National Prosthodontics Awareness Week is April 19-25
UConn Post-graduate prosthodontics residents and program director, Dr. Avinash Bidra pictured holding up proclamation from Gov. Ned Lamont officially recognizing April 19-25, 2026, as National Prosthodontics Awareness Week in the state of Connecticut.
In honor of National Prosthodontics Awareness Week, two patients share their experience with the UConn School of Dental Medicine postgraduate prosthodontics clinic.
Prosthodontists are dental specialists with expertise spanning from single-tooth restorations to full-mouth rehabilitation, to aesthetic transformations to complex implant reconstructions.
"For the first time in years, I can actually chew."
While Irena Hentea's smile looked perfect from a distance, a few missing molars and a persistent infection at the back of her mouth inhibited her ability to eat and caused both pain and anxiety. After an ENT advised her that the infection could spread to her jawbone, Hentea knew she needed to act accordingly. However, her fear of the dentist, along with being uncertain on whom to call to address this complex issue, caused her to hesitate.
"I had so much fear to go and get it done," Hentea says. "And I made a lot of calls, but I couldn't get a straight answer on cost or even a simple consultation. I just heard 'no, we don't do that.' This felt like a big deal, and I did not want to blindly walk into something this important."
After navigating a maze of referrals and uncertainty, Hentea found her way to the UConn School of Dental Medicine's post-graduate prosthodontics clinic. Her treatment, under the care of first-year resident Dr. Dariel Kovetski, involved eliminating infection, restoring lost structure, and rebuilding her ability to function with dental implants.
"I feel really lucky to have happened upon this specialty," Hentea says. "I now know they are not just the experts in implants but can handle both the surgery and the restoration."
Today, the infection is gone, and Hentea is on her way to a fully functional smile. While her restorative work continues, seeing the correct specialist for her situation has changed her outlook on dental care.
"The fact that they removed all that infection was such a big relief," she says. "I have full confidence in what they are doing. It's going to improve my ability to eat-for the first time in years I can actually chew."
When Dentistry Becomes Reconstruction
Many patients arrive to the dentist after years of incremental fixes. Over time, small mismatches can compound into larger problems. For Christine Wagner, after undergoing extensive dental work, including multiple crowns and implant-supported restorations, she noticed things were not holding up.
"At first, I trusted everything had been done correctly," she says. "But over time, things started to fall apart tooth by tooth. My bite did not feel stable. The implants were failing and I felt my teeth became a liability."
Her case required a complete revision, including removal of failing dental implants placed at another center, replaced by a complex reconstruction to restore her bite.
"When I came to UConn, third-year resident Dr. Audrey Brigham explained what would go into the planning and execution of rebuilding my smile," Wagner says. "Her preparedness, enthusiasm, and attention to detail was on another level. That's when I realized going to a prosthodontist is a different level of care. She rethought everything. It was a complete restoration that changed my life."
The difference is something she feels every day. "My teeth feel natural again. I can eat, speak, and smile without second-guessing it. After years of failed dental work, I knew I needed something different. What I needed all along was a prosthodontist."
