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On the back of hard work and innovation, Queensland dental prosthetist Peter Anastasia is transforming denture care through digital technology, global training and a relentless pursuit of perfection. By Cameron Cooper
Most mornings, Peter Anastasia is up by 4.30am as part of a cycling routine in which he clocks up about 400km a month. When he’s not on the bike or training for an event, he’s in the boxing gym or competing professionally in lawn bowls. It’s a demanding regimen that mirrors Anastasia’s approach to business—he’s driven, ambitious and tireless.
Operating from Denture Health Care’s headquarters in Waterford West, near Brisbane, Anastasia is recognised as one of Australia’s leading dental prosthetists. Renowned for his work in digital dentistry, he conducts digital beta testing for Ivoclar and trains clinicians in techniques pioneered by Japan’s Dr Jiro Abe. His path to success was built on long, gruelling days—and little sleep—as he refined his craft and built a thriving business.
Expanding the vision
Denture Health Care has grown from its Waterford West base to additional clinics in Sunnybank Hills, Redbank Plains, Beaudesert and Toowoomba.
At Anastasia’s side is business partner Hiro Uchida. Their partnership began in an unlikely place—a sushi restaurant— where Uchida, then a student, worked as a chef. After several conversations with Anastasia, he swapped knives for dentures, completed his studies in 2005, and joined the practice full-time.
Anastasia and Uchida are firm believers that digital dentures are the future of oral healthcare. Using advanced CAD (computer-aided design) and CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) technology, their lab creates dentures precisely tailored to each patient’s anatomy, offering improved comfort, fit and durability. While they are well versed in analogue denture-making, the digital world is quickly taking over.
“If you don’t change with the times, you sink,” Anastasia says.
Never stop learning
What truly sets Anastasia apart is his dedication to mastering and teaching new techniques. He studied under Dr Abe, the renowned Japanese prosthodontist who over three decades developed the Suction Effective Mandibular Complete Denture (SEMCD) technique—a breakthrough for lower denture stability. Anastasia travels the world as a certified SEMCD instructor and remarks that “it’s a technique that every prosthetist should have”.
The Denture Health Care team have also completed extensive training in implant-retained dentures, which offer another solution for secure, natural-feeling lower dentures, while Anastasia has also completed advanced courses including the Biofunctional Prosthetic System (BPS), Implant Overdentures, Swiss Denture Concept and CQR Dentures Technique programs. He also lectures nationally and internationally on digital dentures and occlusal therapy for edentulous patients.
Along the way, Anastasia has learnt from and collaborated with a range of respected mentors including Dr Abe, New Zealand dental clinician John Batchelor, Ivoclar’s Herbert Frick, Swiss master Max Bosshart and Irish clinical dental technician Paul McNally.
Humble beginnings
After starting as an apprentice dental technician for Queensland Health in 1998, Anastasia set up his own business on the side, operating under the house of his brother—a dentist—and quickly earned a reputation for the precision and quality of his dentures. “I was working nights and weekends,” he recalls. “It was common doing 21-hour days back then.”
The work ethic stemmed from his Italian immigrant parents, whom he describes as “old-school tough”.
Going forward, I’d like to keep building the company—and Hiro wants to have a million clinics! Mum always said Rome wasn’t built in a day, but we’re very happy with where we’re headed.
Peter Anastasia, Denture Health Care
Over the years, Anastasia has fine-tuned his skills and set high industry standards. Today, Denture Health Care offers a full suite of products, including BPS dentures, implant dentures, lower suction dentures and partial dentures. Each product combines advanced digital tools with the artistry of hand finishing.
Innovation at work
Anastasia has been engaged in digital technician work for more than a decade and believes it is the future, despite ongoing resistance from some colleagues.
The big advantage on the business side is slashing labour costs at a time when it is difficult to source skilled dental technicians, while for staff it reduces the hazards of not having to mix potentially harmful chemicals.
Anastasia admits, however, that he was not immediately convinced about the merits of digital dentures. After spending about $100,000 to adopt the new technology, he had some sleepless nights. “I’m not going to lie. I thought, ‘What have I done?’” The quality was just not there, but a relentless desire to learn and refine the process turned the tide.
Now, inside the Waterford West laboratory, analogue tradition meets digital technology as four technicians go to work. In one corner, technicians sculpt custom moulds by hand; in another, the digital equipment ranges from intraoral scanners and software from 3Shape, and 3D printers from Asiga and NextDent, to milling machines from Ivoclar.
At the heart of Anastasia’s digital evolution is a desire to deliver better patient outcomes, with the key benefits of digital dentures including the absence of free radical monomers and a lack of denture shrinkage. In addition, digital production enables the quick replacement of a denture. “If a patient loses a denture, you can just push a button to replace it,” he says.
While he continues to experiment with the 3D printing of dentures, for now Anastasia refuses to put a printed denture in a patient’s mouth “because the material just isn’t there yet with regards to water solubility and strength”. He expects that to change as the technology and materials improve.
As for patients’ preferences around analogue or digitally-made dentures, he says they are pragmatic. “They just want a good job. That’s what it comes down to.”
Watch this space
Anastasia isn’t resting on his laurels. Next on his agenda is launching an online training school for dental prosthetists and dental technicians, while he and some colleagues are developing proprietary software that is designed to transform the manufacture of dental products using robotics, automation and AI.
Whether on his bike or in the lab, Anastasia is powered by the same commitment—to push boundaries, perfect his craft and lead the future of digital denture care.
“Going forward, I’d like to keep building the company—and Hiro wants to have a million clinics! Mum always said Rome wasn’t built in a day, but we’re very happy with where we’re headed.”
