Boards...

The last time I posted, I had just finished my spring semester and was gearing up to take boards.  The National Board Dental Examination Part 1 (NBDE 1) tests everything a dental student learns during the didactic portion of their curriculum.  Most dental schools offer the exam during or after the second year, but CU's curriculum is designed so that we take it after the first year.  To study for the test, I spent four weeks intensely studying everything I've learned in the past year.  It was a lonely, exhausting 4 weeks, but I took the exam on June 7th.  After two long weeks of waiting, I finally heard back that my hard work paid off and I PASSED!  I can't wait to put everything from last year behind me, and move on with my summer and the rest of my dental education!

1 down, 3 to go!

This semester has been a whirlwind of crazy, busy, stressful, and fun, but I made it... and my 'made it' I mean that I am DONE.  Done with my first year of dental school!  The last 9 months and two semesters have absolutely flown by.  I can't even believe it!  Unfortunately in dental school, there are no real summer breaks, so it's back to the grind for me on Monday with a whole new semester.

Now for the next big step in my academic journey... the NBDE part 1, or my board exams!  I allowed myself some time for relaxation and celebration the night of my last final, but since then I've started hitting the books hard to prepare for the 1st part of the national dental board examinations that I will be taking in ONE MONTH!  Crazy, crazy.  

The next time you see me, I will probably have wrinkles and frazzled gray hair, but at least come June I will be over the hump, and free to enjoy the rest of my summer... or at least what summer I have in between summer classes.

And now for some pictures of what I've been up to this spring, in school and out of it :)

St. Patty's Day, 2014

Class I amalgam restoration

New Dentist Committee of Denver mixer

Some of my classmates for a birthday celebration

Work hard, play hard!

When I originally committed to CU, I knew I was in for 4 years of serious outdoor fun.  Dental school is a very rigorous and demanding program that requires your full dedication if you intend on surviving.  However, for all the hard work I put in, I also get a lot of fun out of it, too.

As most of you know, Aspen, CO is the host of the winter X Games every year.  In 2014, I was fortunate enough to BE THERE and experience it in all of it's Xtreme glory!  Me and a group of classmates loaded up a truck and headed up for an incredible weekend in one of America's most beautiful cities.  We stayed with a friend's family (Thanks Doug!) and enjoyed all that Aspen had to offer.  Since I haven't yet invested in skis, I stayed in and attempted to study a little while watching the Games while my friends hit the slopes, but we all celebrated with a night out on the town the first night, and went to see Tiësto's concert the second night.  In all, I can't imagine a better weekend!

Following the X Games, I spent a weekend at Breckenridge with CU's other Delta Sigma Delta members on their annual Ski Trip.  Again, I didn't ski, but half of the group stayed in and there was plenty to do at the house.  The weekend went by so quickly, and I'm already excited for next year!  As if the weekend couldn't get any better, it ended with SuperBowl Sunday!  Some friends and I celebrated in downtown Denver, and even though the Broncos lost, it was an incredible end to an unforgettable weekend.

A little bit of Projects...

For starters, I recently updated the look of this blog, including a Projects menu at the top of the page. There I'll try to keep pictures and descriptions of all of my projects for you to check out!

..........

Like I mentioned in my last post, I'm taking two labs this semester: occlusion and direct restorative (simulation).  I'm absolutely ecstatic because I feel like I'm actually doing dentistry, and it's so much fun!  To tell you about it, I'll break it down by class:

Occlusion

Our first session in occlusion was taking impressions on our dentaforms.  Most of my classmates (including myself) have never taken impressions before, so it was completely new territory.  It's quite simple really, but as with all things, it takes some practice to get the hang of it.

I didn't get a picture of the process because my gloves were covered in sticky alginate, but I found this one on the internet.  See link in caption below:

http://www.healthscienceeducation.com/products/health_science/career_pathways/dental_diagnostics.htm

After taking the impressions, we went to the lab and poured them up with stone and trimmed the casts once they hardened.

Last week, after practicing on our dentaforms, we got to go into the clinic and take impressions on each other.  Working as a dental assistant last year, I saw countless impressions be taken, and boy is it harder that it looks!

It seemed like everyone in our class struggled and had to try so many times that we all had rashes and cracked lips for a few days.

Luckily, my partner Natalie is a good friend of mine, so we had a lot of fun throughout the process, even though we were miserable for a few days after...

Direct Restorative:

In sim lab, we finally got to start drilling!  Many of my friends at other schools started last semester, and hearing their stories, I was so excited to hold a handpiece!  Our first assignment was to drill different shapes into a block, practicing different angles and techniques. Once we got the hang of that, we got to practice on our mannequins.  I only got a picture of my first attempt (which is NOT good!) but as an example, you can see what we were doing.

Our first assignment was a Class I composite prep on #29. 

Semester #2!

After a long and much needed winter break, I'm back at school for my second semester.  I can't believe how ridiculously fast time is passing... I've already been in dental school for over 5 months!  After a semester of waxing, I'm also really excited to be taking new dental classes.  Here's a run-down of the classes I'm taking this semester:

Didactic:
Human Physiology
General Pathology
Microbiology
Immunology
Interprofessional Education
Infection Control

Dental:
Occlusion (tech lab)
Direct Restoration (sim lab)

Last week we started drilling and taking impressions, and for the first time, it actually felt like I was in dental school!  Pictures to come :)

DONE!

As of last Thursday, I am DONE with my first semester of dental school!  The second half brought on a load of new challenges in the form of human anatomy and the second half of dental morphology, but I made it through with my self-esteem and my will-to-go-on intact!  I won't gross you out with the details of my dissection lab, but I can say that I have a whole new appreciation for the human body.

I'm home for the holidays now, and I can say that it feels SO GOOD to be back in Michigan.

Anatomy

Sorry about my lack of posting lately... we've started our Anatomy block and it's kicking my butt.  I've never been a good memorizer - I'm more of a conceptual person - so this class is taking up all of my time.  We also have a full cadaver dissection lab, which is awesome!  The sight of a cadaver and a dissection always made me queasy in my undergrad anatomy class, so I was really worried about actually doing the dissection instead of watching, but once we got started, I realized that the human body isn't gross or morbid, but it's actually fascinating.  I really appreciate the person who donated their body for the sake of me learning about it on my way to becoming a doctor... Thank you, thank you!

In other news, Halloween just passed and I was able to go to the delta sig party last weekend.  Camille and I dressed up as Robin Thicke (me) and Miley Cyrus (Camille) from the VMAs and had so much fun.  I wish we could've gone out downtown another night, but with Anatomy just starting, it just wasn't in the cards.  Guess we'll have to save our second costumes for next year :)