My latest frustrations.

So as promised here are a few pics at my early attempts at drilling on teeth. Keep in mind these were my first attempts and that I am already seeing improvement.  These "teeth" are made of plastic, so they don't cut exactly like real teeth, but they are good for practice. 

This one is a premolar.  This side actually turned out ok.  You can see what is called a proximal box for a Class II prep.  This allows us to remove decay on the side of a tooth and then fill in the tooth with a filling material.

Below is another prep.  It is the beginning of a Class II prep but I hadn't dropped the box yet.  The first step is to prep the tooth for a Class I filling, which is what I did here.  This side also turned out well.

Below is a picture of the same molar from a different angle.  I was trying to drop a nice box here and the drill got away from me, and the tooth was left in the mangled form you see here.  Keep in mind that there are other teeth on either side of this one, so access is a little tricky.  But practice makes perfect.  

Below is a Class I prep for a lower molar.  Over all the prep is fine, except the one spot on the lower right.  It took out a little too much tooth structure from the cusp on the lower right of the picture.  We are only talking about .5mm of tooth structure, but it makes a difference and can weaken a tooth.  There is a very specific form that we must learn to follow for each tooth in order to be able to remove decayed tooth structure while still retaining enough tooth structure for strength and to retain the filling material.  

So there you are, a few of my first attempts.  I am planning on taking the camera to school with me soon to take some more pics of my more recent teeth and the fillings I have done.   So keep your eyes peeled for more to come. 

For the first time in the history of the world...

The youth in our ward got to make world history.  For the first time ever, 2 apostles took questions directly from our youth via web cam.  We were kind of a trial run but it all went smoothly.  Elder Bednar and Elder Scott held an informal Q & A session with the youth in our ward along with a ward from Massachusetts.  It was a pretty cool experience and the youth seemed to enjoy it, once they got over the giggles about being on TV.  Elder Scott even gave Elder Bednar a fist pound after one of his answers to a question.  

Now thats what I call snowing.

So we finally got an honest to goodness snow storm here in Philly.  It has snowed before, if you could really call it that: A dusting here and there and and even 2 inches one time.  But this time the snow really fell late one wednesday night.  So Ashley and I went out and had a little fun.  We made some snow angels, threw snowballs and even made a little snowman.  Keep in mind this was all at about midnight that night.  Yeah...we are night owls.

Le Bec Fin

Someone will have to ask Dana what this means.  Le Bec Fin is a very nice, very fancy French restaurant here in Philly.  Twice a year they have what is called Restaurant Week.  During this time all the really fancy places put up a discounted menu for people to come in and sample there food.  It is a more "simple" menu than normal, with limited options, but it is still pretty good.  Ashley and I went with some friends from the ward here.  The food was actually really good, and the Creme Brulee was amazing.  Here are a few photos.

In the name of education...

Sorry it has been awhile for any of you who actually take the time to check our blog and see what is up.  Time has been flying and I have been meaning to post some stuff, but it hasn't happened.  I will try and catch up a little with what I have been up to. 

In the past few weeks I have done some crazy things in the name of education, such as; Peel the flesh from a mans face, cut off a guys lower jaw with what can only be described as the fanciest hedge clippers ever, and today I sawed a guys head in half...all in the name of education.

Before you go colling the authorities on me, it was all legal.  We have been doing our Head and Neck section in the Anatomy cadaver lab.  All sorts of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities occur in Anatomy lab.  

Aside from that classes and pre-clinic lab is keeping me busy.  I am doing well in the class work and the lab is going pretty well too.  There is a pretty steep learning curve for drilling teeth though.  A lot of very fine hand movements and little room for error.  Imagine trying to write your name on a piece of paper while looking in the mirror.  Only you have to make your name read right to left when you are done and turn the paper back around to face you.  Sound challenging?  Now think about doing that with a high speed drill on someones tooth.  It has been a challenge, but I am getting better at it day by day.    I have some pictures of my early attempts that I will post soon, and then I will follow those up with my more recent successes.

Aside from school there isn't much else going on in my life.  School keeps me busy enough, and what free time I have I try to spend with Ashley when she isn't at work.  But life is good and we are happy so I guess that is all that matters.

Well I need to run, check back for some pictures coming soon.