Winston Churchill's Dentures

As I continue my mini-expeditions and my studies abroad in England, I've come across a number of hidden gems in the nation where it seems to rain everyday, relentlessly, despite my being from California ...

Just yesterday on the program sponsored trip to the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (don't you wish HMS had a museum?) I came across a few eye er mouth-catching exhibits. Naturally, the Royal College of Surgeons had to be in possession of the dentures of Winston Churchill, the man who led Great Britain during WWII. Even more naturally, the great man's dentures had to be one of the most stunning set of dentures I've ever laid eyes upon (pics below).

Interestingly, it's important to note that Churchill had either a stutter or a lisp, and that his dentures were fashioned to help overcome his impediment, not to mention help with mastication and self-esteem. That's proof to you folks who think that dentistry is mainly for the aesthetics! Perhaps King George VI too could have invested in a set a la The King's Speech. Just imagine watching a movie called The King's Dentures ... 

Anyways, here's what the description reads at the Royal College of Surgeons:

"Partial upper denture, with gold base, platinum clasps and mineral teeth, made for and worn by Sir Winston Churchill, c. 1941

Dentures like these are normally made to fit as closely as possible to the palate of the wearer. Churchill's denture  was different. To compensate for his natural lisp his was designed to leave a gap between the plate and the roof of his mouth, thereby enabling him to maintain his distinctive speaking style. Churchill's dentures were designed by his dentist, Wilfred Fish and made by Fish's dental technician, Derek Cudlipp."

And here are the pics folks! (click to enlarge)

Absolutely stunning! Now who wouldn't want a gold and platinum-laced mouth?

E

British Beginnings

Phew! It's been quite an exhausting day as I just finished my first day of work at the Natural History Museum in London!

To update you guys, after spending a full month and a half back home in sunny Los Angeles, I'm now across the pond (the Atlantic that is, not Pacific) where I'll be working in London for a bit before studying abroad at Queen's College at Oxford University! Very exciting! Also very expensive!!

Anyways, I'm sure that you've heard of the stereotype of British teeth as compared to American teeth. Apparently they're worse. Apparently, that may or may not be correct. I've only spent two full days here so far, and when people do smile (albeit rarely) their teeth seem perfectly normal to me! Time will certainly tell, and I'll be sure to create a post in the future after I've detailed a sufficient number of observations about the Brits and their ways. :)

Pics from the museum! (click to enlarge)

Natural History Museum -- London

Outside

Inside

Charles Darwin

Some good-looking guy

E

7/15 Update! Here's a link to the blog here at the Natural History Museum about my work as an intern!

http://wallaceletters.info/content/more-about-harvard-interns

Basically, there are 7 of us Harvardians doing some cheap but prestigious labor ... it's a pretty fun group (find my twitterlicious Twitter for the real deal) and now you can learn more about what I'm doing with regards to evolutionary biology!

E

DONE with the DATs !

For those of you who know me well or have been following my delicious blogging from wherever around the world you may be, today I took my DATs!

The DAT, also known as the Dental Admissions Test, is required for entrance to United States dental schools. There are a total of six sections on the DATs that appear in the order of Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Perceptual Ability, Critical Reading, and Quantitative Reasoning. And to think that you're done with standardized tests after high school :p - sorry, try again folks!

Anyways, the experience was quite nerve-wracking to say the least. I was fingerprinted at least six times at the Prometric Test Center where a whole slew of these American standardized tests are administered, and had a camera happily recording my frantic scribbling on the scratch-boards, my attempts to keep the earplugs that they give you inside my ears, and of course my sacred pre-test rituals.

Above all, the MOST amazing/interesting/frightening thing about the DATs - unlike the MCATs - is that your scores are instantaneous. That's right folks. The scores are INSTANTANEOUS! For better or for worse, you'll find out your numeric scores as well as your scored percentiles a mere few moments after you click the final submit. Crazy right? The fact that the scoring comes out ASAP and that you leave the test center with an official print-out of your scores further contributes to the anxiety that comes with months of preparation for a five-hour test. It's quite the experience. It's not meant for the faint of heart, or for those who are prone to anxiety attacks.

For those of you who want to know how I did ... that's NOT important (well, the scores are important, but that's besides the point :p )! Although I felt that I could have done better on one of the sections (which ironically I aced on all of my practice tests beforehand), I am plenty happy with my performance.

Now I can officially begin my dental school applications, and also go out for a round of drinks !!

Best of luck to all of you who still need to take your DATs, MCATs, GREs, SATs, or whatever test it may be. And trust me on this - study hard and don't lose focus! Set high goals - this is your future we're talking about!

Eric

Wisdom Teeth

Stress and anxiety are in the air as we enter spring semester exam period over here in Cambridge, Massachusetts ... BUT it was even worse for a close friend of mine, whose wisdom teeth were causing her a ton of pain and distracting her from studying for exams!

After 2 full days of enduring pain in the back of her gums (our group of friends was fairly certain that her wisdom teeth were the sources of her discomfort), she got her x-rays taken at Mass General Hospital, and here are the results! Isn't this a stunning image? (click to enlarge)

Impacted wisdom teeth

The following day, she got three of her wisdom teeth removed. Take a closer look at the x-ray -- you can probably guess which tooth was NOT removed. If you guessed the one on the upper right-hand side of the image, you're right! As you can see, this tooth appears to be coming at an angle and at a different position than the other three teeth.

The x-ray shown here is called a Panoramic Film, which was taken extra-orally. This is in contrast to the typical Periapical and Bitewing x-rays that are normally taken annually or once every two years. In a Panoramic film, the film is placed outside of the mouth on the opposite of the head from the X-ray source. The result is an extra-oral radiographic view, as shown above.

Anyways, I'll be sure to add an update if and when my friend's final wisdom tooth is removed!

Back to exam-studying ...

Eric

Human Evolutionary Biology 1421: Teeth

As mentioned previously, at the 2011 Boston Pre-Dental Conference hosted by Harvard's very own Pre-Dental Society (which was a tremendous success by the way, see my previous post!), there were a number of fantastic speakers and presenters. One of whom, Dr. Tanya Smith, Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, gave a truly fascinating presentation not only on her research on dental development and 3D fossil tooth structure, but also on her course to be offered next Fall semester!

Her course is aptly named Human Evolutionary Biology 1421: Teeth. Although the course name may sound ridiculously boring and sleep-inducing to some of you (my friend Judith says this sounds potentially worse than Plant Biology), to the few of us enlightened folk out there - isn't this really exciting? Seriously though ...

Anyways, the last time the course was offered, which was in Fall of 2009, the class received near perfect ratings (4.8 out of 5 on the Harvard Q Guide). Plus, the research seminar-type class is capped at 6 students, and you spearhead your own independent research project. That's right, SIX students! I guess there is life after those humongous general chemistry and organic chemistry lectures.

Here's the course description from the website:

"Teeth are one of the best preserved and most commonly-recovered elements in fossil assemblages. This seminar will focus on ways in which dental remains may inform studies of primate growth and development, ecology, and social structure. Students will read and discuss current scientific literature, engage in histological studies in the Dental Hard Tissue Laboratory, and conduct pilot research projects."

So that probably sent the rest of you packing. BUT to me and a couple of my friends this is amazing!

Another friend says that there might as well be a course titled Human Evolutionary Biology 4321: Eyeballs for people interested in optometry school. What's next, an English department? Ahhh let's pretend she didn't say that ...

See you at shopping week!

This hygiene is acceptable ... if you've been dead for a few centuries.

Eric

Sink your teeth into something (idioms #4)

Sink your teeth into usually precedes a noun, which may or may not be something edible.

Typically, to sink your teeth into something is to really muster your powers and/or energy either to understand something or to get a good grip mentally, emotionally, and perhaps even physically of something. Similar idioms include digging deep as in digging deep for the solution.

i.e. She finally sank her teeth into the crux of the problem and was able to find a resolution that satisfied both parties.

On the other hand, to sink your teeth into something may also imply having a rather voracious appetite, and consequently the quick and plunging sinking of your teeth into whatever food hits the spot.

i.e. My sister sank her teeth into the brussel sprouts (weird), while my brother sank his teeth into durian fruit (weirder).

Durians. Spiky, eh?

Hedgehogs. Cute, right?

Dur-hog or Hedge-ian, otherwise known as a Durian-Hedgehog hybrid. (weirdest)

Eric