People of Georgian: Denturist restores smiles, inspires students

People of Georgian: Meet William Lai

It all started when I had braces when I was young.

I looked up to the orthodontist and wanted to follow in his footsteps.

I was always enticed by the dental field in general, but I didn’t choose dental school because I felt that the field was more of a business than anything and I wanted to develop relationships.

With denturism, I see my clients not just one time for a couple hours and they may not come back.

Instead, they see me four to six times, and I have an ongoing, developing relationship with them.

I find that very satisfying in helping them restore their smile however I can.

‘Restoring someone’s smile makes me feel proud’

It’s a craft that I can create out of my hands that gives people joy. Whether it’s one tooth or a full arch, helping someone restore their self-confidence is important to me.

Especially as I work longer and longer in this industry, having teeth or having no teeth, to some people is a big deal. It’s a big part of their life, whether it’s smiling in general, talking, eating, stuff like that.

If they lose confidence and get low self-esteem from that, if there’s anything I could do to create a little bit of hope, I love to try and do that for them.

It’s a craft that I can create out of my hands that gives people joy. Whether it’s one tooth or a full arch, helping someone restore their self-confidence is important to me.

William Lai

When I was working in the field as a young denturist, I felt more and more passion about my work.

I opened my own practice and here I am now.

Now I have a business partner, and we’re both instructors at Georgian.  

I’m very passionate about teaching the next generation, so I ended up applying to Georgian as a faculty member and I got in and I’m very thankful for that.

I’ve been very blessed for opportunities that have come along in the program to bring it further and further along.

Ever since I was younger, I tutored high school students, and I just find a great joy in giving back in terms of my knowledge to the next generation.

It feels very heartfelt that a little bit of my knowledge can give them so much success.

William Lai, part-time faculty in Georgian’s Denturism program.