tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197457232024-03-13T21:52:12.859-04:00Dr. Mommy DentistThe story of a NYC mommy dentist transplanted to the Great White North.Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-37276700137235048682007-08-22T08:04:00.001-04:002007-08-22T08:06:17.428-04:00conversation with the cookie"mommy, maya and monisha called me a crybaby-head again. i'm not a crybaby-head!"<br /><br />"of course you're not, sweetheart. don't play with people who call you names, they're not nice."<br /><br />"i know, mommy. i need to find some normal friends."Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-51818451231979425602007-08-12T21:36:00.001-04:002007-08-12T21:54:35.582-04:00heading back homeso my flight leaves JFK tomorrow morning bright and early. i had originally booked a late afternoon flight but changed my ticket after my ride to the airport situation changed. i'm glad to be heading out earlier rather than not, as i do have the drive back from buffalo to conquer after we land. so i have some time to unpack and decompress after i get home, as i've got a busy week ahead of me. vacations are never relaxing.<br /><br />it was a fantastic trip and felt wonderful to be back. a lot of conflicting emotions run through my mind when i'm here. i waver between <em>i never should have left</em> to <em>i'm </em>so<em> glad i don't live here anymore</em> about five times a day. i'm not sure i could ever go back to living here after living in toronto, but i would be lying if i said i didn't pine for the good old days and wonder how different my life, my family's life, would be if we'd stayed.<br /><br />i will blog more about all that when i return. here is one of my favorite songs of all time. it's from the dudley moore film <em>arthur</em> and it's so 80's and is so NYC and i just love it.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/k_JOmEIGGdE"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/k_JOmEIGGdE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-60452360751445298092007-08-11T07:57:00.000-04:002007-08-11T08:29:57.317-04:00gluttony and overstimulationi guess this is very typical when one heads back to NYC. i braved penn station at lunch hour, walked to the post office on 8th avenue in the pouring rain with the stroller and the umbrella and people weaving in and out, braved the NYC subway system (man, i forgot how gritty it was!) and made it to carmine's where one of my oldest friends and i ate so much it hurt. i walked it off for about forty blocks, then ducked into zabar's to by canuck a cinnamon babka, a favorite treat when we were in dental school. another ten or so blocks and i was down by lincoln center at my oldest friend's new apartment. it was awesome - a studio on 69th and columbus with exposed brick, a fireplace, and newly finished everything. the apartment is the size of my bedroom, but he can walk to the subway and to the zillion amenities he has within a 10 block radius. he refused to tell me how much he pays a month in rent because he knows i'll laugh at him. but such is the life of a new yorker. <br /><br />the evening continued with even more food, which i had no room for but forced it down because it was just so damn tasty, then washed it down with a smoothy at penn station because i just had to. it was a miracle that i didn't puke on the train, but it's not like it hasn't happened to people before and i don't think anyone would have noticed! <br /><br />i had a new york moment when i was at penn trying to call my dad to let him know what train we're on, and there's these special phones that if you pop a quarter in you get 30 seconds anywhere in NYS, very useful for people who are calling nassau, suffolk, and westchester and don't want to spend $1.50 just to let people know which train they're on. so i find one, put my quarter in and my sister answers, and just as i say the time, my quarter pops out and the call gets cut off. hmm, okay. i try again, and this time my dad picks up. i get to "i'm on the 9-oh..." and this time the call cut off but ate my quarter. dammit. so i try another phone across from me, and it happened again, this time my quarter popped out. i slammed the phone and bellowed out, "goddammit, doesn't <em>any</em> phone in this fuckin' city work!" no one even batted an eyelash. i made my way to the track entrance, found another phone, and it happened <em>again,</em> but i was able to get all the info to my dad and he was there to pick us up safe and sound.<br /><br />i got back at 10:30 and returned to find all of my family who had come for dinner while i was gone but waited for my arrival. more food, dunkin' donuts with candles for my sister's 18th birthday today. all the conversation was gone from me, if you can believe it, so i chilled out to watch <em>male gigolo</em> with my sisters and called canuck to say goodnight. i slept very well.<br /><br />today we're going to take it easy, maybe just relax at the beach. i miss the ocean, i could smell it when i landed at JFK (it's right on jamaica bay). cookie's been fabulous this whole trip, so well behaved, even in all the restaurants, and just too damn cute. she struck up so many conversations with strangers, especially on the train rides. the funniest was when she shouted out to the conductor, "hey, what's your name? mine's cookie!" hey, where's your boy?" i think she's used to seeing male conductors and that's why she asked, but it definitely drew laughter from the surrounding passengers. then she struck up a conversation with the girl sitting next to us and her boyfriend, both of whom were travelling from newark airport and were drinking smoothies like we were. the boyfriend got off first, and cookie asked, "hey, where's your boy?" then when the girl got up and picked up her red suitcase to get off the train, cookie said, "i like your red suitcase, how did you get it? did you find it in the dumpster?" we just laughed our asses off!<br /><br />gluttony totals for yesterday:<br />bread, bread, bread, and foccaccia from carmine's<br />carmine's salad<br />rigatoni and meatballs<br />coffee and chocolate mousse cake from french roast<br />hamburger and french fries from p.j. clarke's<br />some of tony's fish and chips<br />20 oz. angel food smoothie from smoothy king<br />1 dunkin' donuts jelly donut<br />15 strawberries<br /><br />they are going to have to roll me home.Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-23167688739490795672007-08-10T07:44:00.001-04:002007-08-10T08:06:25.878-04:00back in the USA!cookie's up really early and the rest of the house is fast asleep (four teenagers, no one gets up past 10 a.m. here) and i've had LOTS of time to update the blog and facebook. it feels awesome to get back. the flight down rocked, but i almost missed it because i was a goon and didn't fill up the car before i left and had to find a gas station on the interstate so i wouldn't stall. plus i got held up at the border for a half hour! i breezed right through, but the customs agent deemed it necessary to detain each car ahead of me for a full five minutes, WTF!<br /><br />i made my first trip into manhattan with my dad, who had to teach a class at 24th and lex. i met up with one of my friends from dental school and had my first slice of new york pizza in over nine months paired with a diet coke in one of those wax-coated paper cups. it was so meaningful i almost cried. seriously.<br /><br />today's lunch at carmine's and hanging with more friends. i'm trying to hook up with as many people as i can, but it's hard - i do have famliy here, too! tomorrow's my sister's 18th birthday and we have something planned for her, probably dinner out. <br /><br />it feels really great to be back. i miss canuck, as he opted out of this trip because of work, but i'm having a great time. i'm keeping tabs of all the new york food that i miss and am now stuffing my face with. here are yesterday's totals:<br /><br /><em>"official" NY Mets donut from dunkin' donuts</em><br /><em>new york city pizza</em><br /><em>new york bagel</em><br /><em>anything that doesn't have french written on it</em><br /><em>milk in jugs/cartons</em>Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-58637706007332481852007-08-04T01:56:00.000-04:002007-08-04T02:15:03.398-04:00feels goodto enjoy the long weekend. it was wonderful to have the day off and furthermore topped off with an awesome party. my hygienist got married tonight and since the whole office was invited and the reception was kind of far up north, we decided to take a much needed and much deserved day off. i car-pooled everyone up there and because of long-weekend traffic and some miscommunication about who was giving a ride to whom and because some people weren't at the designated spot at the designated time, we were 45 minutes late and completely missed the ceremony and even arrived sans one invited guest. but that's another story for another time. it's about 2 a.m. now and although i just spent the last 10 hours partying and shuttling people back and forth, i feel remarkably wired right now. hence the late-nite post. but i'm so stoked to have three whole days with cookie and canuck, and i feel so relaxed and happy that i can sleep in and make pancakes tomorrow morning. yum.<br /><br />the wedding was specatcular and the bride and groom looked so happy! he smiled a lot, and i can boast of at least being part of the reason as i did a crapload of work on him before the wedding, including anterior bonding. he hadn't been to a dentist in a long, long time (he was embarassed to divulge how much) but he was an awesome patient and we had a great time working together. he apparently was so happy with his teeth he walked around the house saying, "S, look at my teeth, aren't they neat? they look so nice!" i wonder how much he'll still like me after i do that treatment-planned endo on #36 when they get back from their honeymoon..... anyway, she's off to italy for three weeks and i told her to shop for paper in florence, my favorite city in the whole wide world, as it is renowned for its paper and she loves to scrapbook. who would have thought it, florence and paper, BFF? when she comes back it will be a short while before her time with us is up, as she's covering the mat-leave for our regular full-time hygienist who will be returning in november. it's very bittersweet, as we love P and she's fantastic, but we'll really miss S when she goes. i hope there's some way to keep the two, but such is the nature of mat-leave.<br /><br />i think i may actually be getting sleepy now...Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-21999260779297468092007-07-30T08:25:00.000-04:002007-07-30T09:45:30.302-04:00interesting story<em><strong>Dentist Wins Case Over Tusks in Mouth</strong><br /></em><br /><em>('OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- An oral surgeon who temporarily implanted fake boar tusks in his assistant's mouth as a practical joke and got sued for it has gotten the state's high court to back up his gag.');<br /></em><br /><em>By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<br />Published: July 27, 2007<br />Filed at 2:45 p.m. ET<br /></em><br /><em>OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- An oral surgeon who temporarily implanted fake boar tusks in his assistant's mouth as a practical joke and got sued for it has gotten the state's high court to back up his gag.<br />Dr. Robert Woo of Auburn had put in the phony tusks while the woman was under anesthesia for a different procedure. He took them out before she awoke, but he first shot photos that eventually made it around the office.<br />The employee, Tina Alberts, felt so humiliated when she saw the pictures that she quit and sued her boss.<br />Woo's insurance company, Fireman's Fund, refused to cover the claim, saying the practical joke was intentional and not a normal business activity his insurance policy covered, so Woo settled out of court. He agreed to pay Alberts $250,000, then he sued his insurers.<br />A King County Superior Court jury sided with Woo, ordering Fireman's Fund to pay him $750,000, plus the out-of-court settlement. The insurance company won the next round, with the state Court of Appeals saying the prank had nothing to do with Woo's practice of dentistry. On Thursday, the state Supreme Court restored Woo's award.<br />In a sprightly 5-4 decision, Supreme Court Justice Mary Fairhurst wrote that Woo's practical joke was an integral, if odd, part of the assistant's dental surgery and ''conceivably'' should trigger the professional liability coverage of his policy.<br />Dissenting Justice James Johnson said the prank wasn't a dental procedure at all and only ''rewards Dr. Woo's obnoxious behavior and allows him to profit handsomely.''<br />The back story, the court wrote, is that Alberts' family raises potbellied pigs and that she frequently talked about them at the office where she worked for five years.<br />Woo said his jests about the pigs were part of ''a friendly working environment'' that he tried to foster.<br />The oral surgery on Alberts was intended to replace two of her teeth with implants, which Woo did. First, though, he installed temporary bridges that he had shaped to look like boar tusks, and while Alberts was still under anesthesia, he took photos, some with her eyes propped open. Before she woke up, he removed the ''tusks'' and put in the proper replacement teeth.<br />Woo says he didn't personally show her the pictures but staffers gave her copies at a birthday party.<br />Woo's lawyer, Richard Kilpatrick, described the surgeon as a kindhearted, fun-loving man who was chagrined that an office prank turned out so badly. He was delighted with the high court's decision, Kilpatrick said.<br />Attorneys for the insurance company did not immediately return calls seeking comment.</em><br /><br />it's funny how office dynamics work and the level of familiarity that people have and/or think they have amongst their co-workers. did this guy cross the line? it was obvious that this employee felt confident enough in his abilites and comfortable enough to ask this doctor to extract her teeth and replace with them implants, and it may be safe to assume that there was probably at least a certain level of familiarity between these two people (i never asked any of the dentists that i worked with for treatment until i'd been there long enough to establish a comfortable relationship, but that's just me). this may have given the doctor the false sense of security with this woman, and it sounds like he was a bit of a prankster himself so he felt like he could go ahead with such a "harmless" joke. personally, i thought it was kind of funny, especially if it was a joke between work friends. i could see how it was a lapse of judgement at the time and if he offended her, a profuse apology should have sufficed. i could even have understood the fact that she quit, as there was a breach of trust and now a lack of confidence. but to sue for $250,000 sounds preposterous to me. it's not like he took naked pictures of her and distributed them over the internet. the pictures were distributed amongst friends and coworkers at a birthday party, a party to which he was obviously invited and i don't know about you, but i don't invite random strangers or just any boss i work with to my birthday parties. is this another example of another good old american trying to bilk the legal system, or was this a truly legitimate complaint in which someone was horribly violated? when is that line crossed?<br /><br />we as professionals do have to guard our words and our actions more stringently in the workplace. it is obvious that you cannot assume that level of familiarity with anyone, especially your coworkers. i had a very similar experience with this not that long ago. both of the offices i work in are very casual - the way we hang out after hours, talk amongst ourselves, and even the way we interact with the patients. we are all extremely friendly and comfortable with each other. the hygienist that i work with on saturdays has a page on facebook and when i signed up i noticed her picture on one of my friend's pages. it was an awesome shot of her in hot pants and a tight little top, and she looked absolutely stunning in it. so when i saw her again to ask if i could add her to my friends list, i said, "hey D, i saw your facebook picture, wow hoochie mama, it was awesome!" she didn't say anything to me but gave me this strange look and avoided me for the rest of the day. when i approached her the next week i worked with her and asked her what was wrong, and she told me what i had said to her was extremely offensive and that she does not use that kind of language, i was totally taken aback. i had worked with and chatted with this person for over a year, and even exchanged that word with my other co-workers and assumed no harm in it. of course i apologized profusely and she accepted, but the relationship has certainly changed and it will take time to build up that trust again on both ends. if i had learned anything from this experience, it is to not assume that level of familiarity with people, especially in the work environment. hopefully, she doesn't sue me or my malpractice insurance company.Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-25995014097480804312007-07-23T08:23:00.001-04:002007-07-23T08:28:25.785-04:00My Simpsons Doppelganger<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgihUTxGJqrBQTKOSKcvddT_5RseBmtJ7rjOnPLmEgiO6pjavBg0EJabAERl32c1YiYSDnexCuYRDFIB2UE_CWD6bzgYOXcAqvLRc9dWCtNc4960q693ZAJoJ0mABkQzkP9Ruc/s1600-h/mommyavatar.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090367126975086866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgihUTxGJqrBQTKOSKcvddT_5RseBmtJ7rjOnPLmEgiO6pjavBg0EJabAERl32c1YiYSDnexCuYRDFIB2UE_CWD6bzgYOXcAqvLRc9dWCtNc4960q693ZAJoJ0mABkQzkP9Ruc/s320/mommyavatar.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="left">hopefully i won't see this one walking around springfield anytime soon. <a href="http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa111102a.htm">doppelgangers</a> are supposed to be bad omens.</div>Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-229080633577937412007-07-22T10:18:00.000-04:002007-07-22T11:12:10.439-04:00the aliens are coming and i'm going to new york!!!either cookie's been watching too much t.v. or she was told something by the kids she was hanging out with at the pig roast, who knows, but she spent a good portion of time telling the other guests, complete strangers, btw, that the aliens' house was next door, that they left something in the backyard of ameloblast's house, and that they were coming for her. this kid is like a sponge, i don't know where she picks up some of the things she says. i really have to watch my mouth around her now, especially when i'm driving.<br /><br />so it's been 9 months since i visited my old home in the big apple and i've traded enough trips to NY for trips to MI to warrant two place tickets to visit my old stomping grounds. this trip is going to cap off a pretty busy summer peppered with insanse hours at work, barbeques, weddings, and visits from my friends. cookie and i are driving to buffalo to fly <a href="http://www.jetblue.com/">jet blue</a> my FAVE airline and the only one i'm convinced won't crash because because it has satellite t.v.'s on each seatback, into <a href="http://www.kennedyairport.com/CommutingTravel/airports/html/kennedy.html">JFK</a>. canuck will have the house to himself, free of estrogen for a few days. i'm <em>so</em> excited! i have a list of things to do when i get there, and of course almost all of them revolve around food and shopping. i'm also have to pencil in the tons of people to see, and how the hell am i going to squeeze this all in four days? my sister is also turning 18 on aug 11, and since i couldn't make it for her graduation i promised her i would take her to the beach. ooooh, i love the beaches on long island!!! if i'm going to parade around in my bikini, i should probably do my best to shed those excess 15 pounds in three weeks, which is not bloody likely but still a fantasy i like to entertain. ameloblast's pig roast didn't help much in that department.<br /><br />here's a tribute list of new york things that i totally miss and will hopefully get to check off when i head over there in three weeks:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.whitecastle.com/">white castle</a> a.k.a. "sliders"<br /><a href="http://search.cityguide.aol.com/newyork/restaurants/grays-papaya/v-106969852">grey's papaya</a> - best hot dogs in the city<br /><a href="http://www.tastidlite.com/">tasti-d-lite</a> - as seen on sex and the city, who knows what's in there to make it taste so damn good and still low fat<br /><a href="http://www.zabars.com/">zabar's</a> - mine and canuck's favorite place to shop in dental school<br /><a href="http://www.deandeluca.com/Aboutus/default.aspx?id=204">dean and deluca</a> - i used to work there! $55/pound chocolate! and i bumped into stephen baldwin, too.<br /><a href="http://www.lirr.org/nyct/maps/submap.htm">the subway</a> - the best in the world, rivaled possible only by london's underground<br /><a href="http://www.lirr.org/lirr/html/lirrmap.htm">LIRR</a> - we used to live in bayside before we moved here and my folks lived in hicksville (yes, that is the real name of the town)<br />central park<br />columbia university main campus<br /><br />in other recent news, my dad got hit by a car when exiting the wantagh LIRR station (see above map) and is now holed up with a fractured thumb and a possible rotator cuff injury that may need surgery. of course, this happens on monday and i find out TODAY when i called to finalize my trip details, as me and cookie will be crashing with him for part of our trip. he is planning to sue the driver, the owner of the vehicle, and the insurance company, as is the good old american way. thank god he's alright, the chick that hit him apparently ran a stop sign and bolted out of the lot before smacking into him. it will be interesting to see how this pans out.<br /><br />now i just have to get thru the next three weeks.Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-48818377195348709522007-07-14T10:06:00.000-04:002007-07-14T10:21:56.557-04:00facebookbecause i have so much free time and no other obligations in my life, i relented and joined facebook. i've now officially perfected the fine art of procrastination.<br /><br />i have to clean my house now. after i figure out which rfiend i should send my "free gift" to. and comment on all the other blogs i read. and check my e-mail, again.<br /><br />man, this is going to be a problem.Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-37046302014296586402007-07-08T09:05:00.000-04:002007-07-08T11:02:26.486-04:00bombed out teeth!okay, i've been getting a crapload of teeth with horrid subgingival caries. i've sent, like, six people to the periodontist for crown lengthening in the last two weeks! i've been kind of obsessive about the crown lengthening thing lately. i see so many teeth that should have had the surgery that didn't, and i think of all the crowns that i did that may or may not have needed it. i'm taking no more chances.<br /><br />i had a guy shadow me over the last few days, a dude who is applying to dental school for next year. i liked having him around as i loved explaining all the stuff i was doing. i'm pretty textbook, but i was REALLY textbook when he was watching, i.e. using rubber dam for even the smallest occlusal cavity prep, not taking any shortcuts. i don't want this guy picking up any bad habits before he starts, know what i mean? friday was pretty busy as i'd sectioned a bridge (had to refer that one for CCL!) completed a pulpectomy on #16, final impressed a crown, completed anterior restos, and did two new patient exams, so there was plenty for him to see. he hovered over me wearing a white coat that was too big for him and holding a clipboard while taking notes. he reminded me of a USDA meat inspector, for some reason. and he followed me around <em>everywhere</em>, to the point i had to say, "hey, i'm going to the bathroom this time, i'll be right back, " because he followed me anytime i got up to get anything, be it a chart, an instrument, <em>anything</em>. anyway, yesterday was busy, but packed mostly with new patient exams and emergencies and only one extraction. so he says to me, "well, it doesn't look like you're doing too much, so maybe i won't come in tomorrow or i'll just come in to see the extraction." so i said to him, "hey, that's not true, there's a lot to learn from new patient exams, such as taking an accurate and thorough medical history, diagnosis, and most of all, patient management, seeing how we interract with people on the job. the main thing is learning to deal with patients, it's not only all about the procedures. you'll learn all that when you get to school. you don't have to answer to me, you can do whatever you want, but you may be missing out on a lot if you don't come." i think i scared him, as he was there bright and early and it was true, there was quite a bit to see, even if i wasn't "getting my hands dirty." i saw an 87 year old patient who unfortunately has to remove all her anterior teeth and add them to her partial because of endo abcesses, perio disease, and internal resorption. we saw some recall exams that were works in progress of my colleague, one of them a really great anterior implant case that was a treatment a of motorcycle trauma. overall, i think he had a really good experience, as he said he learned a lot and had a good time. it was fun having him around, and i think it made me a little more aware of the quality and thoroughness of what i was doing. and he'll be back next week, so that's a good thing. at least we didn't scare him away!<br /><br />at some point i really do want to get into teaching, once i'm established and have a few more years under my belt. i think i'd be good at it and would really enjoy it.Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-64005178934089185272007-07-04T13:53:00.000-04:002007-07-04T13:56:10.205-04:00happy independence day!!!how it all started. i particularly get a kick out of mr. morris from new york. sounds nothing at all like the new york i know and love today.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lKU81hc1aYI"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lKU81hc1aYI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-6265940776781885672007-07-01T10:11:00.000-04:002007-07-01T22:55:08.740-04:00Happy Canada Day!we celebrated canada today by heading over to nonna and nonno's house for BBQ. i made my famous hummus and fresh brownies to give MIL a break. unfortunately we missed the pyrotechnics because we had so much to to before our trip. but i heard the wonderland fireworks from my house, and that was enough for me ;-)<br /><br />yesterday canuck, cookie and i went strawberry picking in stouffville. we were warned about this season's crop, as it has been very hot and dry and we were told that the berries may be smaller and the picking slower. smaller they were, but we got some really great plump red juicy ones that were absolutely fantastic and we filled up our bucket relatively quickly. i'm telling you, nothing beats fresh-picked fruit. we also went on a tractor ride, pet some sheep (because sheep and strawberries always go hand-in-hand) and cookie played at the wooden park and hay bales they had set up. it was a really terriffic day. so now i have all these strawberries on my hands, and i have that cuisinart ice cream maker that's been sitting unused since my birthday in december. how fun would it be to make some fresh strawberry ice cream to go with those awesome brownies? it came out delicious, definitely not low-calorie but you can taste the difference with home-made. i'll never have to buy again! man, between the breads, the baking, and now ice cream, my family is mega-spoiled!<br /><br />tomorrow we're off to michigan to celebrate the fourth. my mom's so excited to see us she's practically hyperventillating. given the foiled terrorist plots in london over the past few days, i'm hoping it won't take too long to cross customs. my mom also asked us to get some new single malt silver label jack daniels and some tequila at the duty free shop, despite the fact that they already have half a dozen bottles of both already. what is it about border crossings that compells people to hoard alcohol? even my FIL would ask for crown royale whenever we'd fly up here back when we were living in NYC. he has like five unopened bottles in the liquor cabinet and only opens it up once in a blue moon for special occasions, and even then he only takes about a shot glass full. anyway, my mom doesn't ask us for many favors, so we'll take a quick detour to the duty free shop to pick up some booze for her and grandpa. my plan for the week is to just hang out, spend as little money and energy as possible, and watch <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068156/"><em>1776</em></a> while snacking on fresh veggies from my mom's garden. i forewarned canuck, who absolutely detests musicals (especially watching old men in tights "mincing about and singing" about the most important document in my country's history) about the screening of this AWESOME movie, which is a tradition my family partakes in every year. but he made some DVD's to watch while my mom and i sing along to all the songs and quote every line before they are spoken. man, i love that movie! well worth the eyerolls and grimaces from canuck. i don't think i'll ever get him into watching musicals. he is the only person i know that hated <em>west side story</em>.<br /><br />happy canada day to all!!!Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-92075112338495963092007-06-30T17:26:00.001-04:002007-06-30T17:27:10.731-04:0080's music ROCKS!one of the best 80s songs around. love it, love it, love it.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VCD4rtcOgHE"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VCD4rtcOgHE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />btw, i got cookie hooked on the smurfs.Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-24609533745449771142007-06-29T19:45:00.000-04:002007-06-29T20:00:03.174-04:00i need an aura cleansingi broke a mirror in my office on tuesday. i know it's seven years bad luck, but my patient and assistant who were trying to make me feel better told me that superstition arose because of how rare and expensive mirrors were back in the day, and that your reflection was your soul trapped in it and that breaking the mirror was breaking your soul. this mirror was $0.99 from honest ed's, and i myself hadn't looked into it (the patient did), so i'm hoping <em>malocchio</em> will gloss over me, or at least cut me some sort of break - the mirror was pretty cheap, after all, and my reflection was never seen in it. to be safe, i did some research on mirror breakage and the reversal of bad luck from such a mishap. turns out you have to bury the shards under the moon. now the incident occurred in my office and my assistant quickly cleaned up the mess. i wasn't about to go prowling around in the garbage and furthermore transport broken glass shards on the subway. that would elevate my psychiatric lunacy status from mildly insane to seriously wacko. however, i did find some alternatives. so i turned counter clockwise seven times, i'm waiting for a full moon to chant some sort of luck-changing poem/spell, and i need to find some white sage or sweetgrass to burn to cleanse the negativity from my aura and hence ward off the bad luck. any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated - and no, i don't mean "referrals" to the nice men in the white coats.Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-73280767347563093822007-06-25T15:41:00.000-04:002007-06-25T23:28:04.838-04:00a saturday trip to the ERnever a dull moment on a saturday, of course.<br /><br /><br />my second-to-last patient was a dude i had seen about two months ago. he had a few upper incisors remaining and a mutilated lower dentition with multiple carious non-restorable teeth, the only non-carious tooth being his lupper eft lateral incisor. he wants dentures for his upcoming wedding in september - the guy is only about two years older than me. we were trying to coordinate his treatment with the denturist, who sent him to my office for whatever treatment we decided on for the remaining teeth. he needed either endo and post, core crown on all but one of the upper with an upper partial, or full upper extraction followed by immediate complete denture, and lower extractions and lower partial denture. i opted for the extraction and denture, since finances were very much an issue and this guy has no insurance. i spent an fort-five minutes talking to him, as he didn't want full extractions on the upper but also didn't want to pay for RCT's he needed to save the remaining teeth, and he completely refused any and all treatment on the lower teeth. i wanted to make sure he understood what he was refusing and the implications of such refusal. he argued with me for another forty-five minutes about his treatment, demanded a discount, then got mad when i charged him for the exam and the six periapicals i took. he left in a huff and i wasn't expecting to see him again. so imagine my surprise when i saw him in the schedule for extractions. hmm, how 'bout that, we're rolling with it.<br /><br />saturday afternoon he shows up and my receptionist says, "mr. r. is here, but he's swollen."<br /><br />"of course he's swollen, he has multiple bombed-out teeth! seat him and i'll be right there."<br /><br />i had never seen anything like this before. the left side of his lips, upper and lower, were swollen to over three times it's normal size. "whoa!" i blurted out. apparently, it had started this morning. now, it's impossible to get a story from this guy as he talks round-about in circles, jumps topics, repeatedly changes his story, and has a thick accent but after speaking with him and having him repeat it to me followed by my repeating it back to him twice, here's the story we got:<br /><br />on june 12 he had swelling on lower lip on the right side after eating some cantalope. the pharmacist recommened some reactine for him. it worked for a while, then swelled up enough again to prompt him to see a physician at a walk-in clinic on wednesday june 14. this physician gave him pen VK 300 mg qid and another script for "an allergy pill" that he didn't know the name of. he had some relief again, and went to work the rest of the week. he ran out of the allergy pills that sunday and took the penicillin, which he was only taking three a day instead of the four, up until this past wednesday, the 21st, meaning he did not finish the medication. he started swelling again, this time on the upper left side, and the swelling then progressed to the left lower lip. he took another dose of the Pen VK and then came to his scheduled appointment to see me.<br /><br /><br />i examined him and ruled out odontogenic origin because, funny enough, the swelling was locates at the one site where the teeth were fine and he wasn't in any pain. my colleague, who also happened to be there, also saw it and we both agreed that it most likely did not have a dental etiology, as the swelling was not hot and hard and did not appear to be infectious. what concerned me was that the swelling started to spread across the midline and he slowly started to develop a "lump" in his throat upon swallowing. oh-kay, let's get you to a doctor ASAP.<br /><br /><br />now this guy doesn't have a PCP, or even an OHIP card, so there was no place else to go than to the ER. i didn't feel comfortable dismissing him alone in that condition even with a script, as who knows what could happen over the weekend or as soon as he leaves. there's an ER down the street from our office and one of the girls was going to put him in a taxi. but he had never been to a hospital in canada before and he was very nervous, so he asked me to go with him. i cancelled my last patient and i took him in my car.<br /><br />anyways, the physician examined him and believed it to be a delayed hyper-sensitivity reaction of some sort, to what, we don't know. but he got a dose of steroids, some clindamycin to cover any remote possibility of a dental infection, and a referral to an allergist for testing. i'm glad i went with him. he's very difficult to understand and i since i had already correctly pieced the story together i was able to "translate" and move things along faster. we were there about two hours, not too bad. i took him back to my office, where he booked his next appointment to have his extractions completed. he asked me if there was any way he could thank me. i told him the best way to thank me was to take care of his teeth. he then invited me to his wedding in september. talk about gratitude!Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-33015039110610008412007-06-24T08:13:00.000-04:002007-06-24T08:14:44.347-04:00disappointed with my score here!<table width=350 align=center border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2><tr><td bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align=center><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif" style='color:black; font-size: 14pt;'><b>You Scored 65% Correct</b></font></td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><center><img src="http://images.blogthings.com/howmuchdoyouknowabout80smusicquiz/high-80s.jpg" height="100" width="100"></center><font color="#000000"><br />You are a solid child of the 80s<br />You'd never confuse Tiffany from Debbie<br />And while you may not know Prince's first #1 hit<br />You know every word to Little Red Corvette</font></td></tr></table><div align="center"><a href="http://www.blogthings.com/howmuchdoyouknowabout80smusicquiz/">How Much Do You Know About 80s Music?</a></div><br /><br />i need to study harder.Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-32347207887082375072007-06-24T08:08:00.001-04:002007-06-24T08:08:56.726-04:00another one brought to you courtesy of ameloblast<table width=350 align=center border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2><tr><td bgcolor="#999999" align=center><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif" style='color:black; font-size: 14pt;'><b>You Were a Giraffe</b></font></td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#CCCCCC"><center><img src="http://images.blogthings.com/whatanimalwereyouinapastlifequiz/giraffe.jpg" height="100" width="100"></center><font color="#000000"><br />You are a high achiever - able to reach things others can't.<br />A great communicator, you are good at getting past superficialities.</font></td></tr></table><div align="center"><a href="http://www.blogthings.com/whatanimalwereyouinapastlifequiz/">What Animal Were You In a Past Life?</a></div>Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-91132986871249444872007-06-23T08:07:00.000-04:002007-06-23T08:18:02.256-04:00saturday, saturdayand i'm off to work this morning. i'm tired, having missed out on an extra hour of sleep because cookie wakes up the minute light hits her face. which at this point in the year, is about 4:45 am! one more day of work, then one more short week, and then we're off to the states for the fourth of july! this will be the first time i've had an extended stretch of time off since christmas - not counting the day or two i take off for cookie's school stuff, driving to michigan for a weekend, etc. so i'm looking foward to it. this week went much better, either that or i just have a much better attitude. who cares why, i just feel more like my twisted old self again. <br /><br />my social calender is busy this weekend as i'm attending a jack 'n jill stag tonight with some friends and tomorrow is a surprise baby shower for our best man's wife. wow, i feel so popular! monday will be time to relax and do stuff in the garden and canuck will be gone on a day-long job interview in barrie! since i faxed out all those resumes last thursday our phone has been ringing nonstop. i think i just have that magic touch.Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-25171950751198570212007-06-18T20:09:00.000-04:002007-06-18T21:32:27.447-04:00a blast from the past<object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tk25rk0_2rk"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tk25rk0_2rk" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fQUx6YUL8uU"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fQUx6YUL8uU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />i love the 80's. i think it's possibly the coolest decade ever (not counting clothes, i leave that to the 70's). not sure if it's because the stuff was actually cool (smurfs! he-man! cabbage patch kids!) of if its because it reminds me of a time when my only worry was learning to ride a two wheeler (i was a late, late bloomer and a spaz, i was nine!) or what the newest toy in my happy meal was going to be. it's been kind of a rough couple of weeks and i needed some sort of escape from the pressure and stress i've been feeling. tuning in to this wacky stuff takes me back to a time when i felt so safe and just plain GOOD, and the hilarity and goofiness of some of the commercials makes me laugh and just puts a smile on my face. it also reminds me of how much times have changed since i was a kid. it seems like my generation had it so much easier. too much technology now with cell phones, i-pods, $150 sneakers, text messaging, and all that crap, i dunno. i'm an old-fashioned fart like that and i worry for cookie because by the time she feels the pressure to have these things i'm going to be the bitch mom who says "NO, get a job and pay for it yourself!" like mine and canuck's parents did. then she's going to be all screwed up, and it's all because of us. but i will still hang onto my principles. i'm a tough broad like that ;-)<br /><br />i had originially started a rather negative post about my crappy past two weeks, but after some time off, some socialization/relaxation, a quick visit from my mom, and a good, thourough cleaning of my house, i have a much better perspective and am ready to face another wonderful(or potentially crappy, whichever way the ball swings) week with a much more positive outlook. in a nutshell, it doesn't matter that half the crowns i prepped and impressed last week didn't fit this week despite the fact that i sent perfect impressions, because i sent them new perfect impressions and i would never cement anything that was below my standards and that is what makes me a good dentist. i feel much better about opening my first complaint/incident file with the RCDS, because while it really shook me up and i am dealing with a bit of a whacko, i did nothing wrong and i have a wonderful and supportive staff to back me up and boost my confidence at times like these when i really need it. i'm proud of the fact that although it really (and i mean REALLY) pissed off my dad, who said that i was "cheap" and that all i cared about was money like my cheap uncle out in california who hasn't flown to new york in 20 years, i still stuck to my guns and didn't spend $400 fly to new york for 36 hours for my sister's high school graduation this past weekened - because that money (and then some) eventually evaporated to repair the brakes and a transmission fluid leak on ned flanders, yet another monkey wrench in the cog of my week. i'm optimistic that although canuck is underemployed and repeatedly dicked-over by his current venue, and has gotten really raw deals as far as associateships go this past year and a half, the time that i spent on my day off frantically faxing out over 20 resumes for him has paid off, as he has gotten five interviews scheduled this week. this poor guy really needs a break, i'm telling you. i'm praying that things stabilize enough for us to start having more kids, as while we make enough money together to run things smoothly, canuck wants to be able to support the house on his income alone so that i can stay home as much or as little as i'd like. i'm really lucky to have a guy who's willing to work so hard so that i have to do less. but both of us are increasingly frustrated as to how long it seems everything takes, like we want to get started on all these things, like furniture, a new roof, a dog, perhaps. i worked so hard and paid so much money for my education, when is it going to finally pay off??? why is everything so dragged out and S-L-O-W???? <br /><br />i'm tired and i'm hopeful and i'm nervous and i'm greatful for all that i have, but at the same time i want more, know what i mean? i want stability, i want to go to sleep at night and not have to worry about money, for canuck to have peace of mind and confidence, for me to have faith in myself as a person and as a dentist. it's just so damn hard sometimes, and it's tiring and i'm just waiting for a break, just someone upstairs to cut us some slack. that's why i like to escape to the decade where i didn't have any of these worries. i can only hope that i'm able to provide as happy a childhood as i had to cookie, so that she can look back at the ipod and spongebob and feel that same feeling of security and well-being that i have now.<br /><br />i think i have to delve into the nineties now, i need to re-create some of that teen angst to bring me back to reality....Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-35311214505794897512007-05-27T11:09:00.000-04:002007-05-27T11:15:40.667-04:00it's been so long since i posted......that i actually had to type in my password and e-mail address to log in. my bad, i've just had too much going on to post anything substantial. it's funny, the more that happens, the more i want to write it all down but the less time i have. like today, i have about 10 minutes to shower and change before we visit our friend's new ortho practice, but i'm squeezing this lame-o post in just to assure the few readers i have that i'm not abandoning my blog. a lot has happened in the past few weeks, awesome, good, bad, and just plain ugly. when i have a minute to myself, which seem to be few and far between these days, i'll blog about my awesome mother's day, our second date with ameloblast, my (finally!) fully packed schedule, the gardening wars/adventures, how homesick i've been feeling these last few weeks, and my very first case failure/patient complaint (not bad for four years out, it was bound to happen eventually and i'm sure there are many more to come. but it really rocked my world.)<br /><br />off to get cleaned up! i like going on family adventures like this one.Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-53007703168172066952007-05-04T12:25:00.000-04:002007-05-04T12:30:42.812-04:00damn you, obtura!!!okay, i CANNOT master the use of this thing. all my fills have turned out like crap no matter what i try. i've had to retreat/refill at least four out of the five canals i have cleaned, shaped, and loved oh-so-tenderly since i started at the downtown office. so i've put in my official request for a thermafil machine. i will beg, borrow, steal, or prostitute myself for one so i don't have to go thru this next RCT i complete.<br /><br />i'm at work and cranky because the impression that i sent for a denture i'm repairing got to the lab, but the teeth that fell off DID NOT get to the lab, having been mistakenly chucked into the garbage and they are MIA. and of course, i did not send a counter model, becuase all they had to do was plunk them back on and re-flask. FUCK.Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-79695579463238695312007-04-23T10:48:00.000-04:002007-04-23T11:10:44.190-04:00from awful to just plain badthat's the right wording to describe the state of our front yard at this time. yesterday canuck and i took complete advantage of the glorious weather and spent the entire day outside working on the front lawn. we pulled up two half-dead bushes, dug trenches around the soil-grass interface, pulled some weeds, raked a bit, trimmed our weeping mulberry trunks, and pruned our endless-summer hydrangea, which, much to our delight, has started to sprout. i was also ecstatic to see the daffodil bulbs that we planted this winter also starting to sprout, as well as our peony bush and hazelnut tree in the backyard.<br /><br />unfortunately, our topsoil is clay-like and completely devoid of nutrients, there's more weeds than i can keep track of, and our lawn is just overrun with detritus. our neighbors were nice enough to give us gardening tips and lend us some gardening tools, but one of them politely confirmed our diagnosis - our lawn is <em>crappola</em>. actually, she was very nice and said, <em>hey, rome wasn't built in a day</em> and <em>you guys are doing great, these things just take a lot of time</em>. she was the one who taught me how to prune and told us where to get the new soil. did you know you can buy a "yard" of it and they just dump it on your front lawn? so you know what we're doing all next weekend. today when canuck gets home we're going to lay the fertilizer down as it's supposed to rain and be cooler tomorrow. the city girl in me just wants to throw in the hat - i didn't know it would be so much WORK! it's a joint effort, but i'm about to pick up the phone and call for professional help, just for the cleanup and setup. canuck vehemently refuses. we are going to tackle this ourselves, he absolutely insists. great. while our neighbors are sporting beautiful flowers and lush green lawns, we're just trying to bring ours back from the dead so it doesn't look like calcutta in a heat wave. but our neighbors are cheering us on. i think they find it adorable and amusing that we're trying so hard. we are first time home-owners, after all, and the youngest people on our block. maybe i'll just call the professionals when canuck's gone and have them do it , and then when he gets back he'll think that i did it all myself. hmmm.....<br /><br />actually, it <em>has</em> been good for all of us. cookie hangs outside with us instead of in front of the t.v. and i've gotten tons of exercise from all this. plus it keeps us out of the kitchen and away from grazing. maybe i'll loose those 10 pounds i've been wanting to shed. and at least we're making a dent. awful to bad <em>is</em> a step up!Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-16979941191113255102007-04-23T10:05:00.000-04:002007-04-23T10:48:29.113-04:00an interesting caselast friday i was double booked with an emergency, my colleague's patient was coming to see me for "extreme facial pain that kept her up all night." mrs. s, a woman in her mid-late thirties, presented with a dull, throbbing ache that originated at her left TMJ and would periodically radiate sharp, stabbing and almost debilitating pain all the way through to her left upper midline. her medical history was unremarkable. she was in the process of seeking orthodontic treatment for a collapsed bite, which had been "corrected" by her previous dentist by placing composite resin on the occlusal surfaces of her molars to open up her VDO. percussion of the upper teeth was negative, all of her teeth in the lower arch were mildly percussion positive, and there was noticable TMJ crepitus on the left side. perio pocketing was within normal limits. her recent dental history was unremarkable, except for a resto that was placed by my colleague on #36 back in september that had some "sensitivity for a while" and she was meaning to come back to have evaluated but just didn't have the time. radiographic examination was also unremarkable. just as i left the room to discharge my other patient, she had another attack of debiliating pain that shot across her upper midline again, to the point that she was reduced to tears. i quickly got out some hot towel compresses (we keep them in the office as a comfort measure for patients) and the pain started to subside with its application.<br /><br />at this point i had a suspicion that it might be TMJ-related or neuromuscular and she was only in my schedule for a look-see, so i spent a few minutes trying to find an oral surgeon that could see her immediately for evaluation. luckily i did, and i sent her off with a script for motrin and percocet to be taken alternately. i knew she was going to someone capable and competent. but after she left i had sneaking suspicion about that "sensitive" #36. <em>no way</em>, i told myself, i've never seen referred pain radiate <em>that</em> far on an upper. nonetheless, i quickly spoke to the oral surgeon and asked her to evaluate the six (i had performed all diagnostic tests but one, as my office had run out of endo ice, a fact which i was <em>not</em> all to pleased with, that's another story for another time) but i was pretty sure that wasn't it. however, there was still that nagging feeling and i felt more comfortable having someone else take a look.<br /><br />the OS called me back to follow up after she was seen. she had examined her, no, it was not the TMJ but her symptoms were consitent with trigeminal neuralgia and she was referred to a neurologist for further evaluation. when i thought about it, it made sense because tic deleraux does manifest itself as brief, intense and episodic pain. the OS was also certain that it wasn't the six, either. she would have done the same thing i had done - pain meds and a referral. okay, i did the best i could with it, i hope she felt better and i wished her the best of luck. eek, still that nagging feeling...<br /><br />on monday i get a call at home from my office manager. mrs. s was seen at the ER today for sub-mandibular swelling, she was placed on antibiotics, can she come in tomorrow for an evaluation. absolutely, i said, i'll come in early to see her. when she came in on tuesday, she looked like hell. her submandibular nodes were rock hard, there was noticable swelling on her left side, and she was having trouble swallowing. she was given a script for clindamycin 300 mg tid, real big guns. this time i had endo ice ready to go (i pretty much had chewed out my staff for not ordering it after i had written it on the dry-erase board a week and a half ago when we were running low, but again, another story for another time) and i tested all the teeth in her lower arch. sure enough, #36 had no response to cold and was precussion positive. my diagnosis was acute apical abcess. i told her to stay on the antibiotics she was on, and we booked RCT for the next friday. as she was very anxious about having a root canal, this was her first one, i gave her a script for halcion 0.125 mg to be taken 40 minutes before the procedure, and the night before, if necessary. on friday i got in early again, we medicated her and i completed the pulpectomy. sure enough, i opened up the tooth and completed the pulpectomy and while there was no pus, it stunk to the high heavens. the patient was nice and relaxed, left in wonderful spirits, and is coming back tomorrow to complete the treatment. she said afterwards that it was the first time she had slept in over a week and that she had actually enjoyed herself during the procedure. she also gave us invitations to her jewelry sale next saturday!<br /><br />i really learned a lot from this case. first, i learned the really wacky patterns of referred pain, and it only reinforced the importance of testing BOTH arches when a patient presents like that. i learned that even only moderately deep resins can have very detrimental effects on pulp health, all the more reason to caveat when placing such restorations. i also realized just how vital and critical endo ice is in diagnosis, and that pulp testing can give you such surprising and conclusive results - hence my mild discomfort and unease at dismissing her last week without having used it. i also learned that sometimes pain and infection sometimes cannot be diagnosed immediately, that at times things have to localize. and last by not least, i learned to just trust my instincts - that sometimes a doctor's intuition is dead on, even when you're not sure of yourself. sometimes i actually <em>do</em> know what i'm doing!Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-20864868701031009482007-04-18T10:15:00.000-04:002007-04-18T10:22:21.372-04:00a return to normalcy - well, sortaso the guests are out and i've vacuumed up the dog hair and washed and folded all the linens and got the house back in order. it literally took me all last monday to do it. i had a great time and all, but i am seriously rethinking doing the whole back-to-back famliy gathering thing any time soon.<br /><br />the weather sucks and i'm sitting her waiting for spring. i'm cranky and moody and in desperate need of a haircut, which makes things even worse because i'm not feeling pretty. i just don't have the time to go out and get one. i want the sun to come out so i can get motivated. blech. <br /><br />i start work at 1 p.m. today up to the evening and canuck is recording american idol on satellite so i can watch it when i get home. i hope sanj@y@ gets ouseted this time. i feel bad for the kid, i really do, and he's got a lot of charm and is a sweetheart, but this whole thing is losing it's novelty. i want either melinda or blake to win. i like l@keesh@, too, because she's a mom and lives in flint, michigan. for some reason i'm really attached to this group of contestants this year.<br /><br />blech, again.Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19745723.post-13709122554448222492007-04-06T17:50:00.000-04:002007-04-06T18:02:40.508-04:00hostess with the mostesti'm now on the second batch of family visitors. my dad and 3/4 of the tireless tetrad of fun are on their way back to long island after a brief stop in niagara falls. they left on wednesday, which gave me approximately 14 hours to clean, launder the linens, and do a massive food-shop to prepare for the arrival of my mom, stepfather, grandmother, and the two doggies. my house is bursting at the seams.<br /><br />man, i'm tired. <br /><br />today is good friday, so i'm marinating some salmon and defrosting some shrimp for a fabulosa, religiously-correct supper. my nana is exempt from the no meat rule because she's 81, weighs 80 pounds, and is diabetic, so she's getting a chicken breast and pasta alfredo. i made her pancakes, waffles, and bacon for breakfast this morning (i slipped and had a piece of bacon, so i am now damned to hell, for a short while, anyway). easter is the one holiday i'm NOT hosting this year, so i'll get a little bit of a repreave. now we just have to plow through a few more days of picking up after people, vacuuming the massive quantities of dog hair, entertaining, and moderating the heated political discussions between canuck, the "bleeding heart liberal-canadian communist" and my parents, who are stauch republican bush-supporters.<br /><br />all-in-all, it's been pretty fun!Dr. Mommy, D.D.S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09823488054030311759noreply@blogger.com4