Thursday afternoon local dentist Jack Perkins attempted, and succeeded, in setting a world record. Sponsored by dental products manufacturer Kavo, Perkins recorded the fastest crown preparation ever documented.
Clocking in at just one minute and 26 seconds, Perkins will now be tasked to submit all of the correct documentation and proof of his feat to the Guinness World Records organization. On hand to witness the event in an official capacity were Curt Josselyn, Eric Schmitt, Jim Ivey, Jody Head, Kris Crawford and Andrew Thompson. Perkins, while thrilled to have set the record insisted afterward that he had done it faster in earlier practice rounds.
“I’ve done this same preparation in practice as quick as 60 seconds,” he said. “I took a little extra time to make sure the dimensions were correct, but I would also say that all the people in the room added quite a bit of pressure. Half of a millimeter in movement makes a huge difference, and holding a steady hand under that kind of pressure was tough.”
Those worrying about the livelihood of the owner of the now properly prepared tooth will be happy to hear that this record was not performed on a live person. Due to restrictions from Guinness, Perkins was required to use a dentiform to be considered for their records. Perkins was sure to remind those on hand that safety is a primary concern he holds for his patients.
“A dentist able to perform a crown preparation in under 90 seconds, will probably be pretty precise when given 20 or 30 minutes to do the same task,” he said. “Speed is certainly not the goal for me when working in a patient’s mouth.”
The dream to set a world record was born last January when the Perkins Dentistry team attended a UK basketball game together. During halftime of the Wildcats’ Jan. 12 home game against Vanderbilt, 10,000 fans were asked to don a hard hat, effectively setting the record for most people congregated together under such pretenses.
“After we helped set the record at Rupp that night, we got to thinking that we could set a record of our own,” Perkins said. “We realized there is not an official record for the world’s fastest crown preparation, but that it would meet the requirements to be considered a record.”
Guinness World Records have to be measurable. Fortunately for Perkins, a crown preparation has specific requirements that are measurable. While a normal tooth can range in size, the tooth properly prepared for a crown must have a 1.5-millimeter gap all the way around its base. In addition, the ability to measure a record by time is especially important to Guinness.
Perkins wants anyone in the community looking for a dentist to know he is open for business in the same place he has been for the last 11 years, across the street from his alma mater, Kentucky Wesleyan College, at 745 Scherm Road.
