The purpose of this podcast is simple. We want you to get to know your doctor before meeting them in person, because you're making a life-changing decision, and time is scarce. The more you can learn about who your doctor is before you meet them, the better that first meeting will be. There's no substitute for an in-person appointment, but we hope this comes close. I'm your host, Eva Sheie, and you're listening to Meet the Doctor. Today on Meet the Doctor, it's my pleasure to introduce our first dentist to the show. I have Steven Davidowitz from New York City with me. Welcome.

Thank you so much for having me.

So tell me a little bit about yourself. Let's start there.

Well, so I go by Dr. D uh, name is Steven Davidowitz. Uh, it's a little hard for my patients to say. So we go with the Dr. D and I'm a cosmetic dentist. I practice in the upper East side of Manhattan. I have a true love of smile design. I love clear aligners and the use of porcelain veneers to transform a person's confidence in their smile.

I love the topic of clear aligners and I think everyone on Earth knows what Invisalign is. There are others though, are there not?

I love that question and it's for a very personal reason. Invisalign was amazing. I actually, when I started in my practice, uh, it was in 2009, that was a true love because I, I grew up with a father who's a dentist as well, and he actually was lecturing for a company before Invisalign. It was called Raintree Essex. And they, they made the plastics. It was rudimentary. Uh, you would actually have to make up models with those nasty impressions. And, uh, every model was modified so that the tooth would move and then we would suck down plastics onto that. There were some pliers that we would heat up to cause pressure points and we would've to kind of guess where that pressure point was. And I was a young teenager and my first job was working in my father's basement in his office cuz he did not let me near the patients. And I, I would use those pliers and heated up to a certain degree and cause those pressure points, I would suck down the plastics. So I, I knew everything there could be about moving teeth with plastics. And Invisalign took that and brought it to such a higher level of using computer technology and algorithms to create these. And they spent a fortune on marketing over the past.

Some really brilliant stuff too.

Yeah. And, but there are other options now. Just like everything, uh, you know, there's something novel and then when it's not novel anymore and there, there should be other options. And the reason for that is that there should be autonomy, uh, for practitioners, uh, to use different things that are good in their hands. And we should be able to choose what's best for us, whether it's a cost basis, whether it's, uh, the speed of whether it's, uh, the, the more predictable results, whatever it may be. So about almost 10 years ago, I decided to create my own clear aligner company, which is a crazy idea. And we, we went really far with, it was great. And then the pandemic came and it was a little disastrous, but we're still at it. And we just released something called Mod-mouth clear aligners, which is, I'm a co-founder of and creator and I still use Invisalign in my practice cuz that's what I could do.

(03:27)
I'm a practitioner, I could get to pick what I want to use per patient. But the dentist that we're selling this to, it's a b2b, they love it. They love the fact that it's owned by a dentist, a cosmetic dentist, because we get it. We get the grind, what we go through every day. Uh, not to put down an Invisalign, Invisalign's wonderful. But it's a publicly traded company. So their, their bottom line is maybe different than the way we see things. The prism is through the eyes of a dentist who's managing a lot, <laugh> going on day to day. And how could we create a system, a clear aligner system that's great for your patients, but great for you, the dentist.

And how do you compete with Invisalign then?

So we're, I'm not really looking to compete necessarily. Meaning, it's not like going up against the titan, uh, with a pebble and trying to knock down the giant. Right. Instead it's just giving an option out there across the country to my fellow colleagues to have another option with the mindset and the treatment planning of a general dentist. So it's not just an algorithm, it's being developed by a general dentist. Meaning there are certain things a general dentist does not need their patient to accomplish when they're straighten their teeth for cosmetic reasons. So if it's a back tooth that needs to be upright ever so slightly, could take three months, patient doesn't want that.

Not necessary.

It's not really that much healthier for the patient. There's no cosmetic benefit. It's just longer and it's gonna cost more. That's one example out of many. But it, it is just developing this mindset of, and there's so many general dentists that are not in the clear aligner treatments at all. They're afraid of it. They're afraid of orthodontics. It wasn't really taught to them in dental school. It, it seems so complicated. They just refer it. But we're talking about a hundred, $200,000 of extra revenue.

Yeah.

And probably the, the most simplest thing a dentist could do compared to the crowns, the fillings, the veneers, small makeovers, implants. It's so simple because it's, it's all being done for you. You're basically handing over something to the patient.

Also, I think they probably don't want to sell.

Right? Correct.

Or they think that it's gonna be difficult to sell.

They think it's gonna be diff, which, which is also cool about Mod-mouth is that with my voice and I get on webinars and videos, I could show a practice in minutes how easy it is. Basically how it works In a dental office, as you know, you, you go in, who do you see? You typically see a hygienist that's doing your cleanings. That's usually the, the person that gets that like relationship with the patient.

They try.

More so than dentists, since it's a little scary. But the hygienist, many, many times, they're talking about their lives and they catch up. Especially once you've gone there a few times that hygienist, if they look in the mouth and they see there's a problem, there's a solution. Right. The problem is crowding typically, and most adults, so we did a study, three outta four adult patients sitting in a dental chair in the hygiene chair has some form of crowding, which means like overlapping of the teeth, which means they're gums are not healthy.

(06:31)
The things are getting trapped. They're aging quicker. They're told all the time you have to floss better, or you should come in more frequently. But they don't have to say that. All they have to say is, if you straighten that, you're not gonna have this problem anymore and it'll take like four months. That's it. You say that to a patient, you give them the problem, but you never gave 'em a solution. Cuz a solution's like floss more like, I am flossing, I am brushing, I am coming in every six months. But a solution of you straighten them, you're not gonna have this problem anymore is an easy sell.

Have you ever heard the story about how they got people to start buying toothpaste?

No.

It sounds crazy, but when toothpaste came along, they had a terrible time getting people to buy it. This had to be before 1950 or around there.

By the way, I know a lot of trivia when comes to dentistry, but I do not know this one.

Oh gosh, I hope I didn't invent it now, now I'm, well, we'll, we'll have to look it up and make sure that I'm

<laugh>.

So it was, the advertising wasn't working. It may have been a specific brand that the story is about because how long toothpaste has to have been around for quite a long time.

Right.

But the way that advertising was going was failing. And so instead of talking about fresh breath or minty mouth, they switched to talking about the feeling of having dirty teeth and the sales took off. So we'll have to figure out

Problem solution.

Yes.

It works every time. And it's, it's something so simple that only somebody that's in the field could tell somebody else in the field, this is how you do it. So yeah. Anyways, that's, that's Mod Mouth. Super excited about that. Uh, and again, I use it tremendously in my office, but I also use Invisalign. I use other ones as well. But it's all for a means of cosmetic dentistry to gain that confidence of a smile. Cuz what I've learned is that when somebody is not comfortable with their smile, it affects their entire life. And the greatest joy of my profession and going to work each day is to find those moments. Like when I give a mirror to a patient after I did 20 veneers and they, they already have a transitional or temporary and they're already kind of happy, but all of a sudden they break out crying.

(08:49)
And there's this like a tiny moment where I'm like, she hates it. He hates it. And, but it's not <laugh>. It's Yeah. About a hundred percent. Right. It's, it's not, it's the fact that they're just like, I, I can't believe this is me. Right? It. But then they come back for their follow-up two weeks later and they're joyous. Their bombastic, their personality has changed. And there's great stories that I have. I wrote a book about it, but just these different patients and their stories of how what I was able to do for them changed their life.

Okay. You wrote a book?

I wrote a book. Yeah. I, I wrote a book again going to the pandemic, but, uh, I had a lot of free time cuz they shut us down. Cause we were, we were weren't essential workers, dentists, even though if somebody has a toothache, that's pretty essential. But we, we were not allowed to go into the office in New York City that is, unless there was extreme swelling, bleeding or combination of the two. Otherwise we would have to manage it over the phone. And that was for like three and a half months. So I was losing my mind because I believe even in a cosmetic emergency is enough to probably put my PPE on <laugh> and take care of them. You know, if I did a, a beautiful case and somebody chipped their front tooth and they're on Zoom because, we're all working from home. That's a terrible situation. I should be there for them. But anyways, putting that aside and is what it is.

Our audience won't disagree with you. Yeah. It was a tragic situation.

It really was. Uh, <laugh>. Anyways, so what I did during that time was I, I started educating a lot more and I, I started doing a lot of podcasts. I did a lot of media on, uh, news stations, local news stations across the country. And it was all about how could you take care of your teeth when you can't go to the dentist? Like, what are things you could do at home? Uh, love that. And the more I was educating, the more I wanted to get more out there. So I wrote a book, it's called Power of Transformation, How Changing Your Smile Can Change Your Life. That's Available on Amazon. And that was the second book I wrote. The first book. I co-authored this one. I did all on my own and it was great. So it, it's, it's basically about using veneers to transform your smile.

(10:58)
But a lot of the book, uh, a is our stories. I started with that cause I think that's great cause it, it, it's so important to understand. It's not just like, oh I want brighter teeth. It's the fact that it literally could change lives. Two was a lot of the facts and fiction about what a small makeover is. So out of the past 17 years of doing small makeovers, I culminated the top questions and then even the ones under there. And I gave my true responses. So when people come in for a consult, I always say, grab my book. I have it in the front. Not gonna charge you for it because you're gonna go home, you're gonna have a question, it's gonna be in that book, and the answer is gonna be there for you.

This is why I podcast.

That's it. That's exactly, it's it, the information is key for comfort and understanding. And I love questions. I spend a very long time in my consults, but I know the feeling of being a patient cuz even practitioners or patients we're, and when I'm in the chair and I get home, I'm always like, well, did you ask blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, no, <laugh> <laugh>. So, so I think that that's what's really cool about this book in particular is that, you know, sometimes people give you 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, an hour for a consultation. This book will probably take a, a couple hours to read, but it has everything in there. And you could take it slowly. It has it before and after pictures and different situations. It was a great project of mine. I'm very proud, proud of that.

Also, it has the extra b,enefit of making you elevating you, you know, as a dentist, people know you as an expert.

A hundred percent. And that, that never hurts. My practice is built mainly with word of mouth, which is great. But to have something out there that's, you know, past my circle in the Upper East Side and I've had other colleagues say, I give your book out.

What a compliment.

Amazing compliment. I'm like, thank you. And they're like, it helps, it helps us sell the makeover because it makes it accessible. Answers their questions. And I only have to spend 15 minutes with them and I give 'em your book, <laugh>. So yeah. That's that's great.

Well, you've helped your colleagues then too, right? So your dad was a dentist, but what about your mom? What did she do?

So she worked in a bank as a teller, uh, earlier on. And then she helped my father out in the practice. So she did the front desk as a secretary. Then they realized it's not so great for their relationship, <laugh> for them to be that close. And then she, she raised us, my, my sister and I, and she was, uh, you know, stay at home mom, I guess. And then where was was that? I was in Brooklyn, New York.

Okay.

Yeah.

So you're local boy.

Yeah. But

You live in the city now?

No, so I actually live in Long Island now.

Oh, okay.

Yeah. Once I got married, I have two children. I have a son who is 14 and my daughter just turned 11. But the second that my wife was pregnant with my son, the oldest, uh, she said, we're getting outta Brooklyn because she's from Maryland. And she's like, I need a lawn <laugh>. I need grass. This is too busy for, for us. So we moved out to Long Island. It's, it's a really beautiful place.

What do you do when you're commuting then? How do you spend your time?

I listen to podcasts. I listen to, I, I listen to a lot of things. I, I started listening to Audible, which I'm falling in love with. I can never imagine listening to a book being read to me. I, it was like I was averse to it. But I listened to an autobiography by, who's that actor? Uh All right. All right. All right.

Matthew McConaughey.

Thank you.

I live in Austin. He's like our mascot.

Oh. He's, he's amazing. And I never realized how amazing he was. And I would never have read his book cuz he doesn't really interest me. But it was, I had a free credit, they call it on Audible. Yeah. And I, I, I downloaded it, the pearls of wisdom from this guy that I never really knew anything about except for his one line in that movie. Yeah. So I started listening to books. I do a lot of work as well on the LAR. So it's, uh, it's not like the subways of the city. I have a room, I put my laptop down. So I, I do a lot of work and between my projects, aside from the office like Monmouth and managing that and reviewing cases, I could do that on the train. And I also had a TV show, uh, for the past two years.

(15:02)
A local station here, uh, WLNY called Your Best Self with Dr. D and Stephanie Simon. And that was a health and wellness show. Obviously I spoke a lot about oral health, but we spoke about mental health and a lot of things that I've learned in practice. So the way that came about <laugh>, because that sounds nuts, but the way that TV show came about is that, again, pandemic. But it was a thought in my head that I love talking to patients and I, I love treating patients and I love their, their responses and feeling that, you know, a complex of being able to do something so great. But they always ask me questions about their personal lives and their overall wellness and they would just listen. And I realized I had a speaking voice and I sometimes I would actually go home and research once I was asked something so I could become more proficient in answering those questions.

(15:51)
And I kind of loved that. And I said, now I have whatever's 2000, 2,500 active patients at a time. How do I, now that I got this knowledge and I have the ability to comfortably feel good giving this advice outside of my field, how do I get that out even further? And the answer was a medium of TV of television. To create a show where we could have celebrities, we could have, you know, fun things, but always have it around the body and mind and overall health. And that, that, that's what the show was. It was a great project. We just wrapped up the project. It was a two year project and we did two seasons.

You do have a nice voice.

Thank you.

Yes. They weren't lying to you. It's true. What other podcasts do you like?

So I love, like everyone else in this country for some reason, murder. It seems like we're all just fascinated now with hearing murder stories and solving them.

I couldn't, I mean, I have little, little kids so I can't listen to anything where people get hurt right now cuz it, it just is too upsetting. So

Like, like you get anxious.

Yeah, I just avoid it.

Right.

As soon as I had them, I couldn't watch the news anymore. I just had to turn it off.

I hear that. Yeah. I mean we stopped playing the news for our patients in the office.

They get really wound up.

They get wound up and it's my whole goal there is to make them feel super comfortable. The whole look of the office, myself, the whole staff and my work is just to like, take away that anxiety. Like, this is a fun place. Yeah. Like, we're taking care of you. And when the news was on, it was, it was so hard to break that anxiety. So we completely stopped showcasing any news network, even local news, which we had for a while. It's depressing and the world is a little scary. So we have mostly music, uh, but we also have Netflix. They could pick their shows and things like that.

Is there anything else you do to make it really special in there?

We truly try. So, I mean, some patients are always cold, so we have, uh, throw blankets for them. We have, um, eye masks that we heat up to help relieve tension. I'd also hides from the eyes what we're doing other people want to see. So we protect their eyes other ways, but they love that we have hot towels, uh, for them to help clean up. Parafin wax is a great thing cuz it's a distractor. So they'll be sitting there with their hands wrapped in plastic and mittens while I'm doing the exam and it just takes away. Cuz the mind can only process, you know, one stimulus at a time. So the fact that their hands are in this sweating up and they know that it's gonna feel so great, they're a lot less anxious and they're listening a lot better. And then personalization, uh, the TV is again, Netflix, music, whatever, whatever they want. We have, uh, scented candles for aromatherapy. And then I'm just so lucky for my staff and they, they stuck with me, uh, during everything as far as the pandemic. Everyone's back, they're like family to these patients. So it's, uh, it's a special place. I love coming to the office each and every day.

So is it all cosmetic or can we come see you for a regular cleaning?

So you can, so it's, uh, it's, I call myself a cosmetic and general dentist instead of a general and cosmetic dentist. Because even with the general dentistry, I'm looking through the prism of cosmetics. So if I can make something look better, even if it's a back, back tooth and a wisdom tooth and I'm putting a filling, I want that to look natural. I want it to, when I'm looking at it, nobody else could see it. Even the patient. No, they, they can't get back there and actually see it in a mirror. But I, I want it to be as realistic as possible to mimic real life. And with that, by doing that, it helps me when I'm doing the real work. Right. The smile makeovers, it's, everything has to look realistic. It's gotta match the person. Um, which is, it's different than the typical, I, I believe in my field, people get very into their boiler plate. You know, you could tell like, oh that's a Dr. uh, B veneer makeover cause everything's flat across. And that's just what that practitioner does. I like to talk to the patient for, like I said, like an hour. Yeah. To get to know them if they're, uh, an aggressive, you know, if they like to, to be a little edgy or if they're very timid and, and they, they're, they're more soft and soft spoken and it, it changes how I'm going to think about how these teeth should look for that person.

I know what you're talking about here. I have a family member who got veneers probably 20 years ago and everybody went, oh no, because she looked like a different person and not in a good way.

Right, right. Because it was, it was uh, turning somebody into a picture of what they see as, right? So I try to really spend that time and I'll actually show it to the patients like I'm thinking because, because you have that little edge that maybe we should add an edge, right? We should add a little pointiness to the canines and we should leave a little, a greater space between the teeth. Cuz it just gives a little bit more of that edge. And they, more often than not, they're like, yeah, that that's me. That sounds good. And it's so appreciated cuz it's keeping their personality from teeth that they didn't have like that before. There was always a problem. Right. Whether it's, uh, discoloration, chipping, uh, old cavities, bondings.

The longer I listen to, the more weird dental questions pop into my head and it's the craziest thing.

What do you got going on? What's,

I don't know if they're podcast worthy, but, so my two girls are three years apart and they're, one has canines that are sharp and one doesn't. Yeah.

That's genetics. Well, two things. One is genetics or if it, if it actually erupted that way, it's genetics.

Yeah, it did.

Other times some children actually are grinders, which is very interesting, but like young kids will grind their teeth and you, they're not as sharp as they used to be, but that's completely genetic. Yeah.

So yeah, she looks like a little vampire.

Right. So, so the options are obviously let it be for now, but there's, there's minor things like reshaping of a teeth that we do. It's just kind of reshaping the enamel, get rid of that sharp point and give it a little bit more roundness. There's bonding where you, we could add a little bit to the sides of the point and give it more of a curvature and then later on there's always a possibility of seeing me and getting a smile makeover. Yeah.

I feel like people probably don't understand that these are things you can get fixed.

Right, right. Or they are confused by how to correctly fix it without going down a rabbit hole. For instance, with the canines that are pointy, uh, there are some that are seeking just to fix those two teeth and they're, and they try to either flatten them or add, like I said, but now that tooth looks ginormous if it's you added to it. Uh, and they're dealing with chip the bondings constantly or when it's flattened now their bite's not right. And because everything has to function properly too. So I, I write this in my book about the right amount of teeth to correct per situation. So even though the chief complaint might be one tooth, it's not okay to just focus on that. It's gotta cosmetically work and functionally work and it's different for everybody. I could do a case where it's just four teeth and it, their smiles transformed and everything works perfectly. And for others I'm like, I know I did that for your friend, but for you you actually need 10. And I explain why. And a cosmetic dentist, that's the way they see things. They, they're not gonna just try to do a case because it's a case. They're going to say, no I'm not doing that. Because for you that doesn't work.

It's kind of bring me all the way back around to Invisalign. And I think what you were saying, just to kind of close that whole thing out was Invisalign is an algorithm and you put what pictures of teeth or scans in and it comes back and says this is the way and the only way.

They do. And, but a dentist could still modify it. And it's mostly orthodontists that would, that those that specialize in straightening teeth, they have a lot more background with it and confidence to challenge a treatment plan that came back from a line or from Invisalign. The general dentist is either timid to, especially those that don't really do it to ask for a change. Cause they don't really know or they may not do many more cases cuz they just didn't feel comfortable. And that's really the mod mouth difference is yet we, we also give them a case and say this is the way it should be done, but the algorithm that I created or help create is meant for the general dentist patient and for the general dentist. So it's, it's right for them.

That sounds really smart.

Thank you.

If we want to learn more about Mod mouth, where should we go?

It's Mod mouth.com. That's M O D M O U T H.com.

The other wild dental thing that that popped into my head was, and it's really weird, my five year old has what I call a shark tooth.

Uhhuh <affirmative>.

And she, it's like this evergreen tree shaped baby tooth, extra baby tooth that came in behind her big tooth. And I thought at first that it was her big tooth coming in the wrong spot. And I brought her in and they said, no it's just extra.

It's a supernumerary baby tooth.

Yeah.

That's not super common.

It's not?

No, but it doesn't mean anything bad.

She thinks it means she's extra special

Yeah, of course it does. Yeah. Yeah. She has uh, more pearls of wisdom.

Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.

So I, I remember myself, I had shark teeth, but that was permanent teeth coming in behind the other ones. And uh, I was like, it's, it's better to chew with.

I want to kind of wrap it up with maybe, um, I feel like people my age, maybe your age and slightly older, including myself, that we didn't really do as good of a job on our teeth when we were kids. Dentists just in general. They did a lot less intervention when we were younger. And so you can kind of look around at people my age and say, oh, you know, your parents probably decided they couldn't afford braces cuz it wasn't that bad. But today I feel like they almost all get braces. They don't let anything slide anymore. And the standard has really come up and I, and I, some of that's cosmetic, but I also wonder if there are other benefits that maybe we don't think about.

That's a great question and I am super proud of how far we've come with, uh, I remember those days where you only got the braces if it was a big problem and then maybe later teens would get it because, you know, the child was self-conscious and they begged to get their teeth straightened to help correct a cosmetic issue. Today what we're realizing is that by not correcting malocclusion early on, A, we can end up with dental problems just like adults. Uh, even more so for children. If their teeth are too crowded and not in the right position, they're gonna end up with more problems as far as cavities and gum issues and things like that. Even more so is temporal mandibular jaw disorder or T M J disorder and sleep apnea. Both of those could be easily solved at a young age by expanding the palette and expanding the arch of the teeth. Why is that? The more space or airway space we have, the less likely we're gonna have sleep apnea problems. And the wider, the arch and the straighter the teeth, the more support the jaw has. So it's, it really is a great, great time of seeing, and I can't wait for their 30 years from now to see the, not repercussions, but the benefits of this early intervention. But that's the, the thought process behind it.

That is super important because it isn't just about looking better, obviously looking better has its own benefits.

Right. And you will look better, right? So if somebody's palette is a high palatal vault, their, their face is going to be, uh, caving in because that's, it's like a tepee shape and that affects the growth of their bone and how they're going to look. So it's not just a dental issue, it's a whole facial issue that could have been solved with something like a palate expander. People think of palate expanders and that's one of the early interventions of what you're referring to as just, uh, a way of straightening the teeth. But it's so much more. It's opening that airway, it's expanding the maxilla, the upper jaw bone, allowing the lower jaw to sit right. A lot of, a lot of early intervention that I think is gonna be amazing for that generation.

Would your face also look different and better?

Better. Yes. Yep.

It's all connected.

It is. Yeah. And that's why I, I think of cosmetic dentistry. I, I used to call it facial aesthetics. I don't do too much facial aesthetics. I'm trained in fillers and fun stuff, but the teeth and the smile have to fit into the body and it's gotta fit into the frame. And the frames of the teeth are gonna be the lips and the jaw structures and your, the cheekbones, the forehead, the inter pupilary lines, the ears, every, everything. And, you know, you got, you gotta tie everything together. So when we're dealing with early intervention, just putting that together cosmetic dentistry doesn't really make sense. But it does. Cuz you're, you're helping them cosmetically, but you're also not just focusing on the teeth. Teeth, as a cosmetic dentist, teeth are not very pretty. I've had the experience of holding teeth in my hand. You know, I, during dentist, the,

And a mom, I've had that experience as a mom.

Exactly. You look at it, it's not that pretty. No. Like why, who do think this is?

Why do we save these? <laugh>

It's sentimental, but smiles are gorgeous. But even, even smiles aren't gorgeous. Our faces, it's the first thing people look at. Right? We not, we don't typically look down at somebody.

No. Nobody ever says what beautiful teeth you have.

Right. That would be odd. But they might say smile or, or they just say, you look great. That's the big biggest compliment cuz everything works together in harmony.

Very well said. We know where to find Mod mouth. What if we want to come see you as a patient, where do we go for that?

Ah, so you could find us on our website, which is luxury dentistry nyc.com. You could also find us on Instagram at Luxury Dentistry nyc and there are a bunch of links there. You could go to our RealSelf page, you could also go to our website. You could book an appointment. Many, many places you could go to learn more about us.

Thank you for sharing your stories today. It's been very enlightening and I, uh, am very, very glad that you came to see us today.

Thank you so much again for having me. And this was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to doing this again sometime soon.

I hope so.

(31:12)
If you are considering making an appointment or are on your way to meet this doctor, be sure to let them know you heard them on the Meet the Doctor podcast. Check the show notes for links including the doctor's website and Instagram to learn more. Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor who'd like to be on the Meet the Doctor podcast? Book your free recording session at Meet the Doctor podcast.com. Meet the Doctor is Made with Love in Austin, Texas and is a production of The Axis, t h e a x i s.io.