ADVISING: LIST OF HARD FACTS ABOUT EDUCATION AND PRACTICE OF DENTAL LABORATORY TECHNOLOGY.

 

Dental Technology profession is marching on with forces that will change our practice and narrow the gaps between clinical and technical practices. Unfortunately, most if NOT all the development comes from advancements from advanced countries. This is a challenge to local operators and policy makers. This technology driven advancements have already started with the contributions of CAD/CAM but sooner Artificial intelligence. How prepared are we?

Below are TEN Nuggets that will get you thinking.

v Education: Dental laboratory technologists typically require formal education from accredited programmes to learn the necessary skills and techniques. In Nigeria we have options of studying at colleges of health and some Universities. The situation is getting better as more Universities are enrolling student as at now. This has also opened more teaching opportunities for graduates of dental technology programmes. You need most current knowledge and skills to keep up otherwise traditional methods of practice will soon be rejected by your patients who are likely going to think you should have changed. How wills this happen, you may ask? Instant denture delivery will become a common place and patients who are always interested in getting it fast will no longer be happy with long appointment and excuses.

v Certification: Many countries require dental lab technologists to be certified. Certification often involves passing exams that demonstrate proficiency in various aspects of dental technology. The situation here in Nigeria and most African countries is to secure license for practice renewable at yearly intervals. This again is an advantage that keeps practitioners in good standing for career and professional opportunities. Expect more pressing demands on certification.

v Skills: Skills development is critical and institutions cannot deliver all that a graduate will require to have a good job and postgraduate education. This means that a graduate is expected to have taken advantages of opportunities during Students’ Industrial Works Experience Scheme (SIWES) to up-skill and fine tune his/her manual dexterity. Additional opportunities where up-skilling should have been taken advantage of were during internship and Youth service periods. Most of our graduates from anecdotal evidences mostly wasted these two years. The consequences show later as either inability to summon confidence to start a dental lab in order to be self-employed in the face of biting rate of unemployment or pass interview to secure a well paid job. As a dental technologist, your ability to do an aesthetically and functionally good restoration will pay off in one way or another in your career. Dental lab technologists need to be skilled in working with materials like ceramics, metals, and plastics, as well as using specialized equipment for fabrication.

v Technology: Advancements in digital technology have significantly impacted dental lab practices, with CAD/CAM systems and 3D printing becoming increasingly important. In most developing nations advancements in digital technology is challenged by cost of procuring equipment and establishing a CAD/CAM practice. It is sad that traditional method of practice will still be dominant as cost for both setting up and for practice will take the cost of fabricating restorations beyond the reach of dental patients. That said traditional method still and will continue to be dominant.

v Materials: Dental lab technologists work with a variety of materials including porcelain, acrylic, metal alloys, and ceramics to create dental prosthetics. Be that as it may all of the materials (consumable and non-consumable) are imported from either China or Europe. The economies of these countries are not getting better as yearly reports pointed a declining economic situation. This is one major difficulty dental practice has in developing countries. Can you imagine that as little as cotton wool, hand gloves, LA and so on we still import over 90% of what we need both for education and practice. How do you expect cost of practice and service not to keep rising as local currencies contend with USD? Until the Army of unemployed professionals rise to press the government to cause countries that sell their products in the country to come to establish companies locally and hence reduce cost. This suggestion has been made over again but local structures that will power international investments are just not there.

v Precision: Attention to detail and precision is crucial, as dental prosthetics must fit accurately and function effectively. Precision is a function of good equipment and tools, excellent professional handling of materials and equipment. Our institutions still need to do more to get off the basics in terms of precise fabrication techniques that are mostly expected in metal based appliances. Although CAD/CAM has changed this significantly but traditional practice does with difficulty and many years of practice.

v Collaboration: Dental lab technologists closely should collaborate with dentists to ensure proper restoration design and fit. Teamwork and team spirit are just the cord that is needed to ensure successful collaboration. The realities in our practice especially in government institutions have suggested more work needs to be done to enhance collaboration. Personally, I believe that is one big factor that has hindered the development of dental profession at a rate higher than what we are having now.

v Sterilization and Safety: Strict adherence to sterilization and safety protocols is necessary due to the medical nature of dental prosthetics. Workplace safety has not been taught in our institution as much as we should. Other than peripheral teaching on hazards our curriculum has not done enough. A successful career in dentistry without excellent workplace safety is not possible without safety of practitioners and patients.

v Quality Control: Ensuring the quality of the prosthetics is vital, as any imperfections could affect patient comfort and health. In this area we have not done virtually anything. What is our quality control policy? What are our strategies? Do we teach quality control in our institutions? Do our practices (private/public) have quality control? Laboratory appliances need to pass quality control test and until we integrate this in our education and practice we are still having long way to go.

v Lifelong Learning: The field evolves, so continuing education is crucial to stay updated on new techniques, materials, and technologies. The responsibility to continue to learn and be contributors to professional development rest on individuals to ensure he is not left behind in most recent development in the field. It rests on regulatory body and association to make provision for practitioners to avail themselves of lifelong learning. Government through policy formulation has a role to play too. Although continuous professional development is in place but more efforts are required.