Graduated Dentistry

A couple weeks ago I got a call from my dental student Shervin that surprised me. We don't have much of an arranged schedule, but this call was totally out of the blue and he wanted to know if I could come in the next day for a hygiene lesson.

I wasn't doing anything, surprisingly enough, so I agreed even though I wasn't feeling particularly well. I went and, when he came into the lobby, we exchanged a nice hug.

When I got up to the chair I learned that it was to be our last meeting, ever. He graduated last week and is on his way to USC to further study. The good thing about that, as I told him, is that blood doesn't show up on the maroon (cardinal, they call it).

Shervin's always been on my side and has handed me some work, too. This visit may have been part of that, or maybe he honestly thought I didn't know how to brush. I have a hunch he needed to do one final hygiene instruction or something, and picked me out because it would give us a chance good-bye and he could load me down with free dental goodies.

Which he did.

He gave me the instructions under the watchful gaze of a professional hygenist or something, and a large handful of exclusive dental supplies. I now have my very own proxy brush, which is the coolest thing I ever seen. It has a handle like a toothbrush, but instead of bristles it takes a replaceable thing like a miniature pipe cleaner. It works between teeth, like floss does, only it has a handle. I also got some samples of some stuff to use between brushings, powders that I'd seen advertised but wasn't sure if they were hype or not. I also was given an "end-tuff" brush, which is more like a toothbrush but only has a small circle of tough brushes instead of the larger rectangle of them. It's great for brushing one tooth at a time!

Best of all, in my mind, was a metal tool, which looked professional. It's brass or bronze and has a conical rubber tip on the end.

I was very grateful to get all these things, but was sad that my UCLA Dental experience would no longer contain my favorite dental student. The other students I've seen are all competent, but none of them talk to me or seem to think as highly of me as I think everyone should. To them I'm just a mouth, a bad one, a case.

Shervin was my friend, and I wish him all the best.