Chet Charron L.D.

By Vallan Charron L.D.

Chester W. Charron (Chet) operated as a laboratory technician in Tacoma starting in the late 1950s. He trained at McChord Air Force Base and later at the Medical Arts building in Tacoma he met several dentists who asked him to become their primary removable dental technician. Finally in 1961 he opened Dental Plate Laboratory in downtown Tacoma in partnership with a dentist who no longer wished to operate the business end of a dental practice. Chet’s office would later be called Northwest Dental Services. He found a niche of practitioners that still enjoyed their profession, but no longer liked the business side of running a practice. By the early 1970s, Chet had offices in Tacoma, Seattle, Federal Way, Spokane, Pasco, and for his personal getaways Honolulu, Hawaii.  In each of these locations he hired a skilled dental technician and a dentist to primarily provide dentures and dental surgery to the local communities.

All the technicians working for Chet were trained as denturists. Denturists had been normalized and regulated in Canada since the 1960s and by the mid-1970s had been licensed in many of our surrounding states. 

After many futile attempts to pass legislation in the State of Washington to regulate denturism, Chet and other like-minded denturists gathered signatures to place initiative 607 on the ballot in 1994. In 1994 our state passed Initiative 607 (denturist licensing) by over 15 percentage points. Since this time, denturists have been widely accepted in the dental community as a viable option for removable prosthetics.

Chet passed away just 3 years after the success of Initiative 607. He would be very proud that denturists have found a comfortable niche within their local community’s dental needs.  Patients that once thought that their dentures were “good forever” or “never need another check-up” have found a place in a denturist’s chair. Also, this has expanded the relationship between the dentist and denturist. Denturists regularly refer patients to their friends in dentistry for services the they cannot provide. These relationships have increased the placement of dental implants as well as improved overall oral health care for the public.

I am proud to share with my patients that my father started our office in Tacoma in 1961 and that we are now a third-generation denturist owned (granddaughter, Megan Charron L.D.) dental/denture practice.

Ron Hansen

By Eric Hansen, L.D.

After coming back from the Korean war, Ron Hansen trained at a dental lab in Bellingham, Washington under the GI bill. Ron trained in every aspect of dental lab subjects, learning fixed and removable. Shortly after, he started his own full-service dental lab with accounts from Bellingham to Everett and the surrounding areas. He worked closely with local dentists for 25 years. As Ron resided close to Canada, he was very familiar with Canadian denturists and knew that this was a career he wanted for himself. After years of frustrating attempts to get the denturist profession regulated through the Washington State legislature, he decided to try a different route. Ron enrolled in denturist classes at Idaho State University and the Oregon Denturist college. Once courses were completed, he then took and passed the Oregon Denturist test, receiving a Denturist license in Oregon. Thinking having a license from a neighboring state would help get denturism regulated in Washington, Ron would continue to advocate in the legislature. With no success, he teamed up with other denturists and successfully helped pass initiative 607 in 1994, which licensed and regulated Denturists in Washington state. Ron worked successfully with his patients until his death in 2010. Ron had great relationships with the area’s dental community and received countless patient referrals. Ron went on to build three clinics and would be proud that he now has a son, granddaughter, and a grandson that are licensed denturist. Ron fulfilled his dream and left a legacy.