[image:18Pre_op.jpg][image:Diploma.jpg][image:DrTucker_and_Eric.jpg][image:Class_Photo.jpg][image:18_Finished.jpg][image:45_Finished.jpg][image:45_Pre_op.jpg][image:#4&5 Finished.jpg][image:#4&5 Pre-op.JPG]When Dr. Spear spoke at the 2017 Summit, he showed a slide of Dr. Richard D. Tucker, one of his mentors in dentistry. This may have come as surprise to many people in the audience, as Dr. Tucker is known for his expertise with gold castings and gold foil, not typically associated with the type of dentistry that Dr. Spear is well-known for. Dr. Spear made the point that there is a positive trend in our profession to do more conservative dental procedures and gold work is the foremost example of conservative dentistry. Conservative dentistry is not only what preserves precious tooth structure but also what has the ability to last! As we all know, every time we replace dental work we lose more tooth structure or traumatize the tooth.

I bet a lot of young dentists would love to offer conservative treatment with gold castings as a treatment choice. Unfortunately, most dental schools are not teaching the technique any longer. I was fortunate enough to have this training in my curriculum when I went to dental school in the early 1990s. For those that would like to learn gold casting technique, there is still a way! There is a one-week, hands-on course taught through the Tucker Institute at the University of Washington Dental School every year. I just completed the course myself and it was really fun. Not only was I able to vastly improve my skills in gold casting technique, I had a wonderful time making new friends with a small group of only 7 other participants. We had Dr. Tucker himself co-instructing the course with the Dr. Timothy Hess, the director of the Institute. In addition we had two other experienced dentists helping as mentors. Due to its popularity, next year's course is already sold out!

I'd like to share some of the work I completed last week. The first patient had a failing amalgam on tooth #18 which I replaced with an MOBL gold onlay, and the second patient had composites on tooth #s 4&5 replaced with gold inlays. I sure hope this inspires others to take the Tucker Institute course in the future!