South Burlington, Vermont - February 20, 2009
It looks like thick, gooey frosting you'd find on a kid's birthday cake, but it is actually the first step of what helps some people eat that cake or whatever else is on their plate.
Kim Ravdin chuckles, saying, "We're sort of the hidden profession."
Technicians are casting replacement teeth. They are not dentures, but permanent crowns and bridges. The work has kept the Champlain Dental Lab busy for more than 40 years. Ravdin says, "Our goal is the crown will be placed and no one knows we're there."
Kim Ravdin started making teeth in 1979 but after two decades, bought the lab. Dentists send her impressions of their patients' teeth, and the crew crafts very precise copies, in porcelain or gold. Ravdin explains, "Artists do well in this profession."
Ravdin makes pottery as a hobby, and has a tendency to hire other artists. They need to be good with matching colors and sculpting in three dimensions.
Technician Dominika Olczak remembers, "After high school, I thought about going to art school."
Olczak created much of the art that hangs on the office walls but her job is painting teeth. She selects just the right tone of white and layers of translucency that match computer scans of patients' mouths.
Olczak says, "Aesthetics are definitely very important to me. I really enjoy what I do."
The team has even created "tattoo teeth," using their art skills to paint custom logos that may peek out when you grin.
Champlain Dental Lab says the process of making teeth is becoming more automated, but they do not expect machines will replace the human touch anytime soon because color-matching and precise sculpting are so important.
Other labs in the region do this replacement work, but with 20 technicians, Champlain says it's one of the largest. They estimate they've produced teeth for more than 100,000 people, most of them in Vermont. They say the knowledge they're helping someone's health and self-confidence is a big reward.
Kim Ravdin says, "That makes a difference at the end of the day."
She's made a lot of people smile with her "Made in Vermont" prosthetics.
Jack Thurston - WCAX News - Made in Vermont
