“I think I can safely say that no one understands quantum mechanics occlusion.”
– Richard Feynman, theoretical physicist & Nobel Laureate
When the physicist Richard Feynman presented his latest findings on quantum electrodynamics at the Pocono Conference in New York in 1948, he noticed audience members taking notes in the form of pages and pages of complex equations.
“If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it,” Feynman often said. And frustrated by the complexity of these equations, he began doodling on a napkin to find a simpler way of getting his ideas across.
The resulting Feynman diagram—a relatively simple squiggly line—revolutionised the field, allowing generations of theoretical physicists to ditch their equations and finally grasp the ungraspable.
Occlusion isn’t Quantum Mechanics
I was reminded of this story a short while ago when my buddy Jaz Gulati asked if I would help promote the launch of Occlusion: Basics and Beyond (OBAB)—‘the world’s best occlusion course’.
“OBAB is a complete game-changer,” he said. “It’s everything you’ll ever need to know about daily applications of occlusion—but simple. Engaging. Fun, even.”
If you’ve ever met Jaz or listened to his excellent Protrusive Dental Podcast, you’ll know he’s full of beans. And I’d heard rave reviews about Jaz’s occlusal splint course on the grapevine, so I knew he had chops for bringing quantum-level complexity to life.
But the world’s best occlusion course? Simple? Engaging? Fun!? I’ve heard the way dentists talk in hushed, confused whispers about occlusion—and it’s never in the same sentence as adjectives like these.
It all had the faint whiff of bullshit.
So I did what any marketing expert would do. I asked someone else.
I have a go-guy for everything, and Tif Qureshi is my go-to guy when I need straight-up answers on anything clinical.
He also happens to know a thing or three about occlusion. In fact, Tif is so evangelical about occlusion that his patients know more about it than the average dentist does.
Tif said OBAB was legit.
“It’s totally centric,” he concluded. “Maximally interdigitated. Comprehensive, detailed, and easy to understand. It’s the MIP.”
He wasn’t the only one singing OBAB’s praises. Beta testers all said Jaz and course co-creator Mahmoud Ibrahim have done more to clear up the subject in 30 hours of online training than five years at dental school ever did—finally lifting the lid on the dark art of occlusion.
As Richard Feynman knew: Sometimes the way something is explained can make it difficult to understand, even if the subject itself isn’t that complicated.
Did Jaz and Mahmoud just invent the Feynman diagram of occlusion?
Your thoughts.