Hello Again!
Today marks another week I get to work on my research! It has been such a great experience and I am learning so much. My advisor, Professor Jocelyn Kolb, has been great and has taught me so much. On Friday she drove me to Clifton, New Jersey so we could check out a dental lab that does 3D printing. Arcad Lab was great! They were so kind and showed us how they use 3D printing. It is amazing how much this printer can do! At the lab we were able to see step by step the process of indirect bonding. So what is indirect bonding? Well if any of you had braces in the past you probably remember vividly lying in a chair for about two hours in order to get your braces put on. Well indirect bonding cuts the chair time by even more then 50%! With indirect bonding the braces can be placed on a 3D printed version of your teeth and then using vacuum forming the braces are placed in a clear plastic shell. This shell is then polished, sanitized, and shipped to your orthodontist office where you can get all of the brackets placed at once! It was great to talk to the staff at Arcad Lab and here first hand how 3D printing has increased their business. I am right on schedule with everything I had planned to do for my ACRE. However, to stay on schedule I must keep working hard! Luckily I have not encountered any major roadblocks or issues.
Other exciting news…I am going to Nicaragua!! This coming January I will be going with a group of students to Nicaragua to help out as a dental assistant with a great program called Vida Volunteer. As a group we will “set up shop” and provide dental care, medical care, and vet care to people who typically would not be able to have access to this treatment. I can’t wait for this awesome experience!!!
ALBRIGHT ELCDC 