Dental Impressionism: Students Learn Art of Dentistry

Artists create with paint, clay, and canvas. For dental students, the materials are melted wax, porcelain, and dental alginate.

Their artistry is developed in preclinic, where first- and second-year students learn the “hand skills” and science needed to practice dentistry.

As RSDM students discover during their first few weeks, it all starts with dental anatomy class, where one of the first lessons is “waxing a tooth”—the process of replicating all 32 human teeth, from molars to incisors.

“All the fine grooves and details are expected right from the beginning. We get obsessive about that,” says RSDM Assistant Professor Abhinav Wadkar. “That’s the artistic side of it. But students also learn the science behind it: the dimensions and features of the tooth and how it functions by itself and in conjunction with other teeth.”

Students practice their skills in the dental arts studio, with hands-on help from support technologists.

After students have mastered the art of waxing, they make their first crown, then move on to bridges, partial dentures, and, finally, full dentures. A full set can be the greatest challenge because the patient has no teeth on which to base the work.

“For most people, their only exposure to the process of dentistry is the final product,” says Wadkar. “They don’t see all the hard work that goes into it.”