Happy 16th Birthday Katarina!

Happy 16th Birthday to my daughter Katarina.

-love always, Dad

Student Intern in a dental office environment

I have been involved in dental education since 1993 when I first started teaching part-time at the USC School of Dentistry. I always wanted to share my knowledge with the students to help them become better practitioners. I find that the reward and satisfaction I receive from teaching far outweigh the effort in the actual teaching process. USC started a dental office externship program that let the students spend time with the dentist in the dental office setting. I have extended the program to include students wanting to attend dental school and help encourage students in realizing their desire for the dental profession. Albert Kang is a current intern in my office and I can see that his desire for the profession coupled with the knowledge and skills that I observe during his internship in my office will make him a fantastic dentist in the future. Comment to Albert: You even look like a dentist! Best of luck to you.

Xerxez Calilung

Conscious sedation for dental procedures

My sister calls me from Seattle asking me to treat my 3 year old niece's cavities. I pause for a moment and think back on the many times I have provided dental care for children under 5 years old. While the dental procedure by itself is not difficult, the behavior and anxiety management for the child can become challenging at best.
I have worked with many anesthesiologists in the past since 1990, but my recent reunion with my college friend and also well respected pediatric anesthesiologist has me praising his abilities in providing a safe and comfortable environment for both my niece and myself during her dental procedure. His name is Dr. Shariar Alikhani and he assured me before the procedure that I would have a dental environment that makes it 100% safe for the patient. I can confirm his claims because he made a procedure that would normally take 2 hours because of the difficulty of working on a sedated patient and we were done in about one hour.
His anesthesia equipment is state-of-the-art and he works with an anesthesia tech to assist him with his anesthesia delivery.
I would highly recommend this type of dentistry for young children with anxiety and behavior management issues as well as adults who want to have dentistry provided in a comfortable anesthesia induced sleep environment. The picture attached is a recent photo of my 16 year daughter and my 3 year old niece.
Xerxez Calilung