Waxing and Relaxing

Students Hala Altunji and Anthony Arena perfect
their technique

They might never get a job at Madam Tussaud's but by the end of their first-year, RSDM students have mastered the art of waxing a tooth.

It's dental school's first great technical challenge, one that requires patience, practice and the ability to keep cool while melting enough wax to light a birthday cake.

As part of their Dental Anatomy class, the exercise helps students learn about the structure of teeth. Using blobs of melted blue wax, they painstakingly reconstruct molars, incisors and everything in between, fitting them into a typodont, which resembles a set of dentures.

The wax replicas demonstrate that they can apply their dental anatomy knowledge — a skill essential to dentists. If they don't learn how to wax, they fail the course, so the pressure to get it right can be great.

That's why the RSDM's chapter of the American Student Dental Association (ASDA) holds an annual "Wax and Relax" event, where second, third– and fourth-year students help newcomers develop their skills.

Organizers strive to create a laid-back atmosphere, providing a free meal, along with tricks of the trade — like keeping a tub of water nearby so teeth-in-progress don't melt and polishing wax with soap, water and pantyhose to get a smooth finish.

"We do what we can to give them tips," said third-year student Mattew Garbin of ASDA, who helped organize the event earlier this month, along with Sarah Ludwig. Both are co-chairs of educational programming for the school's ASDA chapter.

For Garbin, guidance from more experienced students was invaluable. "Learning to wax was a struggle for me," he admitted. "If you're not artistic, it can be more difficult. But it really helps to have someone right there, giving you advice as you work." He warns first-year students not to be upset if they get a "C" or worse on their first waxing exam. "I tell them, in dental school, everyone fails at least once," he said.

At Wax and Relax, veterans assure beginners that eventually, they'll get the hang of it. And if something goes wrong, they can always start over. "In dentistry, so much of what we do can't be undone," says Garbin. "But this is one of the few things that's reversible."