Dentists take pride in caring for others, yet too often neglect the very dental needs they diagnose every day. For Dr. Terry Watson—longtime clinician, educator, and member of The Nash Institute teaching faculty—years of wear, shifting occlusion, and overlooked early issues eventually led him to experience firsthand the type of comprehensive rehabilitation he teaches in the classroom. His journey became a powerful reminder that the principles of full-mouth reconstruction and occlusion philosophy aren’t just lessons for patients—they’re lessons for us as clinicians, too.

Insights from Dr. Terry Watson

How did I end up needing full-mouth restorations? After all, I’m a dentist. I’ve been practicing since 1996, and I look at my teeth every day. The truth is simple: I have no one to blame but myself.

Back in dental school, during our occlusion coursework and bite guard fabrication, someone noted an eccentric posterior contact on tooth #2. For whatever reason—timing, oversight, or the fact that I was wearing braces my senior year to close the space between #8 and #9—no enamel adjustment was done. Maybe we forgot. Maybe the braces complicated things. At this point, the “why” doesn’t matter. What matters is that the occlusal adjustment never happened.

Then I doubled down on the problem by not wearing my Hawley retainer or the bite guard that was made for me. Combine that with bruxism and an untreated occlusal interference, and you have a long-term recipe for disaster. The gap between my upper central incisors eventually reappeared—the same gap that inspired me to pursue dentistry in the first place. I reached out to a classmate who agreed to help, and as two young dentists still early in our careers, we agreed to “just crown those front six teeth.” We chose Procera crowns instead of veneers because of my grinding. Looking back, it was another moment of limited understanding leading to a not-so-great clinical decision.

Getting an Education

When I graduated, I promised myself I’d never become a “dental dinosaur.” I’ve made it a personal priority to pursue 75–100 hours of continuing education each year, focusing on procedures I want to refine, approaches I want to master, and organizations I want to learn from. I never want to stop learning. I’ve always believed that staying sharp is part of honoring this profession.

But we all know the old saying: the cobbler’s kids have no shoes. Eventually, I found myself looking in the mirror at worn dentition staring back at me. Dentin showing in the lower anteriors. Flattened canines. Clicking in my right jaw. Sore muscles of mastication. I had spent so much of my time caring for patients that I neglected my own needs—specifically, my occlusion.

Over the years, I had learned multiple occlusal philosophies, TMJ concepts, sleep appliance therapy, orthodontics—you name it. But when you’re the patient, the lesson hits differently. While working toward my curriculum certificate at The Nash Institute for Dental Learning, the light bulb finally switched on. The curriculum teaches you how to be a better dentist—plain and simple. Through the hands-on training, I was mastering direct and indirect restorations, and learning predictable full-mouth rehabilitation techniques. And for the first time, I knew it was my turn. My occlusion wasn’t going to fix itself, and the popping in my right joint wasn’t going away.

I also realized something else: the very conditions I was experiencing were present in patients I treated every week. I couldn’t get back home fast enough to start having different conversations with them.

“Becoming the patient gave me a deeper understanding of the very principles I teach.”

My Treatment Plan

I approached Dr. Ross Nash for a comprehensive evaluation. After reviewing my situation, we agreed I needed to restore lost vertical dimension. We used the lower arch to regain the necessary vertical, which we confirmed through a lab mock-up and facebow transfer.

At the first prep appointment, Dr. Nash created a prototype based on the mock-up, increasing my vertical dimension on teeth #4–13 after removing the Procera crowns on #6–11. Premolars were prepared for minimal-prep veneers, and the upper prototype was bonded. The lower prototype was bonded to my unprepared lower teeth. The relief was immediate. My muscles relaxed for the first time in years. I wore the prototypes for a few weeks while we confirmed comfort and function.

Next, Dr. Nash prepped my upper and lower anteriors and premolars (#4–13 and #20–29) and took impressions. Temporaries were placed, ensuring proper canine guidance and anterior crossover contacts using a putty matrix from the prototype.

Then came seating day: upper anterior Emax crowns, upper premolar Emax onlay/veneers, lower anterior Emax veneers, and lower premolar Emax onlays. At the same appointment, we prepped the left posterior molars for zirconia onlays and crowns. Those were seated at the next visit, followed by prepping the right posterior molars. The final step was seating the right-side zirconia restorations.

We intentionally used my four upper posterior molars to maintain vertical dimension. Tooth #15 had a gold crown I wanted to keep. Tooth #14 had a fractured root years prior and had undergone endodontic treatment and a crown—another tooth I didn’t want touched. Tooth #2, with the infamous eccentric contact, was finally properly adjusted. Tooth #3 already had a crown, so it was left as is. Together, these four teeth held the vertical throughout the provisional and final phases.

This was the single best thing I could have done for my long-term oral health.

“Occlusion isn’t just a concept—it’s a philosophy that changed how I treat my patients and myself.”

What I Learned—and What I Now Teach

Through the curriculum and through undergoing this rehabilitation myself, I gained a deep appreciation for a predictable, principled approach to treating severe wear cases. More importantly, I refined the occlusal philosophy I now use every single day—whether placing a small composite, an indirect restoration, or a full-arch case.

I learned how to be a better dentist. I learned the importance of continuing education. I learned to treat patients the way I would treat myself. I now catch occlusal wear earlier, stop it sooner, and use my own journey to help patients understand why prevention matters.

I hope to keep patients from reaching the point of destruction that I reached. The truth is simple: when you pay attention to occlusion, you can change lives—including your own.

Be the best dentist you can be. Keep learning. Keep teaching. Share what you know. This profession is a journey, and we grow stronger together. I found my path at The Nash Institute for Dental Learning, and I invite you to come discover it for yourself.