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For Richard Powell, "[w]abi-sabi nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect."[4] Buddhist author Taro Gold describes wabi-sabi as "the wisdom and beauty of imperfection."[5]
Wabi-sabi is a concept in traditional Japanese aesthetics constituting a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete." Wikipedia
Why am I bring this up in a blog and how does this relate to my work?
I tell ALL of my patients that EVERYTHING that I do will FAIL given enough time. I also state that the definition of a good dentist is a dentist that makes things fail at the slowest possible rate.
Yes, ok...again where is this going?
A patient called to say that my filling was 'wearing' and that I told her that my work would not wear..
First of all, I would NEVER make that statement given what I said a few sentences back. Secondly, I know for a fact that a direct resin bonded filling placed under a rubber dam is NOT going to wear in a few short years. Break? Possible because God's teeth break and anything man-made can break because humans can do stupid things with their teeth...Like ummmmm chewing ice cubes.
Wearing of a new, or relatively new filling of 3-4 years which is how long this patient has been in my practice...is not going to happen. Could it be that one of her fillings that were placed prior to her becoming my patient is failing? Possible.
Nothing lasts forever...and the ancient Japanese masters recognized this.
"Nothing lasts, nothing is finished and nothing is perfect."
Let's all understand this...because it is a 'perfect' concept.
