Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
A Matter of Teeth: Bill Martin has been running the Willow Glen Dental Laboratory for the past 30 years, taking over the business his father started in 1951. Born, raised and still living in Willow Glen, Martin finds making dentures a 'very relaxing business.'
WG man runs dental business
By Amy Jenkins
Bill Martin can remember how downtown Willow Glen looked more than 50 years ago. He remembers the old Pronto Pub and Lawrence Drug Store on Lincoln Avenue because his father started a business directly above the stores.
Al Martin, Bill's father, opened Willow Glen Dental Lab to make false teeth because it was a skill dentists were not trained to do as much after World War II, Martin says. During WWII, Al was a welder and ship fitter, and after the war he worked for an iron works company in Willow Glen, until he received training from his uncle in how to make false teeth.
In 1978, the business moved to Lincoln and Malone, where it remains today. Martin took over the business in 1982 when his father died. He works by himself, filling orders from dentists to make false teeth.
"Now dentists don't have the time to make dentures because they are busy with important things like diagnosis and treatment," Martin says. "It is cheaper for them to send it to us."
There are several steps in the process of making false teeth. First Martin must get a prescription from the dentist. He then makes a wax mold of the patient's mouth and sends it back to the dentist to see if it fits the patient's mouth. If everything is OK, he will make a mold, cure it, place false teeth inside and polish it. The entire process takes about two weeks from start to finish.
It is "a relaxing business," and he likes it, except when he is under pressure to fill an order quickly, he says.
Although a majority of the false teeth are made for the elderly, he also makes them for accident victims and drug abusers. Among the other names for false teeth people use are, "plates," and "removable prosthetics," he says.
Martin's mother still lives in the home that was finished 55 years ago, the week he was born. "She comes by and checks on me every day," he says.
So what has kept Martin in Willow Glen his entire life? "I love the area. There's not a better spot in the world. The people are so nice, and it's a whole community of its own."
What makes it that way is that neighbors know each other, go outside to talk to one another and meet downtown at the coffee shops, he says.
He still runs into families he grew up with at places and events like the Founder's Day Event. All his schooling was completed in Willow Glen, from Lincoln Glen Grammar School to Edwin Markham Jr. High School to Willow Glen High School.
Martin's ancestry in the area begins far earlier than 52 years ago, when his father started his business, though. In 1876, his grandfather, Calvin Martin, was the mayor of San Jose. In fact, Martin is a fifth generation Californian, which is rare, explains his wife, Kathy. The history of his family in California goes back almost to the Gold Rush, Martin says.
Now, after almost 30 years of making false teeth, Martin has decided to devote some of his time to his passion for motorcycles. The EagleRider franchise has sold Martin and his partners the rights to a motorcycle rental franchise in San Jose.
The franchise has 22 stores across the United States, including San Francisco. The San Francisco store rents 100 motorcycles per week and the same amount of business is expected for the new store, Martin says. Beginning March 15, Martin will rent Harley Davidson motorcycles to the public from the new location.
After years of riding other motorcycles because he couldn't afford a Harley, Martin notices a difference in performance.
"I enjoy the freedom of riding a motorcycle, and you can see the country a lot better from the seat of a motorcycle than the seat of a car," Kathy says. "I want people to have the same opportunity I have to see the redwoods and the oceans of California all in one day."
For more information about Willow Glen Dental Lab or EagleRider motorcycle rental, call 408.264.5010 or visit www.eaglerider.com.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
