New App for Backpacking Students!

No room at the Inn? No problem with Hostelworlds new android app!

Booking somewhere to stay for your next trip just became nice and easy due to the new and improved version of the Hostelworld app.

Cool but how do I use it?

It’s really simple just tap the app, enter where you want to go, choose your date from the calendar along with the number of your guests and press search. Within seconds it will find you all the accommodation in the locale of your choice.

It keeps all the great features as the website so you will still be able to check out photos and reviews for each hostel, hotel and B&B before making your booking.

No need to remember what you have booked either as the app keeps a record of it so you can easily track them down when you need them. Hooray!

 Even cooler is that you can scan your card to your phone on check out and for those whose English isn’t their mother tongue the app is available in 10 languages including Japanese, Chinese and Korean! With Map functionality to help you find hostels close by there is very little missing from this booking gem. Best of all, it’s free!

“Awesome! Perfect app for the road!! Happy Travels!

Download the Hostelworld app.

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Hostelworld app nor do I receive any proceeds from this advertisement. This is not an endorsement. 

ADEA GoDental: Newly Revamped Website!

Have you heard of the newly revamped ADEA GoDental website?! It features a bold and modern design, intuitive navigation, customized information for students interested in dentistry and dental hygiene, and dedicated resources to support health professions advisors.

ADEA GoDental is an initiative of the American Dental Education Association and provides students considering dentistry or dental hygiene the information and guidance they need to apply to programs, matriculate and eventually fulfill their career goals. ADEA GoDental aspires to reach students from a variety of backgrounds to meet the increasing demands of the dental and dental hygiene workforce. By using and sharing the resources available on the ADEA GoDental website, you can be an active part of the solution to the evolving oral health needs of a diverse society.

Acting upon its mission to Inspire, Inform and Guide, ADEA GoDental will:

• Inspire students with blog posts by current students, dentists, admissions officers and other key mentors,
• Inform students about the practice options and specialties available in dentistry and dental hygiene, and
• Guide students through the application process to prepare them both academically and financially.

Are you as excited as we are about the ADEA GoDental website? Tweet about it!

Have someone in mind that would benefit from the information ADEA GoDental provides? Refer them to this page or have them:

Visit www.adea.org/GoDental to explore the new features and learn more about a career in dentistry or dental hygiene. Join the conversation by following ADEA GoDental on social media.

I'm a Dentist!

This is a pretty late post, but approximately 2 months ago it finally happened! I am officially a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS). 

I am very excited that after four, long, arduous years I can close this chapter of my life and move on to the next. I was matched to the Orthodontics Program at my dental school, which I started about three weeks ago and I could not be more happy!

I am looking forward to new experiences, challenges and sharing my blessings to those who I come in contact with.

Enjoy pics from graduation below:

Honors & Awards Ceremony: Before being hooded

Graduation Day! Hooded

I even made it on my school's website!! Being hooded by my classmate

The purpose of this blog was to chronicle and share my dental school experiences. Now that dental school is over I believe it's safe to say that it's purpose was fulfilled. I do hope I was able to help someone through my experiences.

Feel free to continue to email me if you have questions about the dental school process and I'll try my best to respond. 

*Now and then if I feel nostalgic I may post a memory/experience from the dental school days. Stay posted!*

ADEA Predental Virtual Fair

Predents, this is for you!

ADEA is offering a FREE, live, two-day ONLINE event where prospective dental students (high school and college students) learn about U.S. dental schools and the application process. The Student Virtual Fair will take place on April 29 and 30, 2014, from noon to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You will be able to network, browse and download brochures, as well as chat with admissions officers from various dental schools.

Registration is now OPEN. Go here to Register. 

ADEA GoDental Workshop/ Recruitment Fair

This is for the Predents!

Are you thinking about applying to dental school and want to learn more about the application process? Do you want to speak directly with dental school admissions officers directly?

The event, being held in conjunction with the 2014 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition, will take place on Saturday, March 15, from 11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, TX.

The event provides prospective dental students with the opportunity to hear from admissions officers, current dental students, financial aid advisors and dental educators prior to applying to a dental school. More than 300 prospective dental students from across the United States are expected to attend.

“The ADEA GoDental Workshop and Recruitment Fair is a unique forum where dental school admissions officers, financial aid advisors, dental educators, and prospective and current students from throughout the country come together under one roof,” says Richard W. Valachovic D.M.D., M.P.H., ADEA President and CEO. “We encourage students who are considering a future in oral health care to attend to learn more about opportunities in research, academia, private practice and the many specialties in dentistry.”

Registration is now OPEN! Go here to register.

U.S Army Dental Corps

When I joined the National Guard to help pay for my undergraduate degree, I hadn’t made any definite plans to pursue an Army career. That decision evolved later on.

As a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Dental Corps, one of the things I have enjoyed is the diversity of career opportunities available in the Army.  In private practice you have options to work in several different settings - group practice, solo practice, associate, partner, managed dental company, education, etc...  But, if you want to change from one of these to another it requires you to relocate, affects your salary or requires a financial investment from you into your new venture.  In the Army we have many of the same options, but changing from one type to another does not affect us financially. 

U.S. Army Dental Corps Soldiers have opportunities to work in education, research, administration, policy, group practice, and dental professional leadership.  We can be assigned in almost any region of the United States as well as many locations overseas.  Dental Corps Soldiers can specialize in all the traditional specialties and can change between different career tracks (clinical vs. education vs. leadership).

Because of the diversity of our patients and the ever changing patient population, we have a chance to see some pretty interesting cases and to do some pretty cool procedures.

Half joking I tell people that the military is perfect for someone having a mid-life crisis.  If you have felt that your life or career is getting stagnant, there are always new opportunities for you within the Army.  Ultimately U.S. Dental Corps Soldiers get to help the men and women who serve our nation.

You can get more information at GoArmy.com or Army Strong Stories, the U.S. Army’s premier Soldier Blog.

Lieutenant Colonel Kendall Mower is a dentist in the U.S. Army Dental Corps, currently based in Ft. Myer, Va. LTC Mower is a frequent contributor to Army Strong Stories where he blogs about Soldier life and his career in the U.S. Army Dental Corps. More from LTC Mower on Army Strong Stories.

Jamaica Humanitarian Dental Mission Trip 2013

"Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time" - Marian Edelman

I had the wonderful opportunity to serve some of the under-served communities in my home country, Jamaica last summer. A group of 6 individuals from my school, Howard University teamed up with individuals from Southern Illinois University to deliver dental care to some remote areas in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Our team included not only dental students, but dental hygienists, pharmacy students and dentists.

We provided care for individuals in the town of Flankers, Cambridge and Kew Park, all located in the Parish of St. James (city: Montego Bay). Our trip lasted approximately 7 days and was filled with lots of hard work, fun, sun, beach, great weather and laughter!

Enjoy a few snapshots of the trip below:

The beautiful Island of Jamaica along with flag

The Howard University Team

                         

Extractions, and more extractions!         

Hard at work: Scaling and Root Planing

Working on the last case of the day with a quick photo-op

                             

                                  Me with one of my very happy patients                                         

Hanging with the kiddies during lunch break

                              

After work hanging out with the wood carvers across the street

                            

Refreshments after work RED STRIPE BEER!

                              

Out to dinner

                              

Night on the town in Ironshore, Montego Bay

                              

Red Stripe beer for the win! After work refreshments

                                          

Sun and sand, of course!

                               

Fun in the sun, backflips!

                              

                                Jamaica: beautiful people, sand and beach                                         

Enjoy this slideshow of the Mission Trip. I hope to do it again in 2014!

More Loupes Options

I was contacted to introduce these new and affordable loupes from the company Optiloupe.

Optiloupe is based in the UK and is a company that was started by two dentists who found it important to offer an affordable set of loupes that would improve the quality of work.

 More on Optiloupe:

• We were established by a team of qualified dentists and dental lecturers to provide high quality optics but at more affordable prices - our premium packages meet the standards of our best competitors but cost half as much!
• We provide tailored solutions based on research and first-hand understanding of what our clients need from their equipment.
• We offer a further £100 discount for students and VTs. 
• We are incorporated into the syllabus of several leading universities around the country where we deliver training on posture, ergonomics and magnification and the students have free use of our loupes during these sessions.
• We have experience catering for dentists, students and hygienists as well as plastic, vascular and cardiac surgeons.

You may contact them at: info@optiloupe.co.uk

See more posts on Loupes below:
In the Loupe Pt 1
In the Loupe Pt 2
Zoom Optix
My Loupes

Been Looking Forward to 2014 Since 2010!

Happy New Year!!

It is finally 2014 and I could not be any more excited!!! 2014 marks the year that my dental school career/tenure will come to an end. I will finally accomplish my dream/goal of becoming a dentist and life will finally begin. Quite frankly, I've been looking forward to 2014 since 2010!

Looking back at 2013, what I can say is that it has been a year of growth, growing pains, accomplishment and new beginnings. I have learned a great deal, not only about dentistry but about life. It has been a very busy and taxing year (evidence is my lack of blog posts) but I am grateful for all the lessons learned.

Over the next couple weeks I'll do my best to fill in the latter part of 2013 on the blog. Stay tuned and ONWARD to 2014!