1st week back

This week has been an eventful week as far as school goes. Yesterday we took our first impressions (on fake teeth) and poured our first casts, and then today we practiced using a highspeed handpiece for the first time! My casts turned out OK, no bubbles. The lab was pretty crowded, though, with all 52 of us split between the two labs mixing stone and alginate, but it went fairly smoothly. The simulation clinic was even more fun, but we have a lot of homework for the next week: memorize what the names of a bunch of burs and instruments and what the code numbers on them mean. Not too hard, just have to take the time to do it. We used our handpieces today to practice preping (drilling out parts) this little practice pad. It had different shapes on it, some which resembled preps you might do in certain teeth. It had 3 layers: white (enamel), yellow (dentin), and red (pulp). The idea was to prep the shape without going deeper than the dentin and maintaining the margins (represented by the black outline of the shape). Everyone was dusty from the plastic residue of the practice pad, but everyone sounded like they were having fun!

Some of our other classes aren't too fun, like Physiology. I do like the subject, but the class is just boring. Cariology should be OK, but we don't have that too often. There's also General Pathology, but we haven't had a lecture in there yet. Microbiology should be good, but we don't get around to that until later in the semester.

Tonight, some friends are coming over to play Rock Band. Nothing too exciting, as I'll probably go in to school tomorrow to study and finish up a couple more impressions/cast I need to make.