By Amanda DelaCruz

I’m trained as a jeweller. I’ve always found the process of making art cathartic, and while it was critical in the development of the person I am today, I realized that something was missing.

What working in jewellery didn’t give me was the feeling that I was making a real difference in the lives of other people. It was far from providing what people need to live better lives in the way a set of new teeth can:

So I went back to school, this time in the field of dental technology. Many things were the same - the tools, the machines, the critical eye needed to make something. The difference was that there was purpose beyond aesthetics and luxury - we were making functional appliances that could change a person’s life.