u/Kindly_Armadillo1654

I (27F) met with a 31M end of May. We both wrote on Hinge that we are trying to find a life partner. On our 1st date, we ate lunch and went for a walk in the park. 2nd date he asked me if I wanted to go on a day trip together to a small island nearby. I was a little hesitant to go on a trip like this since I've only met him once, but I figured it's probably because he wants to get to know me better, so I agreed to it. He drove his car and we took the ferry. We spent a whole day on the island. In the evening, we biked together and he had asked what my family plans were for the future, if I wanted to have kids, and how many, etc. Overall, we had a pretty pleasant experience. On the 3rd date, we went to play archery and then ate dinner afterwards. On the 4th date, he invited me over to his apartment and cooked lunch for me. He spent the day before going to Cosco to buy groceries and then spending the whole morning preparing lunch. We played some games after eating. No physical touch of any kind happened though, which is okay for me since we're both Asians and like to taking things slow. On that same day he told me he slept pretty late the day before and wasn't being very response to text messages because his ex-girlfriend called him asking if he wanted to date her again, but he thought about it and told her that he wanted to move on. I'm not sure what were his intentions of telling me this. It did make me a little upset and but we still had fun at his apartment for the rest of the afternoon. When I was about to leave, he escorted me to my car and said he always feels happy when he hangs out with me. I told him I feel the same as well. Then he said he's pretty new to dating apps and has just been using Hinge for about 2 months. He's not sure what the next steps are moving forward towards a relationship.

Unfortunately, we haven't been able to meet up these past 2 weeks because his brother came from Asia to visit him and will be staying for a little over a month. He said they have not seen each other for 8 years. He also seems to be busier at work since he's trying to get promoted soon and told me he's been staying up till 3am at night recently for work. Even though we haven't meet for 2 weeks, we still constantly text each other and he would voluntarily share with me his plans for the weekend and where he plans to bring his brother to. I try to be understanding of him that he's been busy lately with both his job and his brother, but at the same time I'm getting worried that if we don't see each other for a month, we can both lose the momentum to move forward. I'm not sure if he's just not as interested in me or just takes the time to warm up to someone. Since we aren't exclusive yet, I probably plan on meeting some other people so I'm not putting all the eggs in one basket... any thoughts?

Patient presents with #3 existing Zirconia crown and recently had RCT done through the crown. Now he needs the Cavit removed and replaced with a permanent filling. Curious as to how others approach this? I always thought porcelain etch has to be used in this case, then bonding agent, followed by composite but I've heard of others using the regular phosphoric acid etch as well.

2024 grad here with 2 years of working experience. I was recently notified by immigration services that my green card may get denied. Nothing can be done now except to wait for a final approval/denial. If it gets denied, I will have to return to Singapore. How likely is it to find an office in the U.S. where the owner is willing to sponsor for H1B1 visa? Am I better off looking for a DSO or FQHC?

Also wondering if any dentists here work in Singapore and can chime in on their experience. Keeping that as an option as well.

Saw a patient today who was referred by an oral surgeon to adjust his existing flipper so that it fits on the new implants #8 and 10. The implants were placed this morning and then patient was referred to me for adjustment. I always prefer Essix retainer instead when it comes to anterior implants, but the flipper wasn't recommended by me in the first place. Is it ideal to place a flipper on top of an implant that was just placed? Should I wait for a certain period of time to let the area heal before placing the flipper back in?

Have been working at a PPO/Medicaid office for almost 2 years. Owner doctor recently asked me if I am interested in purchasing her office as she is looking to retire soon. 60-70% of patients are Medicaid. What are some of the questions I should be asking?

What do you'all prescribe to a patient who needs to wait about a month to get RCT done due to scheduling, but is in extreme pain due to the decay? OM usually asks me to prescribe antibiotics but I don't usually do it unless there's an infection and antibiotics don't really help much with pain (?). I would typically ask the patient to take ibuprofen along with Tylenol. Any other recommendations for prescriptions? What about for patients who are pregnant?

Patient comes in asking for lower fixed lingual retainer to be removed. Had ortho done many years ago and was done at another office. I was previously told that fixed lingual retainers are meant to be worn for a lifetime and patient likely has them due to previous diastemas that are now closed or lower anterior mobility. Under what circumstances is it okay to remove a fixed lingual retainer for a patient?

If a patient swallows their old crown, how would you have your assistant make a new temporary crown as there is no intact tooth structure to work from to make a mold/putty matrix?

Do you'all trust your assistants to place attachments on patients starting Invisalign? I saw a couple of owner doc's patients who came to me to get attachments removed and saw a ton of flash left by the bonding agent on the patient's teeth. Is it better to place attachments yourself or have assistants do them instead?