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Stephen J. Chu, DMD, MSD, CDT, MDT
Brown University, BA
University of Pennsylvania School Of Dental Medicine, DMD
University of Washington School of Dentistry, Master’s degree in Restorative Dentistry and certificate in Post-graduate Fixed Prosthodontics
- Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Periodontics, New York University College of Dentistry
- Implant Dentistry Director, Advanced and International CDE Programs in Aesthetic Dentistry,New York University College of Dentistry.
- Section Editor of Prosthodontics for the dental journal, Practical Procedures and Aesthetic Dentistry
- Published several articles and lectured worldwide on the subjects of aesthetic, restorative, and implant dentistry.
- Co-author of the best-selling Quintessence book, The Fundamentals of Color: Shade Matching and Communication in Esthetic Dentistry [Quintessence Publishing, 2004]
- Member, American Dental Association, Greater New York Academy of Prosthodontists, American College of Prosthodontists, Northeastern Gnathological Society
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Personal Questions
What music is playing in your office while you work, or in your car while you are driving?
Contemporary / Smooth Jazz.
Describe the day your practice opened.
October 1986. I was excited to finally employ what I had learned in my postgraduate prosthodontics program in Seattle Washington.
If your most used dental instrument could talk what would it tell you?
That the instrument is proud of me because of competency, being careful, and caring about what I’m doing when treating patients.
What was the driving force behind the design of your aesthetic based instruments?
Aesthetic dentistry involves size, space, color, and occlusion.
[1] I realized tooth size is the basic fundamental or ‘building block’ of aesthetic dentistry and smile designs. Once the incisal edge position is established, restoring the proper tooth size is the starting point for all aesthetic makeovers.
[2] I got tired of seeing so many ‘aesthetic/cosmetic’ dentists make the same mistake of restoring teeth that look like ‘horse teeth’- way too long and disproportionate. Right width, but wrong length.
[3] I wanted to educate and make my colleagues aware of how important tooth size/proportion is in aesthetic dentistry.
[4] Making a difference in the profession entails changing either the way people think about things or do things.
[5] It is long overdue that we level the playing field for everyone – make it more objective and less subjective
[6] Make the communication between lab tech, restorative dentist, periodontist, orthodontist, and surgeon standardized. These tools will now allow that to be done easier, simpler, faster, and more predictably.
What would you do if you weren't a dental professional?
A carpenter or developer [contractor] of homes.
What is your favorite outside the office activity?
Hanging with my kids and playing golf with friends, also traveling.
What is your most memorable case as a practitioner?
The ones that don’t work and you ask yourself why? You learn from failures, not your successes. In a recent movie the ‘Guardian’ about the coast guard rescue program, the hero was asked how many lives he had saved; he responded by giving the number of lives he lost , not the number of lives he had saved.
What is your favorite tooth and why?
The maxillary canine. People always get its shape wrong and it’s a sexy tooth..
If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one Hu-Friedy instrument, what would it be and why?
The interproximal knife – it’s very versatile – sharp and could be used to peel skin off fruit, etc., and hunt with.
What has been your shining moment in dentistry?
I have not gotten there yet but I’ll let you know when I think I’ve arrived. My biggest fear that once you think you have arrived, people will pass you by. Also, if you think you know everything, you have stopped learning; learning is a constant growth process in one’s career.
If you could be reincarnated into anything, what would it be?
A great white shark or a really beautiful woman - both killers – now that’s power!
If you were a car, what would you be?
PORSCHE 911 Turbo.
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