When dentists hear the words infective endocarditis (IE), they often reflexively think of the same precaution: prophylactic antibiotics before dental treatment, 2g Amoxicillin or 500mg Clindamycin. IE is one of the few diseases our patients may develop following bacteremia from invasive dental procedures, but thankfully, its incidence is relatively rare. Some health conditions place patients at a higher risk for IE, such as an artificial heart valve, a cardiac transplant prone to developing valvulopathy or a congenital heart defect. Men over the age of 50 are also predisposed to developing IE. When we consider this fact, you might wonder: what are the chances that a 25 year old, healthy female could contract IE?
For me, ASDA’s 
It was a cold, blustery winter day in the city of Buffalo. I had just completed my first RCT on an extracted maxillary incisor as part of a pre-clinical endodontics course when I received an unexpected phone call. My normally calm brother spoke with a tremor: “Dad has liver and kidney failure.” Shaking and with tears in my eyes, I rushed home to Pittsburgh. Two days later, my dad passed away.
When I initially started taking fitness classes, I was intimidated by the sheer volume of classes offered by my local gym. I wished that there was a comprehensive beginner’s guide to help me choose a class that aligned with my fitness level and goals. If you are looking for a fun and easy way to stay physically active, read on to find out which of my top three favorite fitness classes is right for you.
When planning today’s Wellness Wednesday blog, I thought to myself, “What do my fellow dental students want to read about health and wellness? What is going to help them in that aspect of their lives?” As the stress levels rose, I pulled out my daily journal and read through a few entries from last year. Page after page, every day it seemed like I had a good and a bad experience. Some days seemed more balanced than others. But one underlying theme I noticed was that I always managed to figure things out. I always relieved the stressors so they wouldn’t hit critical mass. So I asked my classmate, Macaire, to write a journal entry for today’s Wellness Wednesday post to demonstrate how journaling can be a stress reliever. It provides you an opportunity to get your thoughts on paper with the hope of learning from today’s experiences in the future. Keep reading to see Macaire’s journal entry.
They say you are what you eat, right? Eating healthy can be a challenge for students because of lack of time and money to spend on quality food. After a long day of studying or treating patients, it would be nice if we had a personal chef straight from Whole Foods to cook us dinner. Sadly, that’s not the case and we have to do our best to make healthy eating a priority in our busy dental school lives. After eating too many frozen dinners in college and not feeling so good afterwards, I decided to try to find easier ways to make healthy food while on a time crunch. Here are some of my tips and favorite recipes!
By the name you might think it’s some sort of exotic fruit or an impossible yoga move. In fact, kombucha not only has a fruity taste, but can also be as beneficial as yoga. This specialty drink found at most health food stores has been said to help digestive health, mental clarity and mood stability. Made from a base of black tea and sugar, this drink can cost you up to $5 a bottle. On a dental student budget, finding alternatives to store-bought kombucha are a must for this latest drink craze.