Craftsmanship

I had the honor of learning the process of how to make dentures, from scratch. I watched experts in their field tackle a task in which many others have failed. First, someone close to me had to have their entire bottom row of teeth removed and some on the top. It left approximately, four teeth on the top row of this person’s mouth. This person has been to many other dentists, which is how this process began.

Oftentimes, a person do not care about the work they do, until it impacts them or a person they love, at least that is how I view this situation. A few years ago, this person went to a dentist who convinced them that for a top partial (three or four teeth) to fit, their bottom teeth had to be shaved down. A little reluctant, this person agreed. So, the shaving began. Fast forward to last year, and the bottom teeth were so short that it pained the person even to eat mashed potatoes, the teeth had to be removed.

This person goes to a dentist and a partial is made in four hours. It fell apart, so the person goes back so often that the office tells the person, there is nothing further they can do. I am not sure about anyone else, but a person’s teeth are a reflection of confidence, beauty, and class. Without my teeth, I would not know what to do. So here we are and finally, a new dentist is located. We arrive there and this dentist’s office is beautiful, the staff is pleasant, respectable, and good human beings. We meet the dentist, who is so nice, funny, and knowledgeable! We began the consultation and he told us that the person would have to have their bottom row of teeth removed, crowns on the top, and part of the bone in the gums removed for the dentures to fit. I am very cautious so I ask a lot of questions, about options, the necessity of different procedures, next steps, and so on. We decided to move forward in this process.

We went to a cosmetic dentist and he removed the bottom row of teeth, but the tori was missed. So we go back to our now primary dentist who sends us back for the tori removal. The process is smooth, all in all, the person has been without teeth now for the past four months for healing and the different steps in the process.

Here we are and we go back to our primary dentist and this is where I think, “Wow, the craftsmanship of these dentists are amazing.” We are there taking wax prints of what we want the teeth to look like, looking at colors to match the teeth and gums. We go through this process over two more weeks. The teeth are finally in and the fitting takes place, but the color is off and the dentist says, “I care about the color but for me, at this moment, I want to make sure the alignment and the bite is great.” Here we were so focused on getting teeth where the color matches and it feels good in this person’s mouth but the expert says, what about the bite and alignment? It is things like that, in which one has to think, wow, the knowledge of this expert is amazing. It is great to finally meet two experts in the field of dentistry who pride themselves on their work and process.

At this visit, the bite was incorrect and the color was off. He immediately said, you will need to come back to do this again, with the correct color and the right bite. This part of the process is called the try-in. So, we will go back to complete the try-in, then it goes off to a lab where the actual teeth are made, and the person will finally have teeth after living a year with bad teeth and/or no teeth.

As I go to work, I strive to know a lot about the field in which I work. I strive to be able to know the process or create new processes. It is important to be an expert at your craft! I am so impressed by others who share the enjoyment of the work that they do and how it impacts others. To see this person smile with those dentures, even though they were not the ones that were going to be worn home, was worth a million words. He also shared in that person’s joy and they spoke of how the person could not wait to eat real food (not just soups or soft foods) and how the person could not wait to smile again, as the person was a person full of smiles and laughs. It is amazing how one can train or untrain themselves to respond differently, instead of a full smile, it was replaced by a closed-lip grin, instead of a hearty laugh it was replaced by a closed-mouth chuckle.

Life has a way of taking us through many trials and tribulations, in which God tells us that none of them will be easy, but He has a way of making us enjoy life again. He creates people who will be or are experts at their craft and take pride in their work, so others may enjoy their skills and talents. I am so grateful for the dentists that we finally encountered who are proud of their craftsmanship.