With My Own Two Hands

A couple nights ago I stayed in the lab late to set some teeth in a denture. You may remember from my previous rant that setting teeth isn't my favorite thing to do. However, as I was working on this denture this song came up on the shuffle setting of my iPod and I got to thinking about the unique opportunity I have as a dental student.

You see, in the real world of dentistry, the dentist doesn't actually make the denture. He or she takes the impressions and sends the casts to a lab for the dentures to be made. This is much more cost effective.

Anyway, as I was skipping out on sleep to make the denture I thought about the patient I was making them for. Back when we first met I knew within a few minutes that he really messed up his life using meth, among other drugs. This wreaked havoc on his dentition, as is usually the case, and had to wear a colostomy bag for some time. Upon looking in his mouth I knew right away we would be pulling the remaining teeth and making him a denture. I wasn't too delighted about this and didn't have much pity on him because I felt he brought this all on himself.

Since then I have gotten to know this patient pretty well and realize that, although he made some serious mistakes when he was younger and more susceptible to the tugs and pulls of the world, he is now one of the most humble and caring people I know. I think when you really get to know just about anybody you understand that they are an individual with thoughts and feelings not too terribly different from your own. During our appointments this past quarter we enjoyed discussing the American Idol contestants, politics, and many other things. Also, working on him wasn't as appalling as I was expecting - he has great personal hygiene and usually smells nice.

This reassured me that I chose the right career. I really found joy in doing something for this man that he would appreciate and couldn't do for himself - incidentally those two things constitute my father's definition of a good Christmas present. This sort of gift is reflective of what our Savior did for us.

Don't get me wrong, in and of itself I don't enjoy making dentures, but it is a good opportunity to serve others.

And now, a picture of the set of dentures I made last year for the class where we learned how to make them. Yes those are my clothes in the background, no I wasn't making dentures in the nude.