I've taken two classes this year, one of which really helped me to appreciate the different employment options dentists have, and the importance of critically reviewing any contract before signing. Dr. Paull's "Worst Case Scenario" course encouraged us to envision what the "worst case scenario" could be for many employment options, or any decision in general. A recurring example involved thinking about compensation and incentives in your work. In school we are taught the ideal, and cannot accept anything less. However in practice it is left up to our professional judgement to determine what is best. Thinking about how practices are reimbursed for treatment, and how this affects our treatment planning abilities are factors that aren't really covered much in other courses but Dr. Paull goes into detail about all these things and more.
The one other course I elected to take is Dr. Marshall Fagin's Fixed Prosthodontics course. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about more advanced fixed cases, or just garnering some more tips to help with simpler cases. I've attended earlier lectures from Dr. Fagin and always admired his passion for dentistry. Luckily I had a couple fixed cases left to finish up this semeseter so I was able to apply some of his hints, like packing one cord continuously until we have adequate retraction prior to impressioning, or simply vaseline-ing a temporary before cementing to make clean up easier. One trick I'd hope to recall is when altering vertical dimension with a mostly edentulous arch, we can use the end of a needle and indelible marker to tattoo the gingiva to record the VDO we want.
All in all, D4 is a chance to cultivate balance, and remember all there was to life before dental school. Having time to reconnect with my capoeira group and spend some more time outdooors has been awesome. Requirements are almost complete and the coming months should be really exciting.
When the time comes to move on out, I know I'll definitely miss Buffalo for all it has to offer. At first the city felt cold and desolate, but I've never had a place grow on me as Buffalo has. Despite incredible amounts of snow, the rich cultural diversity of the city fills the warmer months with activity. The Elmwood and Allentown Art Festivals, and plethora of ethnic festivals cannot be missed if one decides to spend some time here.
I'll close with some photos from my recent visit to Letchworth State Park:
Cheers.
