Post Spring Break

It's been a week since we got back from Spring Break and it seems like Spring just decided to descend on Buffalo. We've had basically 4 days of consecutive 80 degree weather which is uncharacteristic of Buffalo for this time of the year. It's supposed to cool down a bit, but before it does, some classmates and I have been taking full advantage of the weather. Being super bogged down in work all the time, its hard to find time to explore the other campus at UB North, however we got to the other day which was great. It almost makes you feel like UB South is the somewhat neglected campus.

Aside from the fabulous weather, there has been work. Third Micro Test was challenging, different from the past though since the material was divided up between a bunch of professors. And questions from the longest lecture (81 slides on Staphylococcus) were left off. Thankfully I saved that lecture for last :). Physiology is the next exam coming up next Wednesday, where we'll be evaluated on our knowledge of the lungs and respiratory system. The book work continues...

Integrated dental practice though has proven to be an awesome experience. On Monday we took our first alginate impressions on one another, and poured up casts. Our overseeing faculty had sympathy on us since they realized how long this would take, and our group had one hour less than the other groups would have, since we lost an hour to lecture. Even with that sympathy, and the added stress of the Microbiology exam the next day, the process took hours. Taking impressions is probably something we'll do many, many times in our careers, and we've probably seen dentists do flawlessly, without hesitation. Learning the procedure on the other hand is another story. First you need to measure out the powder, and water. They both then need to be combined and mixed throughly in a mixing bowl with a spatula, and within that same minute that it is mixed the impression material must be placed in a tray, and into the patient's mouth properly. Spend too much time mixing and your material polymerizes and you'll have to start all over. Spend too little time mixing and the material won't set correctly and you risk gagging your patient with dripping alginate down their throat(which I may have experienced lol). Once the mandibular and maxillary impressions are taken, it is rinsed, sprayed with Cavicide, wrapped in a wet paper towel and stored in a sealed plastic bag.

The next step, which is normally done in the same day, is to make the cast out of castone. This involves mixing water, and the stone powder, then filling the impression carefully. Once full the rest of the castone is neatly placed on a paper towel which becomes your base. The impression tray is then placed on top of this and set to dry, which takes about an hour. Once dry you can then remove the stone from the tray, trim the model and be set to go.

The whole process took a couple of days since none of us really wanted to wait around for an hour when there was a 10 lecture exam the next day. This made removing the stone a little more difficult than it should have been, but removing the stone from the alginate in a pool of water made things a little easier.  All in all, a great experience to have! I'd hope to do it again sometime, before having to be evaluated, but I'm not sure if we'll get that opportunity.