe I was so behind and there were so many posts already. I am in Taylorsville NC which is kinda in the "boonies" but I am living at home with my parents and drive about and hour and 10 minutes a day to get here. Dr. Bridges and the staff are the most amazing people. I fit right in with them, that makes it so easy to be here. I totally don't feel like the intern or the newcomer. It's great! They are so wonderful and treat me like I am already a dentist. Dr. Bridges is so super! She allows me to do all the restorative I am comfortable with. I have been seeing an average of about 5 patients a day with the exception of the first day...there were a lot of cancellations. (which seems to happen a lot at health depts I gather). My second day I saw 6 patients and did 17 surfaces and that was only the AM shift, the clinic was closed that afternoon. I felt like a freaking ROCK STAR! We tend to always finish up a little early in the afternoons. Dr. Bridges has this place running like clockwork. I haven't been doing anything but restorative work though (which I like), Dr. Bridges had preferred to do all the recall exams, and the assistants take care of the hygiene. I have asked to help but...they say "Nah, I got it"
Surprisingly, the kids have all be super well behaved. There has only been one kid that really got upset and little screaming. It does break my heart to see these kids come in with bombed out teeth though. They are all so pretty! Oh one cool thing that is great for pedo... they use extra short needles here for infiltrations (which you can even do for lower molars in kids because their bone is so thin there :) That has been awesome!
Oh yeah PS I don't work on Fridays! Miss you guys! Hope everyone is enjoying their rotations!
Lackey
Surprisingly, the kids have all be super well behaved. There has only been one kid that really got upset and little screaming. It does break my heart to see these kids come in with bombed out teeth though. They are all so pretty! Oh one cool thing that is great for pedo... they use extra short needles here for infiltrations (which you can even do for lower molars in kids because their bone is so thin there :) That has been awesome!
Oh yeah PS I don't work on Fridays! Miss you guys! Hope everyone is enjoying their rotations!
Lackey
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Asheville VA- Celebrating National Hospital & Nurses Week
Here are some pictures from the nice lunch celebration today and the beautiful people I get to work with everyday!
~Hoda
~Hoda
Curves and Caries
It pays to have a low car when going through all these hilly curves! I love them but there's no shoulders and I feel that if i blink for a second, I'ma go off the edge. The weather is just right to roll my windows down (how i dry my hair in the morning before i get to the clinic). I'm staying in Elkin which is about 35 min away from the Wilkes County Health Department. Right now it's super green and pretty! I wake up at 6am and leave at 7am. I"m supposed to report for duty at 7:45am before patients are seated at 8am. The people here are all really super nice and polite. I'm spending 2 weeks in the adult clinic and two weeks in the kiddie clinic; both clinics are connected by a hallway. I heard the most powerful crying yesterday, thought the kid was going to rupture his lungs. Making me kinda scared to start that section.
One nice thing about this rotation is that in Eaglesoft, the dentist has two columns of patients that he manages throughout the day and I get my own little column. The most I've seen is 6 in a day, all fillings and extractions. My first patient was this middle-aged lady who started crying after the assistant gave her topical. She started to cry even more after i went in with the needle. As soon as she started moving her arms, I just injected fast and got out quickly. Fortunately, the tooth came out pretty fast. I felt bad that she was crying throughout the whole thing but apparently, this is the best she's behaved from an extraction.
Oh, and I've realized that the assistants do about 95% of the work including progress notes, health history, prescription writing. Basically everything minus the handpiece, forceps or anesthesia. I felt guilty and offered to help them but they say they're used to doing everything. They even do laundry every day because we all wear these white coats that are washed daily.
Going to bed for a morning filled with my arch nemesis: Class II preps.
One nice thing about this rotation is that in Eaglesoft, the dentist has two columns of patients that he manages throughout the day and I get my own little column. The most I've seen is 6 in a day, all fillings and extractions. My first patient was this middle-aged lady who started crying after the assistant gave her topical. She started to cry even more after i went in with the needle. As soon as she started moving her arms, I just injected fast and got out quickly. Fortunately, the tooth came out pretty fast. I felt bad that she was crying throughout the whole thing but apparently, this is the best she's behaved from an extraction.
Oh, and I've realized that the assistants do about 95% of the work including progress notes, health history, prescription writing. Basically everything minus the handpiece, forceps or anesthesia. I felt guilty and offered to help them but they say they're used to doing everything. They even do laundry every day because we all wear these white coats that are washed daily.
Going to bed for a morning filled with my arch nemesis: Class II preps.
Public Health yeah-Baby!
I'm alive and well here in Asheville living in AHEC housing just down the street from the Western Carolina Community Health Center. I tell you what, Dental Public Health is a great place for me to be jumping in. It is really crazy being called into a room for a pre-diagnosed lesion, and told to go. I would be placing all of the fillings if they only came in one at a time, as they are happy to let me work!
I am also addressed as "Doctor Hoyle" and they won't quit it...better not get used to it :)
The docs are happy to have me here, as I lighten the load; however, I have just been seeing ~ 6 patients/day and observing endo, Pedo N2O, and patient interactions. I have been hesitant to really dive in on treatment planning sessions as I was told I am more likely to overdiagnose caries (true, but also a little sketchy) so I just make my preceptor come over whenever I have a question. Good times so far!
Stephen Hoyle
I am also addressed as "Doctor Hoyle" and they won't quit it...better not get used to it :)
The docs are happy to have me here, as I lighten the load; however, I have just been seeing ~ 6 patients/day and observing endo, Pedo N2O, and patient interactions. I have been hesitant to really dive in on treatment planning sessions as I was told I am more likely to overdiagnose caries (true, but also a little sketchy) so I just make my preceptor come over whenever I have a question. Good times so far!
Stephen Hoyle
Hello from ECU!
Hello all, I'm completing my rotation at the ECU GPR program and honestly Keyvan and I should have just posted together since we're roommates (literally we sleep in the same room). We're in AHEC housing with 2 other students who are the same year dental students as us at Howard University. You know how they say we do a lot clinically at UNC? - they aren't kidding. They don't get into clinic until the summer after their second year and they don't have nearly as many requirements as we do and the funnist part was they were complaining about how much they have to do..... I won't include some of our conversations but let's just say I felt a lot better about my abilities after talking to them.
I've been doing the 8-5 by working with the 4 residents who are all super nice. The coolest thing I have seen so far this week is a patient in her 20's who had facial trauma a few weeks ago and luxated #7, 8, 10 with #9 having to be extracted. They had splinted her teeth from 2nd premolar to 2nd premolar (literally they used wire and glued it is place using composite) so she was there for a follow up appointment just to see how things were doing. However, the space really bothered her and said her boyfriend made fun of her all the time so she wanted something put in the space. The resident and I had a little huddle as we were kinda clueless as to what to do but I think we came up with a pretty good plan. We ended up taking a prefab temp crown, shaving it down, popping some composite to fill the inside and then gluing it to the wire with composite. Tah Dah! I can't say she'll win Miss America but at least she can't whistle through her teeth anymore!
-Vincent
I've been doing the 8-5 by working with the 4 residents who are all super nice. The coolest thing I have seen so far this week is a patient in her 20's who had facial trauma a few weeks ago and luxated #7, 8, 10 with #9 having to be extracted. They had splinted her teeth from 2nd premolar to 2nd premolar (literally they used wire and glued it is place using composite) so she was there for a follow up appointment just to see how things were doing. However, the space really bothered her and said her boyfriend made fun of her all the time so she wanted something put in the space. The resident and I had a little huddle as we were kinda clueless as to what to do but I think we came up with a pretty good plan. We ended up taking a prefab temp crown, shaving it down, popping some composite to fill the inside and then gluing it to the wire with composite. Tah Dah! I can't say she'll win Miss America but at least she can't whistle through her teeth anymore!
-Vincent
UNC Hospital ROCKS!!!
Hello fellow classmates! Elise, thank you so much for starting this blog. I've enjoyed reading about everyone's adventures. Melissa--I died laughing reading your comments and found it necessary to share it with the residents in the room afterwards. They must have thought I was crazy when I busted out laughing all the sudden.
Today is my third day here at the UNC hospital.
The first day was a little slow...Mackenzie and I took over the hygienist's schedule since he was out sick. We split the patent's 50/50 (most of whom did not show up). Many of the patients we see at the hospital are very ill and have either had cancer (with removal of areas in the head and neck), have been diagnosed with blood illnesses, HIV, Hepatitis, etc. We are learning how to treat these patients and the proper precautions to take based on the illnesses that they have.
On my second day, I was able to do a full thickness periosteal flap, 4 extractions, an alveoplasty, and learned a new suturing technique. SO FUN!! Surgery is my new favorite obsession. Everything went smoothly except toward the end.....the attendee had decided to help me "snip" ,with rongeurs, off part of the bone off and it went flying across the room. This one have not been a big deal, but the daughter of the woman being treated was sitting in the corner and it nearly hit her in the face. Ooooops!!! Guess this is why people shouldn't be sitting in the treatment room if they aren't assisting with the treatment.
I'll update with some pictures when I get home, but for now I hope everyone is having as fun!!
-Jessica
Today is my third day here at the UNC hospital.
The first day was a little slow...Mackenzie and I took over the hygienist's schedule since he was out sick. We split the patent's 50/50 (most of whom did not show up). Many of the patients we see at the hospital are very ill and have either had cancer (with removal of areas in the head and neck), have been diagnosed with blood illnesses, HIV, Hepatitis, etc. We are learning how to treat these patients and the proper precautions to take based on the illnesses that they have.
On my second day, I was able to do a full thickness periosteal flap, 4 extractions, an alveoplasty, and learned a new suturing technique. SO FUN!! Surgery is my new favorite obsession. Everything went smoothly except toward the end.....the attendee had decided to help me "snip" ,with rongeurs, off part of the bone off and it went flying across the room. This one have not been a big deal, but the daughter of the woman being treated was sitting in the corner and it nearly hit her in the face. Ooooops!!! Guess this is why people shouldn't be sitting in the treatment room if they aren't assisting with the treatment.
I'll update with some pictures when I get home, but for now I hope everyone is having as fun!!
-Jessica
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Fuhgeddaboutit
Greetings from the Big Apple!
I started my rotation yesterday at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in NYC, and it's been going good so far. It's interesting to see how things are run outside of UNC, and lots of procedures done are considered "hero-dontics" as the attending described it. But it seems like UNC students have a good reputation here compared to some other dental students who also come on this rotation who "barely know how to diagnose caries". I was so proud to be a UNC dental student :)
On Tuesdays we see kids only and on Thursday I will be observing at the OMFS department. We'll see how that goes.
Things I am grateful for at UNC that St. Luke's doesn't have: digital radiographs, 'big' operatories, a big selection of burs and, believe it or not, EPR. Paper charts are not fun!
Here's a photo of the sign to the entrance of the hospital dental clinic. Even though it says "Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery" the actual OMFS department is elsewhere. Don't ask.
Sabine
I started my rotation yesterday at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in NYC, and it's been going good so far. It's interesting to see how things are run outside of UNC, and lots of procedures done are considered "hero-dontics" as the attending described it. But it seems like UNC students have a good reputation here compared to some other dental students who also come on this rotation who "barely know how to diagnose caries". I was so proud to be a UNC dental student :)
On Tuesdays we see kids only and on Thursday I will be observing at the OMFS department. We'll see how that goes.
Things I am grateful for at UNC that St. Luke's doesn't have: digital radiographs, 'big' operatories, a big selection of burs and, believe it or not, EPR. Paper charts are not fun!
Sabine
Low Security Correctional Institute - Butner
So there was a dead inmate in my pump room today. I'm still breastfeeding, which really embarrasses my preceptor and makes me laugh. Yesterday, they locked me in the xray room to pump and today, one of the nurses came in and told me that I didn't want to go in there to pump today, and when I asked why, she said, "because there's a dead body in there." CREEPY. Not going in there ever again. My pumping station has since been moved to the optometrist's office. This is probably too much information for most, but you can't make this stuff up so I had to share!
Melissa
Melissa
Asheville VAMC
Hey guys,
I would like to thank Elise for this great idea :) It's so nice to hear about everyone's experiences.
I came to Asheville on Sunday May 8th, the day after we got back from our 1st yr anniversary to Puerto Rico. The cool thing is that I've already found many similarities between Asheville & PR- waterfalls, forest, yummy food, etc.
Anyway, I am staying at MAHEC housing and when I first got here I saw that someone had moved in already. It turns out that I have a roommate (literally sharing one room) but it's not bad at all and she is an anesthesia nursing student and a very nice girl.
My first day at the Asheville VA was amazing. The dentists and assistants are so friendly and helpful. The VA is going through some dentist shortage at the time because 1 dentist retired a month ago and another one just announced that he is retiring, and one was out for his birthday, so the clinic only had 2 dentists working and they tried to use me as much as possible which I was very happy about. I observed a surgical extraction and then the dentist asked me to do many extractions on different patients. He even had me anesthetize one patient and then go to the other room and anesthetize the next pt, extract multiple teeth and go back to other pt and extract his teeth. He also really likes to quiz me which was intimating at first but I have learned so much from him. Oh, one thing that is definitely a big change for me is that the dentists and assistants all call me Dr. Hoda or Dr. Bassiri! At first, I told them that I'm not a doctor yet but they continue to introduce me to pts as Doctor. I also had a funny experience with one of the assistants while I was extracting four teeth. She was such a cheerleader and the whole time she would say things like "You are doing such a great job doctor" and I think she even clapped once hahahaha.
The patients are all very nice veterans who have to be 100% eligible to be seen. However, a few veterans showed up that are not qualified but they used me as an excuse to treat them for "educational purposes".
Today was slow especially because the dentist who is retiring came and the dentist who was out for his birthday also came to work. So I spent a lot of time observing them do their thing. One dentist basically finished all the requirements we need for removable in one day. They do a lot of partials and complete dentures. I got to also observe one of the dentists do a root canal today using Brasseler Endo sequence rotary files and gutta percha. The root canal looked so beautiful at the end and he did it in only 20 minutes. Finally I saw him deliver TAP 3 which is a mandibular advancement device for tx of snoring and sleep apnea. After delivering, he asked the pt to try to snore and the pt. could not. Then he asked him to take the device off and try to snore and wow his snore was really loud. The patient was super happy and he told me about his wife who hates his snoring and the CPAP which he had already tried and hated.
OK so I'm talking way too much as usual and I'm going to stop now. Look out for more pictures and hopefully less words in the near future :)
Love,
Hoda
I would like to thank Elise for this great idea :) It's so nice to hear about everyone's experiences.
I came to Asheville on Sunday May 8th, the day after we got back from our 1st yr anniversary to Puerto Rico. The cool thing is that I've already found many similarities between Asheville & PR- waterfalls, forest, yummy food, etc.
Anyway, I am staying at MAHEC housing and when I first got here I saw that someone had moved in already. It turns out that I have a roommate (literally sharing one room) but it's not bad at all and she is an anesthesia nursing student and a very nice girl.
My first day at the Asheville VA was amazing. The dentists and assistants are so friendly and helpful. The VA is going through some dentist shortage at the time because 1 dentist retired a month ago and another one just announced that he is retiring, and one was out for his birthday, so the clinic only had 2 dentists working and they tried to use me as much as possible which I was very happy about. I observed a surgical extraction and then the dentist asked me to do many extractions on different patients. He even had me anesthetize one patient and then go to the other room and anesthetize the next pt, extract multiple teeth and go back to other pt and extract his teeth. He also really likes to quiz me which was intimating at first but I have learned so much from him. Oh, one thing that is definitely a big change for me is that the dentists and assistants all call me Dr. Hoda or Dr. Bassiri! At first, I told them that I'm not a doctor yet but they continue to introduce me to pts as Doctor. I also had a funny experience with one of the assistants while I was extracting four teeth. She was such a cheerleader and the whole time she would say things like "You are doing such a great job doctor" and I think she even clapped once hahahaha.
The patients are all very nice veterans who have to be 100% eligible to be seen. However, a few veterans showed up that are not qualified but they used me as an excuse to treat them for "educational purposes".
Today was slow especially because the dentist who is retiring came and the dentist who was out for his birthday also came to work. So I spent a lot of time observing them do their thing. One dentist basically finished all the requirements we need for removable in one day. They do a lot of partials and complete dentures. I got to also observe one of the dentists do a root canal today using Brasseler Endo sequence rotary files and gutta percha. The root canal looked so beautiful at the end and he did it in only 20 minutes. Finally I saw him deliver TAP 3 which is a mandibular advancement device for tx of snoring and sleep apnea. After delivering, he asked the pt to try to snore and the pt. could not. Then he asked him to take the device off and try to snore and wow his snore was really loud. The patient was super happy and he told me about his wife who hates his snoring and the CPAP which he had already tried and hated.
OK so I'm talking way too much as usual and I'm going to stop now. Look out for more pictures and hopefully less words in the near future :)
Love,
Hoda
All DC talks about - Osama
Hey guys,
So I probably should have been the first to blog, considering I have already been on rotation for a week. I am at the National Institute of Health in the National Institute of Dental Research Center (NIDCR) in Bethesda, MD. My rotation will be 8 weeks long and I am working with Dr. Larry Fisher who is a big-whig in antibodies and non-collagenous proteins. Basically this summer, I am helping his lab to try to figure out the mechanism by which mutations in DSSP causes dentin dysplasia.
In real terms: ya'll remember K-rick's disease? Well dentin dysplasia is messed up collagen formation of the teeth only (aka not bone, not like OI but similar phenotypically)... so there is this protein in odontoblasts that is causing all the problems. BUT there are about 7 mutations in the coding sequence that all cause the same disease... so finding a reason to explain this is the project.
I work with Dr. Fisher and a lady named Zophia from Poland. Her husband is a German journalist so she gets insider info about zee on-goings in the white house. Apparently, Friday night Obama started off speaking at a dinner with, "what a week"-- little did anyone know that mission Osama had just occurred. Needless to say, the town went crazy.
To be honest, I haven't done a whole lot of exciting things at work but have learned a bunch so far... but I plan on solving the puzzle in no time. I am the only dental student so this big campus right now seems a little lonely at times around all these PhD peeps. The dental clinic is actually really small. The dentist there is a grad of UCSF and doesn't take life too seriously considering he deals with crazy diseases all day; I plan on spending a day over there just to see some of the awesomeness.
Everyday I walk a block to take the bus and then the metro to campus. It is a lot of brick like NC State, but a ton more parking.
This is my badge that lets me into campus, the gov doesn't mess around.... this was when I thought I was important- but I quickly realized around here I'm just an intern :)
Today, I decided to take the 'road less traveled.' These are the escalators that lead up from the metro to the NIH campus. Usually the far left one is going down and the right two are going up (this switches in the afternoon to go with the flow of traffic). As you can see it is extremely steep.... and I wanted to know how many stairs is was so I took the far right one that was off today--- 166 STEPS!
I was dying...
This is what it looks like when you are at the top looking down to the metro.
The weather is awesome and I will be going to the dental museum this weekend, if you're in the area... let me know!
Hope ya'll are having a blast with your patients. I'll be headed to Myrtle, so I hope to see some of you there.
Random Fact: What is a mammal without teeth or tooth like things?
no, not a sloth.... not a platypus..... an anteater!
Kelly
So I probably should have been the first to blog, considering I have already been on rotation for a week. I am at the National Institute of Health in the National Institute of Dental Research Center (NIDCR) in Bethesda, MD. My rotation will be 8 weeks long and I am working with Dr. Larry Fisher who is a big-whig in antibodies and non-collagenous proteins. Basically this summer, I am helping his lab to try to figure out the mechanism by which mutations in DSSP causes dentin dysplasia.
In real terms: ya'll remember K-rick's disease? Well dentin dysplasia is messed up collagen formation of the teeth only (aka not bone, not like OI but similar phenotypically)... so there is this protein in odontoblasts that is causing all the problems. BUT there are about 7 mutations in the coding sequence that all cause the same disease... so finding a reason to explain this is the project.
I work with Dr. Fisher and a lady named Zophia from Poland. Her husband is a German journalist so she gets insider info about zee on-goings in the white house. Apparently, Friday night Obama started off speaking at a dinner with, "what a week"-- little did anyone know that mission Osama had just occurred. Needless to say, the town went crazy.
To be honest, I haven't done a whole lot of exciting things at work but have learned a bunch so far... but I plan on solving the puzzle in no time. I am the only dental student so this big campus right now seems a little lonely at times around all these PhD peeps. The dental clinic is actually really small. The dentist there is a grad of UCSF and doesn't take life too seriously considering he deals with crazy diseases all day; I plan on spending a day over there just to see some of the awesomeness.
Everyday I walk a block to take the bus and then the metro to campus. It is a lot of brick like NC State, but a ton more parking.
This is my badge that lets me into campus, the gov doesn't mess around.... this was when I thought I was important- but I quickly realized around here I'm just an intern :)
Today, I decided to take the 'road less traveled.' These are the escalators that lead up from the metro to the NIH campus. Usually the far left one is going down and the right two are going up (this switches in the afternoon to go with the flow of traffic). As you can see it is extremely steep.... and I wanted to know how many stairs is was so I took the far right one that was off today--- 166 STEPS!
The weather is awesome and I will be going to the dental museum this weekend, if you're in the area... let me know!
Hope ya'll are having a blast with your patients. I'll be headed to Myrtle, so I hope to see some of you there.
Random Fact: What is a mammal without teeth or tooth like things?
no, not a sloth.... not a platypus..... an anteater!
Kelly
It's Always Sunny In Alamance County
Alamance is pretty darn fantastic. Excellent staff and preceptor. Working with kids all day is about 4372058705 times easier than dealing with grouchy adults. Kids'll believe anything you tell them. I've had at least one assistant tell me that the building is haunted. I had a patient today who insisted that Michael Jackson was in the room with us while I worked. I've seen a fat, wobble-legged groundhog on each of my drives home thus far, each trundling down the shoulders highway 54 singing jaunty hymns to the majesty of late spring.
It's really encouraging to figure out that you have chosen the correct path for your life. It makes you feel like a hero.
-ricker
-ricker
Monday, May 9, 2011
Greene Dental Services - Snow Hill, NC
Greetings Class of 2012!
I am doing my first rotation at the GDS in Snow Hill, NC. For those of you who are not familiar with this area of the state, it has:
1- The CRAZIEST drivers I have ever seen!
2- Very nice and welcoming people
3- Some of the most beautiful and scenic roads I have ever seen (specially closer to Snow Hill)
We stay at an apartment provided by AHEC in Greenville which is about 30 minutes from GDS. I am loving the drive through the amazing country roads with 55 miles speed limits for almost the whole trip. I just set my cruise control on 64 mph (take that cops) the whole time and enjoyed the ride! (Pictures coming soon)
Today I got to do a few hygiene checks and a couple of restorative work; not too bad for the first day! My preceptor seems like a very nice guy and GDS is pretty much run like a private practice clinic.
Keyvan
I am doing my first rotation at the GDS in Snow Hill, NC. For those of you who are not familiar with this area of the state, it has:
1- The CRAZIEST drivers I have ever seen!
2- Very nice and welcoming people
3- Some of the most beautiful and scenic roads I have ever seen (specially closer to Snow Hill)
We stay at an apartment provided by AHEC in Greenville which is about 30 minutes from GDS. I am loving the drive through the amazing country roads with 55 miles speed limits for almost the whole trip. I just set my cruise control on 64 mph (take that cops) the whole time and enjoyed the ride! (Pictures coming soon)
Today I got to do a few hygiene checks and a couple of restorative work; not too bad for the first day! My preceptor seems like a very nice guy and GDS is pretty much run like a private practice clinic.
Keyvan
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