Bucks
John Gattone
Dear Friends,
Good morning. There’s a tooth fairy in our midst. No, John Gattone is not a dentist but his clients are. The Steinsberg resident in Milford Township makes dentures in the basement of his 19th century home.
Holy smokes, does he ever produce dentures!
“I make between six and nine [teeth] each day,” Gattone began. Gattone was speaking about the implants, crowns and veneers that he creates for dentists in the Philadelphia region.
I asked him about what dentists typically charge for those procedures. “Depending upon the geography [city or suburbs], and the educational level [of the dentist], they charge between $800 and $1,400,” Gattone replied. “But I only get a fraction [of the price],” he quickly point out.
Wow! Dentistry is obviously not a cottage industry. Mighty Betsy pays our bills so I asked what our tooth fairy charges for a teeth cleaning? “It costs $91 alone for a cleaning,” she smiled sweetly. Over the weekend, we visited friends in New Hampshire. Pat Roberts reported that her dentist charged $174 for a cleaning and one filling, plus $143 for an X-ray…$321 for the experience!
I met John Gattone through his attractive wife, Ava, who rents a store from Mighty Betsy in Quakertown. When I heard about her husband’s unusual occupation, I knew I had to interview him.
I asked Gattone about those false teeth. “Crowns fit over a prepared tooth,” he explained. “An implant is a mechanical anchor integrated into the existing [jaw] bone. People who lose their teeth can have an implant. It duplicates a tooth.
“Veneers are made of porcelain,” Gattone continued. “They’re used for aesthetic purposes only. It helps change the color and shape of the tooth.”
He learned his craft during a six-year stint in the U. S. Air Force and has operated a dental laboratory since 1976. When his enlistment expired, he started a practice near the Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado. “Because of the oil crisis in the ‘1970’s, our $80,000 home became a $40,000 house in just one month,” he laughed. “Until that moment, we thought we were the smartest people in town.”
Gattone had contacts in Homestead, Florida and moved there before returning to his child hood home in Levittown in 1984. Gattone ran research studies for the University of Pennsylvania Dental School and made dentures for Philadelphia dentists. But the Gattones yearned for a rural setting and moved to Steinsberg in 2000. Today, he and Ava are quite comfortable with their two Bouvier dogs and two sheep.
Besides, he doesn’t have to get dressed up. “I can work in a T shirt, shorts and sneakers,” Gattone added. He has also become an accomplished stain glass artisan and enjoys glass blowing. Some day, I’ll witness that feat…from behind a safety shield, of course.
I watched Gattone create a porcelain tooth. He molds a tooth with sand using various shades from 10 separate drawers of colored paints. A dentist prescribes what shade or color to make the tooth. Gattone then fires the tooth at 1,675 degrees Fahrenheit in a vacuum kiln, a process that takes about 20 minutes. “It’s like making jewelry,” he told me.
In the front window of their home is a flag with two gold stars. “I have two children in the Air Force,” Gattone explained with pride in his voice. “My daughter is stationed in Norfolk, Virginia and my son is stationed in Pensacola, Florida.”
My guess is that the son’s home base may be in Florida, but he’s probably in Iraq in harm’s way. That has to be in Gattone’s mind every waking hour and may be the reason why he puts in such long days. Gattone works 12 to 14 hours daily to keep his mind from the obvious worry.
“I love making teeth,” he concluded. “I take my time. Every tooth is its own creation…rather like a Rolls Royce.”
How about that?
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith