At his core, David Park loves to be a ceramist to focus on the smile of a patient to restore the patient’s confidence. He takes delight in imagining the patient’s final reaction and satisfaction as he works. “If I see that result where a patient’s eyes fill with happy tears, that’s one of the most meaningful moments for me—seeing how our ceramic work restores not just their smile, but their confidence,” he says.

Not only does Park put himself into the shoes of his patients to give them the results they always hoped for, but he has been in their shoes himself as a child. “When I was growing up, I noticed something very powerful and meaningful to me: When people don’t like their teeth—whether it be a crooked shape or the color—they often hide their smile. I was one of them. My teeth were very crooked when I was young, so I had to wear braces for most of my childhood, maybe more than 4 years. So I know that pain people feel when they don’t like their smile,” Park says.

This inspired him to follow his brother, Sean Park, into dental technology after seeing via his brother how his work could restore a patient’s confidence by restoring their smile.

After 20 years as a dental technician working with many experienced and talented technicians and doctors that he respects, David moved to Virginia with his brother and opened the boutique arm of YM Dental Lab to focus exclusively on high-end esthetic restorations.

Yong Min Park, the President of YM Dental Lab, is looking to the future of high-end esthetic dentistry through YM Prestige. “He has a vision we fully share, and that shared commitment fuels my excitement to innovate and make a meaningful impact on the industry,” says Park. “Our goal is to elevate quality standards even further, and YM Prestige is the perfect way to achieve that.”

The Prestige division focuses on complex anterior cases, working very closely with doctors from the beginning of each case and planning collaboratively to ensure the highest level of restoration. The clients for YM Prestige, Park explains, are dentists who care deeply about quality, are detail-oriented, and want a quality result for their patient. “Our philosophy is to treat each restoration like a piece of art,” Park says.

To achieve the desired artistic and esthetic standards for these high-end restorations, Park was excited to find a partner in Kuraray Noritake that shared his focus on quality and a desire to make the final product as life-like as possible. Their KATANA™ Zirconia Multi-Layered series offers higher translucency, so it is more comparable to natural enamel. This results in a solid and predictable basis for making YM Prestige’s highly esthetic restorations. “What first caught my attention was the quality of the zirconia and how natural it looks,” explains Park, who now also travels to lecture for Kuraray Noritake.

With this material, Park then uses Kuraray Noritake’s Esthetic Colorant to define the unique shade structure and characteristics of each tooth to a high degree. Esthetic Colorant was designed specifically for use with KATANA Zirconia to enhance the natural effects of the material. When applied in the green state, the colors penetrate the zirconia and fuse during the sintering process. This allows for shade effects to be applied onto the zirconia to quickly and easily achieve a variety of distinctive characteristics for each element of the restoration. The liquid can be applied with the custom Esthetic Colorant Brush Pens, or other metal-free brushes or brush pens, for precision and predictable shading.

“KATANA Zirconia has a beautiful internal gradient that behaves like real teeth and Esthetic Colorant allows me to add fine details for characterization, almost like in a painting,” he says. “The Esthetic Colorant blends smoothly into the surface to create the fine details without weakening the zirconia, which is something I really appreciate about it.”

Park explains that KATANA Zirconia and Esthetic Colorant provide a good foundation for the color, value, and layering needed for his restorations, making his job much easier. “They have enhanced both the quality and consistency of my work. We trust that our restorations will look natural and function properly while matching exactly what the patient is looking for,” he says.

“Using these two products together gives me the freedom to make each case unique while still keeping everything strong and consistent,” Park says. This quality he has come to expect from Kuraray Noritake’s products has helped to establish and strengthen the reputation of YM Prestige.

With this solid foundation in his toolbelt, and a partner in vision and quality for the materials he uses, Park and his team at YM Prestige continue to look for ways to combine material science and artistry for the best and most natural restorations.

David Park
Head Ceramist
YM Prestige Dental Lab
Chantilly, Virginia