Chairside Magazine Volume 2, Issue 1 - Glidewell Dental Labs

to them, but having preceded the Tkachevs to America by only three months, he hadn’t enough money
to fly them to California.
Mikhail, ever resourceful, went through his little black book of phone numbers he’d been collecting all
though his immigration process, and called a friend of his brother’s, also from the Russian military and
now in the U.S., and he immediately agreed to loan them some travel money. But the money was just
enough to get them to Los Angeles; someone would still have to drive down to pick them up.
But again fate had other plans. Mikhail’s son, Sergei, got ill on the flight to LA, causing the plane to land in
Phoenix. There the airport medical emergency team flew into a panic; they spoke no Russian, the Tkachevs
spoke no English, and they had on their hands a little boy turning bluer every minute. They called over
the airport PA system for anyone who spoke Russian, and only one person stepped forward: another boy,
a brave little fourth grader who was just beginning to study Russian.
Language turned out to be just one barrier they faced. Mikhail had no knowledge of the American systems
of health care, insurance and credit, and the fourth-grader’s language skills were clearly not up to the task
of explaining it all. Thinking he would have to pay cash for the hospital cash he didn’t have, Mikhail made
a difficult decision. He waited a bit for his son to feel better and asked to resume the flight.
At this point, of course, the airline was concerned about liability for the sick child and made the Tkachevs
sign a medical release form they really didn’t understand. But for them, it was California or bust, so they
were happy just to finally arrive at LAX.
Where yet another disappointment awaited. Their friend Victor’s car had broken down on the way
from Sacramento to Los Angeles, and this time it was the Tkachevs who were left alone and wondering
at the airport.
Mikhail again pulled out his little black book and found a phone number with a Russian name but no
record of who it was or where the number had come from. But, it was a local number and he called it. It
turned out to be a generous and helpful fellow named Peter who’d lived in the U.S. since the age of three
but who spoke fluent Russian. They asked Peter only for help in contacting Victor, but ties to Russia and
the Tkachev’s absurd predicament opened Peter’s heart to house them for two weeks, then bring them to
a place they could rent, and even to loan them enough money to get them started in their new home.
And as unlikely a series of events as this might be, it turned out to be nothing short of miraculous for
Glidewell Laboratories. If Mikhail had managed to get to Sacramento on either of his attempts, he may not
have settled in Los Angeles and may have never brought his considerable talents to the company. And that
would certainly have been a loss not just for Glidewell, but for the dental industry at large.
Mikhail’s first job in America was one of the few things one could do where the boss had only to point
and motion for you to understand what was expected of you: breaking rocks with a sledgehammer at
construction sites. Not the place one would normally expect to find a man with a degree in electrical
engineering. Unwilling to accept a long-term career in rock breakage, Mikhail enrolled in English classes
so he could better his lot.
The teacher was demanding, but hardly as demanding as Mikhail was of himself. He worked and he
schooled, both full-time, determined to get ahead in America. But he wasn’t earning enough to support
his family and his debts, so he started dental technician classes at Pasadena City College (7 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Mon.-Fri.!) and, on the side, taking in auto transmissions for repair. It was something he could do, and do
well, for much less than a repair shop would charge, because he didn’t have the overhead of a garage.
Which also meant…he didn’t have a garage overhead.
So Mikhail rented workspace when he could, but often he actually had to carry transmission up the stairs
to his apartment to tear them apart and rebuild them. A grueling task he did for five years while he continued
to perfect his English and his dental tech skills, and he now bears the back pain to prove it.
As with everything Mikhail undertakes, he was so good at it, his customers nearly prevented him from
quitting when he was offered a job as an R&D dental technician at Glidewell Laboratories. But he eventually
was able to devote himself full-time to Glidewell, where his new English skills and his old Russian Í
Custom Plastic Injection Mold
This plastic injection mold was needed to make stump sticks inhouse,
rather than purchase them at high cost from dental dealers.
Technicians place an all-ceramic restoration onto the top of the stump
stick, which is colored to imitate the shade of the preparation in
the mouth.
Jar Rolling Mill
This simple Jar Rolling Mill is used during the zirconium oxide ball
milling process. The device can be utilized when the particle size of
zirconium oxide powder needs to be reduced.
Laboratory Portrait
Laboratory Portrait