In the lab, Ken, our certified laboratory technician, develops and applies innovative technological procedures. If, for example, a patient needs to have a tooth replaced, Ken’s work is instrumental.
With a sense of precision and manual dexterity, he creates a model of the patient’s mouth (based on the impression made by Dr. Raymond) by pouring plaster into the impression and allowing it to set. The model is used to determine the patient’s bite and movement and then used as the basis for the development of the prosthetic device. Upon his observations and Dr. Raymond’s specifications, he builds and shapes a tooth model, from which a metal framework for a prosthetic device is cast. Ken then prepares the surface to allow the metal and porcelain to bond; the porcelain is applied in layers to match the shape and color of the patient’s tooth. The tooth is placed in a furnace to secure the porcelain’s adhesion to the metal framework, then adjusted with further layers of porcelain to develop a tooth that as near to an exact copy of the lost tooth.