It's hard to believe that it's been several weeks since my last post. The weeks are just flying by. Dental school is going well. I am currently dealing with a few adjustments. In the last two weeks I've had 13 credits added to my schedule. That currently brings me to 22 credits with a total of 24 to be completed by the end of the semester. The time consuming classes right now are histology, gross anatomy and biochemistry. I know you are all jealous and wish you could be in class eight hours a day with lots of studying afterward. I'm sure you will get by. My favorite class is oral anatomy. We learn about all of the tiny details of each tooth and then in lab, work on creating them from wax to internalize the information.
I've also started using the new dental simulation clinic at the school. The University of Minnesota has one of the only simulation clinics this advanced. It uses GPS technology to teach students proper ergonomics and appropriate tooth preparations for restorations. The GPS detects where the handpiece is placed and what plastic tooth material has been removed. The preparation is then simulated into a 3-D image on a computer screen which can be compared to an ideal preparation. It also offers objective grading. The experience has been pretty good. I find the computer feedback to be helpful - I just wish the handpiece wasn't so heavy.
Here is a link to a video to see what I'm talking about:
We started gross anatomy this past week. Yes, we do work with cadavers. We are very fortunate to have people who have been kind enough to donate their bodies to allow us to learn. It's tough work though and there is a lot of preparation involved and ridiculous amount of information learn. I'm also practicing with a choir that will perform for the memorial surface to honor the families of those who donated their bodies.
In other news I have found a wonderful opportunity for school. I will most likely be joining the National Guard later this month. It's a very family friendly and flexible option to fund school and serve the country. I will be working specifically in dentistry and the tuition benefits are good. There are a lot of details; but the basic idea is that I will be drilling once a month for the next eight years. (Four before graduation and four as a licensed dentist.) Following graduation I will continue drilling but have the option (or need) to be deployed as a dentist with the Army. If that were the case it would only be for 90 days and I can't be deployed for 18 months after that. I've put a lot of thought into it and Jason and I feel this is the best option for us. I look at it this way: I will owe my soul to somebody in order to pay for school. It's either the military for eight or the bank for much, much longer.
Jason and I had a wonderful anniversary. Autumn this year has been amazing. It is an unusally warm fall and the leaves are changing colors at a reasonable rate. (Some years they start and drop leaves within three weeks.) Life is good, albeit busy.
2 comments:
Holy cow! You're making teeth and stuff! I'm glad there are people like you out there who like digging in other people's mouths. Otherwise I might be missing a few teeth and wouldn't be able to enjoy apples like I do now. :)
Blue teeth fun! Glad to see you are doing so well Becca!
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