The Excavator Vol. 1 Issue 2 by Georgia ASDA

EARLY FALL 2018, VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2

THE EXCAVATOR We've Got the Scoop!

Bringing You the Latest ASDA and DCG News since 2018

IN THIS ISSUE 2 - My Journey with Hodkgin's Lymphoma 3 - Illuminating Light Research 4 - Coffee Confidential 6 - New Campus Clubs 8 - Physical Therapy Recap 9 - Eat Well, Be Well 10 - Augusta Study Spots 11 - Events Calendar 12 - Photo Gallery 16 - Restaurant Roundup 18 - Movie Review 19 - Just For Fun 20 - Editor's Note Contributors: Jessica Anderson, Faith Botana, John Chaknis, Derrick Coleman, Jackie Janzen, Poonam Kalaria, Emily Latteri, Michelle Lonati, Macy Malcom, Sarah Ozturk, Maydda Qureshi, Luke Robert, Caitlyn Stouder, Luke Thompson, Asita Vinayagalingam, Mallory Weaver, Boyd Wilson, & Augusta Eats Special thanks to: Dr. Monica Chana, Dr. Jacqueline Delash, Dr. Ray Jeter, Dr. Mario Romero, & Dr. Ilanit Stern

FALL SPRINGS INTO ED COMMONS Emily Williams, C'2020 | DCG ASDA Newsletter Editor I would open with "welcome to Fall, DCG," but it seems even with our short break, none of us ever really left the building. Though Augusta is caught in an endless summer season-wise, the reduction of the A/C in Ed Commons alerts us that a new time of year has begun, bringing with it a series of transitions and progressions. The D1s finished their first modules, the D2s received their snappy white coats, the D3s took the NBDE part I, and the D4s are doing a thousand different things. In this issue, we explore liminal moments for many throughout the school. We welcome several new clubs to campus, and with them a whole alphabet of acronyms. Some favorite professors share their coffee secrets, and we discover new restaurants and study spots. Most compellingly, Michelle Lonati, C'2020, discusses her battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma (now in remission!) while continuing her D3 studies. Dental school is challenging enough, and her courage, positivity, and mental fortitude are an inspiration. Per Michelle, consider donating to Team Maggie, a local non-profit that helps fund fertility preservation for people with cancer. To donate or for more info, visit teammaggieforacure.org or Venmo donations to Ricky Patel, C' 2020's treasurer, with #TeamLonati. The AAWD chapter is also hosting a #TeamLonati 5K race on November 3rd to raise funds. And pay attention in oral medicine!

MY JOURNEY WITH HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA Michelle Lonati, C' 2020 started to perform head and neck exams on patients that are not our classmates, are much older, and are taking a multitude of medications. What I want to stress to every person reading this is take every head and neck exam seriously. Don't just think only the 80-year-old patients on two pages worth of medications require your full attention to detail. Our responsibility and duty to all our patients is to treat them with the highest quality of care. We can be the first step to our patients finding out life-changing diagnoses like mine.

SPOTTING CANCER DR. MONICA CHANA AND DR. ILANIT STERN

Michelle at home with her boxer puppy, Lola

On Tuesday, May 29th, I woke up with neck pain. I have a noncontributory medical history, no allergies, and am not taking any medications. In our 8:00 AM class, my left supraclavicular lymph node swelled up to the size of two golf balls. Dr. Jeffrey James, the chair of the oral surgery department, advised me to take 800 mg ibuprofen three times a day. That Thursday, I saw Dr. James again because the lymph node was fixed and non-tender, and he sent me to a lab to get blood work done. Monday, June 4th, my blood work came back and everything was within normal limits. For peace of mind, I got a CT scan on Wednesday, June 6th. Dr. James received the results that same afternoon, and I visited him in his office. We knew the CT scan was concerning for lymphoma, and Dr. James proceeded to perform a biopsy on Friday, June 8, to my left supraclavicular lymph node. On Monday, June 11th, the pathology results returned, indicating Classic Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Nodular Sclerosis. I met with my oncologist and got a PET scan that week, which indicated I have stage 2A, with my left and right supraclavicular, right paratracheal, hilum, and mediastinal lymph nodes involved. Since we knew chemotherapy and radiation were in my future, and due to chemotherapy's potential to cause infertility, I went through the process of harvesting my eggs. I started chemotherapy on July 9th. My treatment plan consists of chemotherapy once a week every other week for four months, a total of eight sessions. Then, I start radiation every day, Monday-Friday, for five weeks. Provided everything goes according to plan, my treatment will be complete around Christmas time. Thankfully, I am already in remission! I wanted to share my story for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, I am a very transparent person, and it is not in my personality to hide such a serious diagnosis. Most importantly, our profession includes us performing regular head and neck exams on every patient. During our first year when we first started learning how to perform proper exams, I felt very intimidated: no one wants to think they are potentially overlooking anything. Second year, we

As oral healthcare providers, we seek to provide standard of care, including annual clinical exams, updating radiographs based on clinical exams, caries risk and ADA recommendations (2012), and regular H&N cancer screenings including both extra-oral and intra-oral examination. A thorough oral and head & neck cancer screening, consisting primarily of inspection and palpation, can be completed in less than 5 minutes and can change someone’s life. After establishing good rapport with the patient, the clinician is ready to begin the exam. Explain to the patient exactly what you are doing before doing it: this helps put the patient at ease and gives you the opportunity to educate your patient about signs and symptoms of oral, head, and neck cancer, and how to detect it at an early stage. Clinicians must understand the complex systemic effects of malignancy on the body. Common changes pertaining to weight loss, anorexia, and/or fatigue, may be the first signs of malignancy. The initial physical evaluation of a patient actually begins as soon as you meet them. While taking the patient’s history, note any facial or lip asymmetry, masses, skin lesions, facial paralysis, swelling, or temporal wasting. Listening is also an important part of the examination. The sound of one’s voice and speech may reveal the location of tumors: a “hot potato” voice may signal the presence of an oropharyngeal tumor, whereas a raspy, hoarse voice could be the first sign of a laryngeal neoplasm. Throughout the exam, remember to look, listen, and feel every site being examined. Use bimanual palpation, a good light source (sometimes the light from loupes can be too bright for this part of the exam), and instruments such as a mouth mirror, tongue blade, and gauze.

ILLUMINATING LIGHT RESEARCH: HOW TO GET INVOLVED WHEN YOU'RE ALREADY SWAMPED Jackie Janzen, C’2020 | DCG ASDA Historian + AAWD Secretary Caitlyn Stouder, C’2020 | DCG ASDA Junior Pre-Dental Chair As dental students, we don’t have much time. However, we always seem to have questions. Over a couple of weeks, plus a few Saturdays, we assisted faculty in setting up experiments and collecting data for publications. With the amount of stone casts that break and preps that go wrong with a sneeze, it’s gratifying to accomplish research and have the opportunity to present your data. Our professors brim with knowledge, and many are eager to include you, a bright-eyed and eager student, in the secrets of the dental research world--like when you have a really juicy gossip story and can’t wait to spill the beans, but over dental subjects. Dr. Frederick Rueggeberg, our research professor, along with Dr. Brent Haeberle and Mr. Donald Mettenburg, included us in researching “Single-Charge Output Lifetimes of Wired Dental Headlamps” and “Spectral Irradiance Differences Among Dental Headlamps.” Following this research, we saw many benefits to our studies and extra effort. One interesting benefit of research is socializing with professors outside of school. We were both surprised that our experiences performing research in undergraduate programs, whether the experience was minimal or significant, prepared us to take on the task of graduate level research. Many of our classmates embarked on research themselves in their fields of interest including periodontal, dental materials, microbiology, and more. Research also gave us great opportunities to travel to conferences, such as the International Association for Dental Research Conference in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Here, many students, including several of our classmates, presented their poster presentations. Attending this conference helped us meet people from other schools and even other countries, including Brazil and Germany. While we expanded our minds through dental academics and materials, we also networked with doctors and peers. Additionally, research has helped us become more comfortable presenting and reading dental literature. If you haven’t heard of “Evidence Based Dentistry” yet, you must be sleeping in. Google knows it too: if you have a question, it pulls relevant articles from known journals with systematic reviews. Lastly, research gives the possibility of receiving awards, recognition, and financial aid. Both of us are lucky enough to receive research awards from the Pierre Fauchard Academy, in addition to staying at the Ritz Carlton for presentations. For those interested in residency programs, having a published article is one way to get your name on the market, and research conferences are a great way network with schools of interest. Additionally, our school is one of six that offer a DMD with Distinction in Research. So, how to get involved? Join the DRS: the Dental Research Society. Be on the lookout from current president, Kevin Shepherd C'2019, for meetings and events. We are so cool and savvy that we even have a Facebook page, @Dental Research Society. Or, contact Dr. Regina Messer about how to implant yourself in one of the laboratory groups. We look forward to seeing your research lights shining brightly! Jackie (top) and Caitlyn present their posters.

COFFEE: THE GRINDS THAT BIND US SARAH OZTURK, C' 2021

For some, coffee is almost ritualistic. For others it's an afternoon pick-me-up. For most, its presence in daily interactions holds the potency of connecting people, linking cultures, and even bringing nostalgic waves of family traditions to the shore. Blended, brewed, dripped or iced, coffee's inauguration into daily life is one of antiquity. The familiar aroma swirls its way back centuries ago when a Yemeni shepherd noticed his hyperactive goats had ingested berries that came to be known as coffee beans. Monks consumed coffee to focus during spiritual practices. From the plains of Africa to Europe, coffee flourished; in Oxford, England, in 1654, an Ottoman student opened Queen's Lane Coffee House, the longest continuously-running coffee shop in Europe. Even if coffee is not your go-to drink, it may affect your dental career by rendering you a hearty population of bleaching patients. Just as its origin spans cultures, I set out to interview professors from diverse backgrounds to learn their coffee routines and stories. Coffee's nature ensues hospitality, and the way professors welcomed the interview spoke to coffee's ability to link people. Although Dr. Jacqueline Delash was apprehensive to consume coffee when younger due to a fear of stunted growth, she incorporated coffee into her day at the age of twenty-eight while a student here at DCG. Dr. Delash's Cuban aunt introduced her to cortados, "The ideal trifecta of strong, sweet, and smooth." Her connection with coffee precedes her dental school days and is rooted in her summers spent in her parents' home country of Croatia. Kava, as they say in Croatian, is a morning item and partners beautifully with a breakfast spread of cucumbers, tomatoes, cheeses and cured meats. She recalled a road-trip with her uncle through Croatia and Bosnia complete with espresso stops and

Dr. Mario Romeo at home with his famous coffee set-up.

picking figs throughout the countryside. Across Europe, coffee and gelato are an iconic duo and the perfect excuse to hang out. Coffee is to be enjoyed, and getting it to-go is far from the usual European coffee culture. Sitting al fresco is the default, and a sea of bistro tables and chairs is a silent invitation to stay and indulge in conversation. Dr. Mario Romero's affinity for coffee is almost genetic: his great-grandmother grew it in the province of Manabí in Ecuador. Stories of togetherness floated around the room as he painted the scene of lingering conversations among family. Essentially, coffee time in Ecuador is an experience and a family affair. Dr. Romero's routine took flight while researching coffee as a medical student in Rochester, NY. He marveled that coffee is the world's top social drink. Today, Dr. Romero has made coffee an elegant science. His coffee routine includes an afternoon cortadito: two parts coffee, one part milk. The first step is making colada: coffee brewed from an espresso pot. Dr. Romero recommends using the Cuban brand, Pilon. Granulated brown sugar is caramelized into a portion of the colada making a paste, "similar to spatulating alginate," he remarked. The rest of the colada is poured [con't] Dr. Ray Jeter's Bialetti Moka Pot and hand-grinder.

Mediterranean coast to Turkey, he was intrigued that Syrian immigrants sold twigs of miswak, a plant known as neem, that has antimicrobial oral effects. In a nation that consumes strong Turkish coffee, Türk kahvesi, late into the night, brushing with this plant is as wise as it is organic. Presently, he describes that a certain "coffee culture" is emerging with consumers tweaking and modifying the typical cup. Dr. Jeter's ideal brew is an almond milk macchiato: one part coffee, one part almond milk, and just a pinch of sweetener. His kitchen is stocked with the Italian brand Illy, artisan coffee from vendors, and his Moka Pot, a stovetop Italian coffee pot. Getting personal with coffee makes sense because there is a genetic component to it. Having directed several genomic projects prior to coming to the DCG, Dr. Jeter

Dr. Jeter hard at work tamping his Moka Pot to the perfect density.

and the foam gathers atop. The secret is whole fat milk, boiled and whisked into the concoction. With his esthetic expertise at hand, he assures that with regular oral hygiene, coffee's extrinsic staining is not a contraindication for enjoying the beverage. Dr. Romero manifests his Ecuadorian coffee culture by sharing his infectious love of the beverage on his social media. Offscreen, he even introduced Dr. Martha Brackett to caffeinated coffee and got Dr. Roger Arce hooked on his famous cortadito. Lastly, Dr. Ray Jeter's coffee tastes were cultivated during his globetrotting days in the military. His years abroad in Italy and Turkey have left him with rich stories that have augmented his daily routine. In Italy, he noted that coffee was an all day ordeal, but adding milk to the espresso was typically an after lunch custom. Espressos, doppios, macchiatos, and cappuccinos were not always found in the hands of all Italians and tourists. Until the 2000's, Sicilian culture prohibited men from drinking cappuccinos and lattes as they were considered "ladies' beverages;" it was understood that real men drank. espresso. Along the Dr. Jacqueline Delash enjoys a fresh brew.

notes that the way coffee is metabolized is dependent upon a gene, CYP1A2. The alleles of this determine how fast we process the caffeine and thus may regulate how eagerly we grab a second cup.

Dr. Romero's Instagram @mariorcf70 is famous for his beautiful espresso presentations.

Whichever forte appeases your craving, coffee and its enticing aroma hits home and unites people through the art of perfecting the craft. Coffee could be the difference to help perk up the posture and sharpen the minds of students through the grind of dental school. Whether it's sipped through Croatia's rustic Dalmatian coast, poured into mugs around the table at lively family gatherings, or relished under the warm Mediterranean sun, coffee has dissolved borders and brought us together internationally and locally. With a world-class education on restorative dentistry and bleaching, it seems that at DCG an extra cup of coffee cannot hurt, especially in good company.

JOIN THE CLUB(S)! Several new clubs have cropped up on campus. Here are some ways you can get involved:

AAWD American Association of Women Dentists Asita Vinayagalingam, C'2020 | AAWD President

Below: attendees at the AAWD Women's Leadership Conference. C/O Treyvon Merrit

The American Association of Women Dentists joined the DCG family in the fall of 2017, making it the 34th student chapter in the nation. In just one year, AAWD has made great strides in bringing attention to the growing interests of women dentists and dental students here at the Dental College of Georgia. Last year alone, AAWD held their first annual Breast Cancer Awareness week, student and faculty Friendsgiving dinner, Women’s Leadership Conference, and Konchady Kickball Tournament in honor of the late Dr. Gayathri Konchady. For the upcoming year, we look forward to continuing to host these same events while opening up more opportunities for students to expand their dental network and come together to grow professionally and personally. We are so grateful for the support we have received thus far and cannot wait to see what the future holds for our newly founded organization.

Oral Surgery Selective Jessica Anderson, C'2020 | OSS President Oral Surgery Selective is a new organization at DCG that exists to equip students with the tools, fellowship, and collaboration they may need to pursue an Oral Surgery residency program after dental school. We have a twofold mission which involves serving both our members and the general school population. Our members benefit from this organization by participating in monthly journal club meetings where we discuss relevant topics in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. We also meet regularly to discuss things such as how to study for the CBSE, research, how to be a competitive OMFS applicant, externships, and other topics relevant to obtaining a residency after graduation. As an organization, we are invited to certain events with the residents such as Academic Day and guest lectures during their didactics. Members of OSS with Dr. Daniel Spagnoli at Academic Day 2018.

For the school, we are looking to provide a Suture Day event each semester, which will benefit students who want to learn and practice suturing in a hands-on clinical experience. At Suture Day, we plan for both residents and our members to assist and teach others the hand skills necessary for beautiful clinical sutures. If you want to get involved with Oral Surgery Selective, or simply find out more about the specialty as a whole, please feel free to reach out or attend any of our meetings. The president, Jessica Anderson C' 2020, and vice president, Matt Sansevere C' 2020, can answer any questions you may have regarding the organization.

SCAAPD Student Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Luke Robert, C'2020 | SCAAPD President The Student Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (SCAAPD) found its way to the DCG in the summer of 2018. Prior to the formation of this chapter, there was no official pediatric dentistry organization at the school, not to mention one with such a lengthy acronym, so it was long overdue. Members of SCAAPD. SCAAPD is overseen by Dr. Bruce Riggs, Assistant Professor of Pre-doctoral Pediatrics here at DCG. Although the name of the organization may imply a complete focus on pediatric dentistry, Dr. Riggs has expressed he would like the organization to be beneficial to ANYONE interested in ANY residency. Plans include CV/Resume workshops, tips on personal statements and interviews, lectures about the application process and MATCH: all relevant topics to the whole spectrum of specialties. As for upcoming goals and events, SCAAPD plans to have a great deal of community involvement. This may include providing oral hygiene instructions and supplies to children at the Ronald McDonald House on campus and local elementary schools, volunteering with the YMCA’s Miracle Baseball League, and setting up booths at the upcoming Fall Fest in late October. Another hope is to play a large role in Give Kids a Smile Day in February. It’s an exciting day and a huge job, so some extra hands will be greatly beneficial to ensure everything runs smoothly. SCAAPD is very excited to finally be a part of the school, and we are looking forward to what this upcoming year has in store for the organization. Any questions can be directed to the SCAAPD president, Luke Robert C' 2020, or the vice president, Kaitlin Burton C' 2021.

DMA Dental Multicultural Association Poonam Kalaria, C'2021 | DMA Vice President

DMA members and faculty at the first DMA-hosted screening event.

The Dental Multicultural Association (DMA) is for all dental students who want to create a more vibrant, rich cultural network during their years in dental school. When we arrive here as D1s, we show up in our matching scrubs and nine-digit student IDs. We move from classroom to classroom as a single unit and we find ourselves talking about dental school ALL the time. We quickly see what makes us all the same, but sometimes we bury away what makes us all different. We have students, faculty and patients from dozens of countries from all over this world on this small campus. Seeing one another for our diversity and cultural backgrounds creates an inclusive, well-informed community, making us not only better students, but also better clinicians. Look out for our annual multicultural potluck dinner, oral health screenings in the community, Indian lunches from Lahore Express, and many more events! And finally, please join! DMA can only be its best with more representation from our extremely amazing and diverse student body. For more information, contact our VP, Poonam Kalaria C'2021, or Chandni Patel C'2020 or Akata Patel C'2020, co-presidents.

Ergonomics Primes and Bonds Dentists and Physical Therapists BOYD WILSON, C' 2020 DCG ASDA TREASURER

Take a good look at yourself. Standing up, do you notice your shoulders? Are they rounded and pronounced towards your midline? Do you seem a little shorter than a year ago? If so, you may be developing unhealthy postural positions. Recently, third year students from the physical therapy program at Augusta University gave dental students a most informative lunch and learn, organized by ASDA's Health and Wellness committee. Through various examples and demonstrations, these PT students shared their research and knowledge on the effects of poor posture when working in the dental field, and more importantly, how to correct it. Dentists have a tough time maintaining ideal ergonomics when treating patients. Sometimes we turn our necks and back more than we'd like since it’s the quickest way to finish the procedure. But, proper stretching technique after a long day in the operatory is the most important thing to implement now, while being conscientious regarding your posture when performing dental procedures. “Stretches like prone press ups and thoracic extensions are probably the workhorse stretches for personnel in the dental field,” said Jordan Casper, 3rd year SPT. “Learning this information now will allow you to extend your career further, instead of inhibiting it, forcing you into retirement.” Shelley Anderson, 3rd year SPT remarked, “We have abundant resources in Augusta that I feel like we don’t utilize as much as we really should. It would be great to connect with other schools to educate each other on what [physical therapists] are trained in, and what we can provide for patients and each other. This capability can allow our professions to work together to ultimately treat patients better and keep ourselves healthy at the same time. Healthcare is meant to work together. When we don’t realize what other professions do and how they provide for patients, how can we expect our patients to know and receive the best care?” Nothing beats education. Learning good habits now is crucial to addressing the problems of lower back and neck pain, and preventing pain from occurring in the first place. “Most people wait until pain arises to seek help. But, if you create habits from the start to help prevent these problems, impairments, and injuries, then you can create a longer-lasting, healthy body,” said Anderson. The healthcare field holds a vast plethora of knowledge. Our job is to put the puzzle pieces together to work as a unit and do what is best for our patients. Photos: c/o Boyd Wilson

You are What (and How) You Eat Mallory Weaver, C' 2021 | DCG ASDA Wellness Chair Think about how you prep a gold crown. You have a system, right? Maybe you reduce occlusally, then axially, and, lastly, get those margins. When you don’t follow that system, something never quite works the way you intended. Just as you only have one chance to prepare your patient’s (or Bob’s) tooth properly, you only have one body to respect by living your life in a rhythm. We already attempt to live our lives in a rhythm supported by zeitgebers: external stimuli that help us synchronize the body clock. These include light and dark, the seasons, food availability, and hormonal schedules. Have you ever noticed you have less energy, sleep less, and eat more in the winter months? Or you start yawning at the same exact time every day? That’s no coincidence: the “body clock” is a real thing. Humans are made to operate on 24-hour and seasonal circadian rhythms, with feeding and sleeping times occurring at regular intervals, regulated mostly by the liver and the hypothalamus. Our behavior and physiology are “timed to optimize fitness in a given season,” which makes sense considering growing seasons. During the spring and summer months, we increase outdoor activity and overall energy expenditure, which pairs nicely with summer fruits and vegetables: easy sources of carbohydrates to keep us active. As we wind down towards the colder temperatures of fall and winter, calorie intake increases while energy expenditure decreases. We reduce our waking hours as days grow shorter and increase our REM sleep, and our levels of leptin, cholesterol, and triglycerides also go up. Winter fruits and vegetables provide us with vitamin C to help protect us from disease and complex carbohydrates to keep us warm.

This all seems good and natural, but it’s obvious humans today no longer live like the early 1900s. With artificial lighting, A/C units, and climate change, we no longer need to live in balance with naturallyoccurring geophysical rhythms, and instead live in what scientists call “eternal summers.” While these inventions are convenient, we don't obey rhythms we innately possess. And, unfortunately, operating outside of these rhythms puts us at risk for non-infectious diseases including cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, diabetes, hormonal imbalances, and obesity. So, it’s important to pay attention to our habits, which might be unintentionally destructive to our health.

Looking to put your body back in sync? Here are some ways to wind your body clock: 1. Eat seasonally… and locally if possible. Our body does best when we match food intake with the growing seasons. As appealing as bananas grown in Costa Rica are in December (and as much as we appreciate globalization), foods grown in warm weather are more ideally consumed when weather is warm and overall energy expenditure is higher. Eating locallygrown produce is a great way to eat seasonally. Not only does your body benefit, but it supports the local economy and is environmentally responsible! Can you say triple-whammy? Visit www.seasonalfoodguide.org for foods in season near you, and check out the farmer's market in downtown Augusta every Saturday mid-March through Thanksgiving, on 8th and Reynolds, 8:00-2:00. 2. Eat at regular intervals. Each individual operates on a 4-5-hour rhythm related to meal intake. Eating at abnormal times can alter your appetite, your bowel movements, and put you at risk for issues with long-term weight management. Yikes. Also, have you ever noticed you’re better in labs or clinic either first thing in the session or towards the end? Locomotor activity, body temperatures, and corticosterones are synchronized with food availability and consumption to produce optimal bodily function, and we work best when we eat at regular periods. 3. Get regular sleep, and let yourself sleep more in the winter. It might seem impossible, (because, dental school) but hear me out: most overweight and obese people sleep less than normal. Sleep deprivation is related to disruptions in leptin levels, increased risk for reduced glucose tolerance and insulin resistance, and, most simply, just having more time to eat. Sleep architecture also changes in the winter due to longer hours of darkness, so grab a few more minutes of shuteye as the days get shorter. As a bonus, time spent in REM sleep (the phase that builds memory) increases, so make sure to get your 6-8 hours so you can store more long-term knowledge for tests! 4. Get some blue-blocking glasses. As mentioned above, getting regular intervals of sleep coinciding with the seasons is important, especially to weight management. There’s a lot of buzz going around these days about the blue light coming from our computers and phones disrupting our sleep. Research is still ongoing, but scientists have found it disrupts your ability to fall asleep and get high quality sleep in the first stage. Since we dental students struggle to get enough sleep in the first place and spend all day and night staring at our computers and phones, we should be conscious of how this affects us. Find blue-blocking glasses for as cheap as $6.95 here: www.zennioptical.com/beyond-uv-blue-blocker

What's New to Brew: Augusta's Best Study Spaces Emily Latteri, C' 2021 As lovely as the Commons Cafe is, a change of scenery is sometimes necessary to get into the perfect study groove. It is easy to get tunnel vision while walking to and from the Sim Lab and CL, but the city of Augusta offers a variety of unique study spots that are worth a shot (of espresso)! Mix it up with one of these spots: Buona Caffe Just a stone’s throw away from DCG, Buona is a quaint locale perfect for grabbing a cup of coffee and getting your study on. The friendly baristas can whip up killer latte art that is sure to muster up even the most distant motivation. You can also purchase freshly roasted beans to take home, which they will grind on request! Location: 1858 Central Ave – 0.9 mi from DCG (plus a new second location in the Cyber Center) Ambience: One word: hipster What to order: Pour-over coffee, vanilla latte, lemon blueberry scone, quiche www.buonacaffe.com Inner Bean Café This small café and local artist supporter is a great place for a study session. The drink menu is almost as impressive as the homemade food offerings, so be sure to arrive hungry! Location: 139 Davis Rd – 7.3 mi from DCG Ambience: Quiet, artsy What to order: Chai latte, breakfast burrito, homemade double chocolate cake www.innerbeanaugusta.com Metro A Coffeehouse & Pub Right in the heart of downtown, this cool coffee house offers an easy-going atmosphere with a great variety of specialty coffees and drinks, plus a selection of pastries and desserts. This newly-renovated spot transforms from a quiet coffeehouse during the day to a low-key pub with live music at night. Location: 1054 Broad St – 1.7 mi from DCG Ambience: Chill, hip What to order: Jedi coffee (with both white and dark chocolate, get it?) www.facebook.com/MetroAugusta

A delicious cup of Buona Caffe espresso compliments studying and sketching. C/O Emily Latteri

New Moon Café New Moon provides a varied menu of healthy options and a study atmosphere with just enough distraction to keep you from going crazy. The covered porch is a great way to stay cool while also spending some time in the fresh air. Bonus: The Book Tavern is right next door, and snooping through books and vinyl records is a great study break! Location: 936 Broad St – 1.8 mi from DCG Ambience: Funky, bustling What to order: Nitro cold brew coffee, avocado toast, green monster smoothie, chicken salad www.newmoondowntown.com Reese Library - Summerville Campus Often dental students forget the Summerville Campus even exists, but as AU students we have full access to all of the beautiful facilities on this campus as well. Reese Library is the main library on Summerville campus and is a great alternative for when Greenblatt is getting a little too familiar. Location: 2500 Walton Way – 2.4 mi from DCG Ambience: Studious, quiet Amenities: Computers, printing, private study rooms, friendly librarians www.augusta.edu/library/reese L: Metro A Coffeehouse and Pub, post-renovation. C/O Emily Latteri

White Coat Ceremony: Congratulations Class of 2021!Â All photos from Savannah Evan Photography www.savannahevan.com/dcgwhitecoat

Dentists 4 Della Bowling Tournament!

Photos: DCG Facebook

C A F É C O R N E R Old Augusta Meets New Trends with The Southern Salad By Augusta Eats | Instagram @AugustaEats

This September, Augusta native Chef Hav Usry and his family opened a new restaurant downtown. The Southern Salad: Clean Greens in the Dirty South features produce and products sourced locally to better serve the CRA with a healthier option in downtown Augusta. The dental student at the head of the anonymous Instagram account Augusta Eats sat down with Usry to glean more information about this new establishment. Augusta Eats: What gave you the idea to bring a healthier option to downtown Augusta? Usry: “This is the way we live and our lifestyle. There was a need here, and we wanted to bring the way we eat at home to downtown. In a way it’s a representation of us.” How is this restaurant different from others that you own, such as Fat Man’s Catering? This is Skinny Man! They are almost polar opposites in the sense of culinary and food. Fat Man’s is like home – southern hospitality. But the scenery and environment is still the same. There are not that many places where you’re going to find quick service with an urban environment, a place where people can hang out on a Thursday. Not just a place where you go to the counter, get a bowl, and hightail it out of here.

The Southern Salad 1008 Broad St, Augusta, GA 30901 Mon-Sat 10 AM - 9 PM

Chef Usry's Favorite Menu Items: From the green bowls: The Paige, which I named after my mom. It’s a salad I grew up eating. From the grains: BBB! It’s the most like comfort food item on the menu. From the toasts: All of them!

What local businesses have you partnered with to bring ingredients and products to the Southern Salad? Any plans to join a delivery service? We own the greenhouse – from cherry tomatoes to cucumbers to grains and lettuce. We also work with multiple farming partners close by, Earth Candy’s cold pressed juices, and local breweries. We have online ordering in-house, online catering in-house, and have already signed with Augusta To Go. Any words from the chef to Augusta University students? I still feel like I can relate to the students. I hope this can be a part of Augusta Nation and a spot for students to hang out and have community. There you have it! Whether you are looking for something cool to drink, a patio to hang out on with some friends, or a ready to-go meal to fuel your day, head over to The Southern Salad!

Aw, Shucks: Becks Beckons All

Faith Botana, C' 2022 HSDA Social Chair

Becks has been open for a little over two years, but the experience gained through John Beck’s sister restaurant Sheehan’s showcases his expertise in atmosphere and kitchen execution. The location here has a charm all its own, with a classy neighborhood feel. Located at the King Street split of Central Ave, the refreshing venue has the alluring aspects of a top tier restaurant with more approachable pricing on wine and entrees. Raw oysters are the centerpiece, illustrated from the moment you walk in and face the wraparound raw bar, and the open concept and modern design is inviting for both couples and larger parties. Due to the large bar area, reservations are not necessary, and they have a great back room that accommodates large parties or private events. At my most recent dinner here, after starting with a well-balanced and creamy matcha coconut martini, we enjoyed a dozen briny oysters. Pat, the local favorite shucker, cleaned the Standish Shore and Pirate’s Cove oysters perfectly, with no grit or broken shell pieces to be found. The entrée menu has a number of staples on it, primarily focusing on seafood and modern southern sides. The kitchen is extremely accommodating on exceptions to the menu due to health restrictions, and my beet salad with roasted asparagus and brussels sprouts were prepared vegan and glutenfree. My husband, fresh off of a long bike ride, opted for the gourmet burger with bacon marmalade and house-made bleu cheese sauce, paired with an oaky Napa Cabernet only a few dollars more than the grocery store price. Don’t be deceived by the online menu: daily specials make up almost half the nightly offerings. Signature desserts are served in small mason jars, with key lime pie and Bailey’s mousse our favorites. This time we opted for the rotating special dessert of an almond-coconut cream cake, coupled with local roasted coffee from Buona Caffe, a few blocks down Central Ave. More than half of Becks' customers are regulars due to the excellent consistency of the kitchen, inviting and competent staff, and modern openconcept atmosphere. Having frequented the restaurant since the opening week, I am happy to speak to the fact that staff is thoroughly trained, and the overall front-end management is a welloiled machine. We will continue to come here often and be greeted by friendly and familiar faces.

Becks Oyster Bar 2111 Kings Way, Augusta, GA 30904 Wed-Sat 5:30-10:00 PM

MOVIE REVIEW: THE FIRST PURGE JOHN CHAKNIS, C' 2022 A few weeks ago, I decided to take the night off from dental school. Journeying to the Riverwatch Movie Theatre with my younger brother, we agreed to see the latest installment of The Purge movie series.

named Skeletor who conducts the first murder of the night, a younger brother-older sister dynamic that is surprisingly deep, and the origins of the Purge experiment designed by a psychologist.

This series is set in an alternate, futuristic United States run by the “New Founding Fathers.” An event termed the “Purge” occurs over 12 consecutive hours once a year, when all crime, including murder, is legal. The purpose of this day is to release internal and “pent up" negative emotions. The series delves into the recurring theme of the Purge being a political facade to reduce the population of the poorer social classes.

However, the film overall seemed stale as it copied ideas from the other Purge movies. The first half intrigued me with the political controversy of such an event being implemented in a society much like ours, but the ending morphed into a surreal shoot-

out between the two groups that seemed more James Bond-like, and my imagination stretched as I had to suspend disbelief to enjoy what I was watching. Overall: Interesting movie to watch if you’re bored, but try not to think to look for a deeper meaning in the storytelling.

Chaknis score: 6/10 Rotten Tomatoes: 54% Roger Ebert: 1.5/4

“The First Purge” is the newest edition in the saga. As its name suggests, this movie serves as a prequel to the original Purge movie and follows an experimental “Purge” on Staten Island, New York City. We are introduced to a large cast of characters and follow their night as the experiment devolves from the general population essentially ignoring, or even mocking, the charade to an allout guerrilla war between the locals against a group of mystery killers. The New Founding Fathers reveal themselves to the audience to be a malicious political party with their own agenda, and that they were the ones who sent in paid foreign mercenaries to slaughter hundreds of citizens in lowincome housing areas. Highlights of the film include a truly disturbing drug addict

http://www.impawards.com/2018/first_purge_ver10.html

THE EXCAVATOR

THE ADVENTURES OF PETEY, FUTURE DMD Derrick Coleman, C'2020 | DCG ASDA Publications Chair

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DMD.J: Dentists, Meet Dad Jokes Luke Thompson, C'2020 How come you never see elephants hiding in trees? Well, they’re good at it. Why couldn’t the bicycle stand up by itself? It was too tired. I thought about going on an all almond diet, but that would be just nuts. www.websudoku.com/?level=1&set_id=3432159842

Kerry James Marshall. A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of his Former Self, 1980. Egg tempera on paper; 8 × 6 ½ in. (20.3 × 16.5 cm). Photo: Matthew Fried, © MCA Chicago

Editor's Note: The Visible Man Emily Williams, C' 2020 The last Sunday of our August break, I went a little crazy and bought two cases of Polar seltzer water at Publix instead of my usual La Croix. Upon returning, I couldn’t carry everything to my apartment in one trip and decided to bring the cans in the next day. However, on Monday, the grapefruit case was much lighter and damper than the cherry-limeade. All twelve cans of grapefruit had exploded, while the cherry-limeade were untouched. We as dentists have an image in our head of what “teeth” should be. However, like the seltzer incident, why do some teeth explode from the face, while others fade away? Our goal is to make teeth that appear as if the patient was born with them; no dentist wants someone to look at their work and say, “What the heck are those?” One vision of teeth that has seared itself into my brain is Kerry James Marshall’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of his Former Self (1980), which I briefly remarked on in the September 2018 issue of Contour (p. 42-43). Marshall, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, is one of the most preeminent artists alive, included on Time’s “100 Most Influential People” list in 2017, and clearly has extensive knowledge of art history and an excess of technical skill. However, he has purposefully achieved in this painting the exact opposite of everything we learn in esthetics. The Cheshire-cat grin reduces the sphere of Monson into a never-ending plane, sheared from our field of view only by

the sharp angulation of the labial commissures. The diastema is the size and shape of a central incisor, warping our perception of the midlines of the mouth and face. Each tooth is formed in a similar manner, with seemingly no regard for dental anatomy or proportion. They are chiclets, piano keys on a broken keyboard, glaring out from the pitch blackness of the overall composition. However, as jarring as the painting may initially be, Marshall is working strictly within the traditional Western canon. The structure borrows heavily from Early Netherlandish portraiture, notably Jan Van Eyck’s Portrait of a Man; painted in 1433, this is believed the earliestknown self-portrait. While Van Eyck likely painted his work as an example of for patrons visiting his studio, Marshall’s portrait is a break from his prior abstractions and collages and his first foray into figurative art. Each painting depicts the artist wearing a fashionable hat and black coat revealing a peek of a shirt, staring directly at the viewer in three-quarter profile against a textured black background. Both paintings are diminutive, Van Eyck’s 10 x 7” to Marshall’s 8 x 6.5." By using a reduced planar field and emphasizing the negative space, the artists compel the viewer to approach the works closely, sucking them into the void. Just as Marshall plays with a portrait structure dating back centuries, so does he use his artistic [con't on next]

Jan Van Eyck. Portrait of a Man (Self portrait?), 10 x 7 in (25.5 x 19 cm), 1433. National Gallery, London. Source: Wikimedia Commons

[con't] knowledge of teeth to warp that reality to jar the viewer. In contrast to Van Eyck’s serious visage, Marshall spreads wide the mouth with the teeth as the centerpiece. While Van Eyck’s portrait is hyper-realistic, Marshall’s inverts reality, beckoning the viewer into a dream-like sphere, the polar opposite of Get Out’s “Sunken Place” in which here Marshall has all the power. Marshall has said regarding his work that he was inspired by Ralph Ellison’s 1952 novel The Invisible Man, which reads, “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.” However, while the man himself may appear “invisible” against the backdrop, his eyes and teeth are anything but, shouting out from the page, “look at me! I am here!” Thus, both artists, separated by centuries, make the same statement: look me in the eyes. Though these two paintings are more than I can unpack, both due to space constraints and to the topics of race and masculinity in art being way out of my pay grade, I hope they inspire us all to think differently about the A1-D4 shaded nubs to which we have dedicated our time here at the school. Herein lies a challenge: forget esthetic dentistry, however briefly. Instead design (in a sketchbook or on an extra cast—obviously not on a patient!) teeth that are not “esthetic,” but instead make a statement: teeth you can’t forget. What are these teeth like? What do they say? How do they themselves speak? We, like Marshall, can work within the mathematical structures of esthetic dentistry while also in our artistic lives push the boundaries of what feelings teeth can convey. By fracturing the concept of “teeth” into the emotions they bring out, we may better understand the true importance of line angles, gingival margins, and incisal edges. We are all dentists, but we are also artists, whether we like it or not.