Anthony and Angeline Mai of Northwest Dental Laboratory in Tucson

When you think of the old Mom and Pop shop, what comes to mind? A corner grocer where Mom runs the cash register and Pop stocks the shelves? In the case of Anthony and Angeline Mai, the scenario is much different. They own and operate Northwest Dental Laboratory in Tucson. Both Anthony and Angeline are highly trained certified dental technicians who, with one other employee, create porcelain dental crowns and bridges for four Tucson dentists, including Martin Taylor Dentistry.

There are about 4 million family-owned businesses in the U.S., with more than 1.4 million of those being run by  husband-and-wife teams. Anthony and Angeline have owned and operated Northwest Dental Laboratory since 1999. Prior to that they both worked in other labs and have almost 30 years of experience between them.

The process of making dental crowns and bridges is both technical and artistic. According to Anthony, after they pick up the impressions from the dentists, their lab will produce 8-10 beautiful natural looking crowns or bridges each day.

Dr. Taylor once said the reason they have their crowns made by Northwest Dental Lab is because the outstanding level of artistry seen in their work. The goal of crown design and creation is to mimic the natural tooth as closely as possible in fit and appearance. If a crown doesn’t look like a crown, but more like a natural tooth, success has been achieved! But it is also important that the crowns and bridges are properly made for integrity, strength and  durability.

Listening to Anthony describe the step-by-step process of creating a dental crown is daunting. The man knows his craft! More than anything however, you can hear the passion and dedication he and his wife have toward perfection. If you ever hear from Dr. Martin or Dr. Taylor that you need a dental crown or bridge, you can rest assured the the quality of each crown, custom designed for you, cannot be outdone.

To get a visual of the type of work Anthony and Angeline do at Northwest Dental Labs, watch this  episode of the Discovery Channel’s How It’s Made: Dental Crowns.