Are you interested in dentistry? But still, finding it hard to handle the procedure of examining someone’s mouth? Then you have an excellent alternative- a dental technician.
Dental technicians who are also called dental laboratory technicians are those who have been trained to make dental appliances such as crowns, dental braces, bridges, dentures, and orthodontic appliances.
To be put in simple terms, he is a skilled craftsman in dentistry. Let us cover here what the role of a dental technician is and what are his responsibilities.
Importance of a dental technician  Â
The dental technician has his inevitable role in the dental treatment of patients as he is equipped with the capability of creating the needs of dental prostheses. After providing the detailed prescription and photos, in addition to digital data, dentists will coordinate with this dental technician to provide the right solution for the patients.
These days there is a great demand for a wide range of health care professionals, besides dentists and dental surgeons. They are required in the dentistry industry to efficiently handle the treatment of all those problems about the mouth. This is where the huge scope and role of dental technicians come in.
They are the persons having the necessary skills in the designing, constructing, adjusting, and repairing of a huge variety of dental appliances. Typically, they manufacture those dental devices using the impressions given by dentists and dental hygienists who deal with the teeth of patients.
This makes such dental technicians have a vital role in the dental team, and indeed, it is very difficult for a dentist to work without them. However, dental technicians do not have direct contact with the patients.
There are four specialist areas available with the dental technician specialty:
- Prosthodontist technicians — These people have their specialization in the aspects of designing and making dentures. Usually, these dentures will be made up of acrylic or chrome cobalt.
- Orthodontic technicians — These persons specialize in designing and making braces that have their application in aligning the tooth positions.
- Conservation technicians — These specialists have their emphasis on manufacturing crown and bridgework. They will be involved in creating such devices using a range of materials that include gold, porcelain, or metal alloys.
- Maxillofacial technicians — These are the ones who are involved in reconstructing faces that are damaged by any accident or due to diseases.
A dental technician can either be a generalist dealing in producing a variety of devices. Else, he can also choose one of the above specializations he is interested in.
Roles of a dental technician — what can you expect him to do?
Even though the role of a dental technician hardly involves patient interaction, still they possess greater responsibilities towards patient care. They are very committed to manufacturing the devices as per the prescription of the dentist. And they have high accountabilities towards creating them as best fits and precise confirmation for the teeth, mouth, and gums of patients.
- A dental technician is intended to replace either partially or entirely for the loss of natural teeth. He accomplishes it by constructing dentures partial or full, in both metal and non-metal.
- He involves pouring dental models, fabricates such models using the impressions given by dentists, will be involved in implanting restorations, and also do fabrication veneers for crowns.
- If you look into his daily job role, he will also have to carry out some of the housekeeping responsibilities such as maintenance of dental lab records as well as preparing the reports.
- As mentioned earlier, he rarely has customer interaction. He generally works from his laboratory which is far away from a dental practice. An essential thing to be noted down here is he will never be involved in fitting any of the devices that he makes.
- How they will have their activities carried out is through the written and verbal directives of dentists for a patient.
- He will replace the missing facial and body tissues that may have happened with any disease, accident, or developmental abnormality. It will be done by fabricating maxillo-facial prostheses.
- In general, dental technicians will:
- Construct partial or full dentures.
- Fabricate precise models with the impressions given by dentists.
- Construct ceramic crowns through specific techniques.
- Will fix dental prostheses.
- Will help in restoring implants
Some products of dental technicians are given below.
- LED Contra Angled Hand piece
It works with the state of the art of technology for efficient cutting and trimming of dental structures. It is possible to achieve the results without excessive heat production. Furthermore, it is very obvious that the quality of dental treatment majorly relies on how well the structures are. Good lighting is very important for treatment as it eradicates the possibilities for interruptions, and is also helpful for essential visual inspections. This makes the need for a LED contra angled dental hand piece in dentistry.
- Acrylic Dental Lab Burs
Acrylic Dental Lab Burs have their important application in manipulating acrylic materials such as dentures, partials, custom trays, and many. This helps to offer a smooth polishing surface of acrylic without the need for any alterations of the appliance. They have their best part with dental alloys such as cobalt-chromium and fissuring dental materials.
- Child Mouth Guard
An essential application of a child mouth guard is to protect the teeth of children when they are involved in activities such as running, playing, and similar other outdoor activities. Children, especially athletes who are not wearing mouth guards, are more likely to have their teeth damaged. In many cases, these injuries may end up in permanent damages that may require medical intervention.
For those who have aspirations in dental medicine, but like to have their role behind the scenes, opting for a career as a dental technician can be the best choice. Â As such, the major part of a dental technician is to maintain and improve oral health by manufacturing both fixed and removable dental devices based on the prescriptions of dentists.