Every dental student has that one subject that feels like a never-ending struggle. For me, it was Prosthodontics.
From the start, it always felt like I was climbing a steep hill. While students from other courses could leave by 4 p.m., I was still stuck in the lab until 6 or even 7 p.m.—surrounded by the smell of acrylic, hands covered in plaster, and tiny specks of wax scattered everywhere. Some days, I’d go home with strands of my hair literally coated in POP or green stone. It was messy, exhausting, and far from the dream of dentistry I had in mind.
And the theory? That was another mountain altogether. No matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t fully understand the principles behind Prosthodontics. It felt less like dentistry and more like mechanical engineering—forces, angles, balance, design. Yes, dentures need to be engineered, but my brain simply wasn’t wired that way. It frustrated me because I wanted to be a dentist, not an engineer in disguise.
But everything changed when I had the right lecturer. She had a gift—not just knowledge, but the ability to make something complicated sound simple. She broke down difficult concepts into steps that actually made sense. Suddenly, the late nights in the lab, the endless pouring of plaster, even the hammering open the flasks of acrylized dentures, all started to connect to real patient care. For the first time, Prosthodontics didn’t feel impossible.
Over time, the subject became less of a burden and more of a challenge I was determined to face. To my surprise, I even managed to excel in it. And I know I owe that success to the lecturer who made Prosthodontics clear, approachable, and almost enjoyable.
Even today, Prosthodontics can still frustrate me. But I’ve grown to understand it—just not my favorite subject yet. And maybe that’s the point. Dentistry isn’t about having it all figured out right away. It’s about perseverance. Prosthodontics, more than any other subject, taught me that perseverance is something you build over time—case by case, denture by denture, mistake by mistake, until slowly, you get there.
