The Other Side of Dental School: Charity Rides and Prom

Well I have decided to come back to the blog and write a little bit on what has been going on in the life of a first year dental student at the glorious Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine.

First off, I have been somewhat cognisant of "blog worthy" material since the last few posts I have made and have noticed that the longer I am in dental school, the less frequently "blog worthy" material jumps out at me. I think this is because a norm has been established and dental school has become the daily grind and has become somewhat mechanical. There have been a few new additions as we, the inaugural class of 2012, have traversed the threashold of the Spring quarter. Our weekly basic science schedule has been refreshingly modified where we have 2-3 science lectures a day mingled with cadaver lab. Rather than a test every Monday, we have our basic science tests every other Monday. We still have a lot of quizzes and exams and lab work to do with our other classes, just the brunt of our sciences has, in my opinion, become slightly more relaxed. We have also begun NBDE part I (National Board Dental Examination) preparation classes. Boards are on the horizon yet are somewhat shadowed by the dense jungle of Spring courses to really turn up the anxiety. I am registered to take the boards sometime in August and am sure I will be feeling the stress then.

Alright.... Well, right after we jumped back into our blue scrubs and headed back to school at the start of Spring quarter, the annual American Diabetic Assoiation sponsored Tour de Cure was knocking on the door. Dental School is not only book work and waxing, but it allows for good times and good activities as a class. I had signed up with some other students from the class, as well as the Dean (Dr. Simonsen) and some faculty to form a cycling team. The race was a lot of fun, and surprisingly not as tretcherous as I thought it was going to be. I road 64 miles (100km) in a time of 2hrs and 46min. I am going to try to beat this next year, we'll see what happens. Here are a few pics from race day.

Cycling: The only time stretchy pants are cool.

The finish! Turned out to be a beautiful day, perfect for a race.

Group shot of the team after the ride.

Just this last weekend we had the 1st annual Odontoblast social. First off, you need to understand what our class is all about. We are not all a bunch of stiffs that sit around and study all the time, but we are a tight bunch of friends that like to hang loose and have some good laughs. We are lucky to have a couple of awesome activities coordinators wihin our ranks who work hard to organize events where we can get together as a class and enjoy not digging around in a cadaver or waxing teeth. Now for those of you who are not aware of what an "odontoblast" is (I'm guessing just about everyone who reads this besides dental students or dentists) an "odontoblast" is a cell deep within the tooth that resides on the periphery of the pulp chamber. These little cells are responsible for laying down the hard layer of dentin, a calcified matrix, which lies just below the enamel on the tooth. Our "odontoblast" social was really a prom but we liked the name "odontoblast" becuase we are, at the end of the day, pretty nerdy. The party was complete with a red carpet, specialty cakes, disco ball, open bar, catered food, dancing, prom queen/king, limbo line and my favorite part, the awards. My favorite award went out to Dr. Simonsen who won the "My dean can kick your dean's ass"-award. It's funny cuz it's true. My beautiful wife accompanied me to the party.

Here are some pics from the 2009 Odontoblast.






Denty awards.

I almost forgot! Dr. Gilpatrick's mustache kicked the party into high gear. Even though it was fake, it was respectible nontheless and appropriate for mustache march, another annual activity here at MWU. Dr. Gilpatrick wins the award for longest and curliest 'stache.


Here is a shot of my truck, at least the back window. I bought this truck just about 2 months ago. It is perfect, it gets about 27 mpg which is great for my epic commute to school every day and I have a rack in the back to secure my bike if I am going to drive somewhere for a ride. Best of all, it's dependable. Toyota Power! I also equipped it with a Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine sticker to represent, afterall, I do live in hostile ASDOH territory! (they're 2 miles up the road).