1.  Hee-hee, ha-ha
2.  Take more teeth out?
​I think we all know the obvious answer here.
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This one seems to be giving us the finger or it is doing the gymnastic pose where the legs are over the back of its head.  Typically, I would say a wisdom tooth extraction is complicated but this tooth brought it up to another whole new level of …OMG!  Where did this thing come from?  Yea, we were proud of ourselves as it came out in one piece and the patient was fine with recovery.  I wouldn’t let my assistant throw it into the hazardous waste bag yet; I’m keeping it as a trophy for the next couple of years.
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A couple of weeks ago I was in a seminar with a group of dentists.  Amongst them was one of the most prominent dental researchers and clinicians of our time, Dr. Dennis Tarnow.  From afar, he seems unapproachable and slightly intimidating.  But up close and personal, he’s so nice.  He gave one of the best lectures that I’ve heard in years. So, throughout the 4 days span, we struck up a friendship.  I was able to pick his brain and ask questions concerning different facets of dentistry.  He talked about the progress that dental researchers are making with rebuilding a tooth and all the futuristic stuffs that you see in the movies.  I also heard from my colleagues about their wide range of experiences throughout their career.  It was a very educational extended weekend.  
Since it was only a small group of people, we were given insights into the future of our livelihood, where it is leading and how we’re going to get there.  With modern technologies and improved research abilities, today’s ways of doing things will change in a few years.  I am looking forward to the future when we are able to eradicate dental decay.  Maybe not in my lifetime, but definitely in the next generation or so.  Dentistry is hopping on the innovative bandwagon to incorporate the latest technologies in the profession.  Just within the last 7 years, we have changed in many ways, from the way we take impressions for crowns, fillings, etc. to the way we rebuild those crowns, fillings and etc.  Appointments went from weeks to hours. X-rays went from film to digital to 3D. We can even reconstruct your facial bones in one scan and determine the treatment for your dental rehabilitation. This was unheard in the last decade, yet we are still improving       .
As we progress onward, I truly hope they invent an automatic flosser for patients.  Or, at least a toothpaste that eliminates brushing for you, as brushing at night seems to be a difficult task to execute after dinner. With all the advancement in dentistry, can you imagine in medicine?  Maybe one day we will have a cure for all types of cancer and diseases.  Maybe one day the MRI scan won’t sound like someone is using a jackhammer pounding the metal right outside your head.  But until then, please continue to floss and brush at night with fluoridated toothpaste, don’t try to walk while on Benadryl at night (office inside joke) and always keep making new friends even if you end up being the chauffeur.
 
The Chauffeur joke:
 
A speaker went from place to place to give his same speech one night.  Then on his last stop, he was so tired he asked his chauffeur to give the speech instead as no one knows how he looks like.  Hesitantly, the speaker’s chauffeur agreed to switch place with the speaker.  He presented the lecture well and it was well-received.  Afterwards, someone in the audience raised their hand to ask a question.  Without hesitation, the chauffeur acting as the speaker replied, “That question is so easy, even my chauffeur in the back can answer it.”
 
Dr. Tarnow joked that I was his chauffeur throughout the 4 days course.  Then in the end, I literally became his chauffeur as I ended up taking him to the airport.  His taxi did not come   on time and his flight was about to take off.  He barely made it to the airport but he made it.  

​As we get ready to celebrate our freedom and independence in this great nation of ours, we wish you all a happy gathering of families, friends, neighbors and strangers.  As the only refugee in the office, I want to say that I continue to believe America is great; it has always been great in my eyes. It has never ceased to be anything but great.  However, recently for some reason, immigrants are labeled as bottom dwellers, rapists, drug dealers, murderers, gang members, etc.  I don’t get it.  If you were to put my family members and fellow (friends) refugees together, we could open a hospital with legal representation and even a pharmacy.  We would have management from top to bottom. Mangers and doctors with training from Harvard, UCSF, UC Davis, UC San Diego, Creighton, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Johns Hopkins, Michigan Ann Arbor, Columbia, USC, Stanford, Georgetown, Santa Clara University, University of Florida-Gainesville, Cal Poly, all the great schools in this nation.  And that’s just in my circle of friends.  My family has all races mixed into ours, even the ones labeled rapists and freeloaders.  In this time of open hostility towards immigrants, separating families and blatant racism, I sincerely hope this, too, shall pass.  
We are a nation of immigrants.  Some have been here longer than others, but we are all immigrants.  Only Native Americans can claim this is their land, as history has taught us.  Regardless of race, nationality, legal status, please continue to extend some kindness and hope to those who have less than you do.  It is not written anywhere in the bible to treat others differently based on race, nationality, or legal status.  The bible teaches us to “love thy neighbors.”  You don’t have to go and hug a neighbor, kindness can also mean to bite your tongue and withhold mean words.  This will be the only time that I ask you to bite your tongue.  Enjoy your 4th of July celebration.  

Today is one of the few holidays that my family celebrate wholeheartedly.  I get to relax while everyone else does the work.  My kids get creative and show their appreciation for all that I’ve done.  My husband does most of cleaning house but the kids help a lot.  Me, I just sit back and watch.  No presents can beat that.  Mother’s Day is one of my favorite holidays of the year.  I like to see everyone working together doing chores without complaints.  Watching my boys taking turns to steam mop the whole house is sweet as they were so polite and considerate to each other.  Maybe they knew I was watching but nonetheless, it warms my heart.  I don’t witness interactions like this often; it’s a rarity.  Not even birthdays are this special.  
As it is with every holiday, I would like to wish all the mothers (single dads too) a very happy and relaxing day.  May your kids treat you to a peaceful day.
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It reads: Mom, I love you.
               One with the best heart ever!
               Thankful to have you
               Having you is the best
               Everything you do is amazing
               Remember everything you do, I love you.
...of course until I punish him for not listening...
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This is from my youngest.  He came into my office and commented on a painting.  He said it was just splatter so he could paint one for me.  So here it is...splatter, Timothy's version.  Actually, it's just pouring paint but I'll live with it. 
The pennies come with a funny story.  Awhile back, Theodore broke his Lego toy apart and he can't seem to find all the pieces.  Because I had already spent my money on that Lego toy for his birthday, he knew I was out of money.  Therefore, he's been picking up pennies on the ground and saving them to give me so I can buy him another Lego set.  Theodore agreed to pay for half of the new toy but he needs to come up with the other half.  His new theme song for himself is from Khalid, "Young, Dumb and Broke."  He's young, he's dumb (always getting caught for misbehaving) and he's definitely broke.  He seems to enjoy being there for now.  I'll even excuse this for his high school years but hopefully, not in his college years.  So far, he collected 33 cents in the past month.  He has a long way to go.