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All in the Family: Dental Technicians

Everyone gets two sets of teeth, naturally – once as a baby, called the milk teeth, then as an adolescent. As the saying goes, if you need a third set, it’s not free you must buy it.
It is persons who seek that third set of teeth that continue to keep York McIntosh and members of his family in employment, as dental technicians. A remarkable achievement since less than one-third of family businesses make into the second generation.

York McIntosh – dental technician


His mother Maud Bowen, established Bowen’s Dental Laboratory in the 1970’s after graduating from the dental auxiliary school which was then located on Arthur Wint Drive in Kingston. Her older son Gary followed in her footsteps. On graduation from St. Georges College, young York worked in the food distribution sector. However, when his mother decided to emigrate, he took up the slack by training to be a dental technician.
Gary had established himself as a specialist in manufacturing chrome dentures before he too, emigrated to the United States, where he continues to work as a dental technician. His sister, Keisha is a dental assistant and niece Shenell, is training to become a dental hygienist.
A dental technician is a vital member of the dental team which includes dentists and hygienists. The dentist takes care of the clinical aspects while the technician focuses on the manufacturing side which involves making crowns and dentures. At Bowen’s lab there are several casts which represent replicas of patients’ mouths which will be used as models for new dentures. Fitting dentures or dental prosthetics is the oldest method for replacing missing teeth.
The University of Technology (UTECH) recognizes the importance of oral health to the overall well-being of the population and to this end, the College of Oral Health Sciences offers studies in several related courses including a BSc in dental laboratory technology.
Far too many Jamaicans appear to have missed out on the benefits of good oral health. Teeth are removed for reasons such as decay, trauma or gum disease. A diet of sugar-sweetened beverages also contributes to dental caries and eventual decay.
Poorer persons particularly those in rural communities, find it harder to access dental healthcare hindered by high costs and lack of insurance. They are also likely to avoid maintenance of their teeth. York laments the fact that most people visit the dentist only when they are in pain.
Dentures, partial or full set, play a big role particularly in the lives of older people. A lost tooth represents lost confidence, but dentures can look real and they improve smiles and may even restore confidence. Mr. McIntosh and others in his profession are helping patients to have a better ride on their denture journey.
Mr. McIntosh says because of his work as a dental technician, today’s denture wearers are breaking the stigma of what a denture wearer ought to look like.

Related Story: Top Ten countries with worst teeth and oral health


Grenada, has the dubious distinction of being the country whose citizens have the worst teeth in the world.
Located in the eastern Caribbean, Grenada is traditionally celebrated as the Spice Island. This nation of about 113,000 citizens is also often remembered for having endured a bloody coup d’état and later an invasion by US and allied forces, during the 1980’s.
So how did Grenada figure so prominently on the worst teeth list? The most common way of measuring oral health is by finding the DMFT index of a country. DMFT, stands for Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth and has been used since the 1930’s.
The DMFT score is determined on average, by how many tooth problems an individual suffers. Therefore, the higher the DMFT score, the worse the condition of oral health and hygiene of the population being sampled.
This list was compiled by Malmo University, Sweden, who did their research on 12 year-olds and also used data from Oral Health Country Profiles, and World Health Organization (WHO) oral health information systems.
Rated number 10 is Bosnia- Herzegovina with a score of 4.2 which means that the children surveyed had 4.2 teeth with problems.
Croatia came in at number 9 also with a 4.2 score which led researchers to question the correlation between oral health and territory.
At number 8 is Dominican Republic, which is a close Caribbean neighbour, with a score of 4.4, followed by Guatemala in Central America with 4.5.
In the sixth slot is Bolivia, another South American country which scored 4.7 which means the children surveyed had nearly five bad teeth.
Coming in at number 5 is Mauritius with a score of 4.9 followed by Gabon which has a similar score.
Ecuador finds itself in the third spot with a 5.2 score and is followed by Cambodia in South East Asia which scored 5.5. At the top of the heap lies Grenada also scoring 5.5. which suggests that every child surveyed had more than five of 28 teeth showing significant problems.
To its credit, Grenada, launched a School Dental Health Programme in 2010 providing oral health services to more than 22,000 children and 1,000 adults. That same year the public health system saw 15,542 patients seeking dental care many of them requiring more than one procedure.
Even though the UK is not included in the top 10, there is also huge concerns among dental professionals.
A UK dentist has expressed his disappointment at the large number of children some as young as two, who have had surgery to remove rotten teeth. The figure is as high as 13,000. Dr. Paul Woodhouse had this to say: Dental disease should not be an acceptable disease in a First World country in the year 2020.”
Amazingly, Jamaica did not fall within the top ten, however there are many stories about the poor oral hygiene of Jamaicans especially in rural Jamaica.
Healthcare volunteers who come to the island from time to time identified, fear, lack of dental education, improper brushing of teeth, diet of sugary drinks as some of the reasons for the cases of tooth decay among patients examined by them.