Dr. Seema Bhandari is an orthodontist who uses expired dental materials in her work as an artist, creating wall hangings, statues, and other art forms. She finds innovative uses for materials like dental composites, impression materials, and waxes. Her artworks feature paintings on glass, sculptures, and flowers made from recycled dental waste. Despite her busy schedule as a dentist, Dr. Bhandari spends her spare time developing her artistic hobby and using her skills to educate others.

1. an art of
a different kind
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2. Liju Cherian
S
he is an orthodontist with a difference. An
out-of-the-way artist who makes use of
expired dental material to make exceptional
works of art.
It is Dr Seema Bhandari’s innovativeness to make
use of throw away dental materials from her clinic
that needs appreciation. These are used for making
colourful wall hangings, statues, glass paintings,
flowers, and several other works of art.
The process is a bit tedious but the final results are
wonderful and a joy to the artist. Composite dental
fillings are mainly used to seal cavities.
Explains Dr Seema, of how the process is done. “First,
the tooth is cleaned and dried up. It is then etched
with an acid and again dried. Later a bonding agent is
applied and exposed to light for about 20 seconds.
Later a composite is added and given light so that they
become hard. When this material expires it is actually
discarded.”
These are then used on paintings which is coloured
on glass or acrylic.
Another innovativeness which Dr Seema shares is
to take the impression in the mouth to make false
teeth using heavy body material. This is then mixed
in proportion and becomes like rubber which can
be made statues and other forms as required. This
becomes hard and does not need to be baked.
Waxes are being used to make false dentures .They
come in different colours and can be used to make
pretty flowers as the waxes are sticky and glossy.
The expired dental material can be used effectively
to make different art forms. She cites the example
of waxes which is a carved tooth form than the
composite white tooth fillings. This is cured with light
for them to become hard and can be used as M-Seal
or Plaster of Paris and can be used as glass varnishes
to provide glaze and shiny touch which is mostly used
to bring shine for the tooth fillings. Similarly, dental
heavy body can be used as an impression material
which is excellent to make statues but has to be done
in seconds before the material hardens.
As a dentist, she passed out from the government
dental college from Bombay University. Later on she
worked in the same college as a dental surgeon.
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3. Dr Seema Bhandari
Her interests to provide knowledge to the
masses enabled her to anchor several television
programmes in Indian national channels like
Doordarshan on topics related to health, medicine
and art.
After which she worked in private clinics in Muscat
for few years and is presently with a private clinic
in Qurum. The clinic deals with all cosmetic, dental
whitening, Bollywood smile makeover and light filling.
A Mumbaite, she learnt all aspects of doll making,
handicrafts, soft toys and was able to develop her
own ideas from her mother who is a professional
artist.
Dr Seema says, ‘art is a beautiful habit which gives
you lot of happiness and which drives you with our
intuitions and surrounds. You can create a new
world of your own and create happiness all around.”
She compliments humans and says they can do
wonders having a complex brain. Life being a short
journey and opportunities being less but humans
can work miracles since we ourselves are an art
from the chief artisan, the creator.”
Her job was not at all simple. She collected expired
dental material and started to make statues,
wall hangings and other items. She made use of
the available colours with waxes, seal and glass
paintings and was able to make flowers, vases from
throw away waste materials.
About art, Dr Seema says, that art is a beautification
of mind and flowing of thoughts into efforts which
later transforms into a hobby. It can be related to
anything one set a desire on and can also be with
throw away and used disposables like broken glass
bangles, pebbles, bottles and others.
The enterprising lady who has a busy schedule at
the clinic also spends a good time during weekends
Despite her work as a full time dentist, she
also spares time to hold seminars at schools
educating children regarding dental hygiene.
This includes common problems which
adolescents face in the present day society.
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4. and other spare time with her hobby. She recollects
that it all began started during the days of yore
when women decorated themselves with wet mud
on their arms and beaded flowers on their hair. This
now has turned out to be a fashion through the use
of henna. Clay forms were used in pottery and at
present it is used as an art of porcelain and mosaic
marble work and houses painted with dyes.
Dr Seema praises her mom who was a professional
artist who encouraged her throughout to take up
courses in doll making soft toys.
At her Al Khuwair home, visitors can get to see
her works on the walls. Be it the work of a basket
weaver with face mask from Al Batinah, Turkish
Mosque, Masha’Allah art work, Lord Ganesh of
Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple, several glass
paintings and other works on canvas.
Some of her works are on 3D or glass painting
using glass colours which takes at least two weeks
to make. Paintings on glass are covered with tin foils
or sandwich and provides for a shining effect when
light rays fall on them.
Recalling her student days, when she studied
dentistry at a Mumbai College, they used to carve
tooth on paraffin wax blocks. It was then polished
with cotton gauze and made to shine with soap
solution.
“I started doing the same with big candle waxes and
made statues of candles. Red waxes were used to
set artificial teeth for dentures from which I made
roses with red waxes as they can be molded easily.
Dental plaster is also good to made human bust as
they are hard but need to finish fast as they harden
early.”
She also extensively uses M-Seal, which is a resin
used to seal pipes and basins. This is used to make
small toys or flowers mixing two parts and later
colouring them with bright acrylic colours.
The dentist uses this from expired composite fillings
as a liner for stained glass painting only and to
harden them with curing light same as the dental
filling. Now the availability of new art material in
markets has made it easy for artists like her to cope
with art work.
The liners for glass are available in gold silver
hues to make bold glass paintings. The use of glue
beads and stones to the paintings can be made as
required.
About her qualities and interests as an artiste, she
is quick to confess that art is inborn and cannot be
copied or made masterpieces. “Definitely one can
learn and each artiste has his own way and style.
In the same way as no two human beings are the
same nor can be duplicated.”
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