The Dental Technician Magazine March 2018

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VERIFIABLE CPD FOR THE WHOLE DENTAL TEAM

CHOOSING A DENTAL LABORATORY PAGE 17

The Dental Technology Showcase

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BY SU X T R B EN A EC SC D C O O R I YO SE LL MM PT UR E E E IO PA AG ND N G E UE ING 3

Takes place in Birmingham on the 18th and 19th of May and The Dental Technician Magazine is still the most trusted journal offering its popular DTS preview and review issues!

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CONTENTS MARCH 2018

Editor - Larry Browne FBIDST. FDTA, ITI Fellow, LCGI, RDT. E: editor@dentaltechnician.org.uk T: 01372 897461

News Thoughts from the Editor

Designer - Sharon (Bazzie) Larder E: inthedoghousedesign@gmail.com

Insight

Advertising Manager - Chris Trowbridge E: sales@dentaltechnician.org.uk T: 07399 403602

Dental opinion from Sir Paul Beresford, BDS. MP Looking back with John Windibank FOA

Editorial advisory board K. Young, RDT (Chairman) L. Barnett, RDT P. Broughton, LBIDST, RDT L. Grice-Roberts, MBE V. S. J. Jones, LCGI, LOTA, MIMPT P. Wilks, RDT, LCGI, LBIDST Sally Wood, LBIDST Published by The Dental Technician Limited, PO Box 430, Leatherhead , KT22 2HT. T: 01372 897463 The Dental Technician Magazine is an independent publication and is not associated with any professional body or commercial establishment other than the publishers. Views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the editor, publisher or the editorial advisory board. Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs are welcome, though no liability can be accepted for any loss or damage, howsoever caused.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the express permission of the editor or the publisher.

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6 13 - 15

Digital Technology Dedicam® pushes the right buttons - BioHorizons

8 & 10

Marketing Marketing Simplified

10 & 12

Digital Dentistry GC UK Limited

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Technical Choosing a dental laboratory

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Dental News GDC’s Patient and Public Survey The Question of Registration. Is It Real?

Research indicates a potential stain free bracket cement A to C - it´s easy The Dental Professionals Conference 2018 Efficiency and precision in the laboratory - Prestige Dental Your guide to ECPD for August 1st 2018 Growth in orthodontics market/Oral cancer screening glasses/ Your New Look CPD Certificate

18 18 19 19 20 21 22-23 30

Company News Prestige Dental/VITA/Kemdent/Acteon

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CPD Free Verifiable CPD & CPD questions

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Focus Dental Technology Showcase 2018

Classifieds

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NEWS

WELCOME to your magazine l Welcome and thank you to the growing numbers of you who are enjoying the magazine. It is probably, the only dental title that continues to grow in circulation.

I do hope it’s because of the content and the varied subjects we are covering and the relevance to what you all do everyday.

For many years the Technician just rolled along month to month with little or no great changes but I am determined to bring back and work closely with the readers and their concerns. I am delighted with the contribution of Sir Paul Beresford MP. Not only is he a talented working dentist but an involved and valued member of the government party. If you have concerns or interests which you think requires his expertise please feel free to contact him through my office. I have known him for some while and he has always had a real and genuine interest in helping to overcome other peoples’ problems.

It would be nice to hear from some of you about your Magazine and if you would like other areas covered. Janet Clarke has made great sense of a complex subject with her clear and straightforward approach to marketing. If you have any individual concerns about you own business approach or media issues then please let her know.

The whole idea of the Journal is to fulfil the intent of the original founders, all those years ago. To exchange and disseminate news and information, relevant to your everyday demands. Technical dentistry can be very demanding and sometimes the answer to your particular question is in the hands or head of another working technician. If you have such queries and we are not covering them, please do let me know, by e-mail or letter or phone. The technician prides itself on appealing to every technician, whether he be a Lab owner, a sought after specialist Technician or an apprentice or trainee.

Our working world can often shrink to a point where we may feel no one is listening or interested but that is not the case. If you have a question or are troubled by some political move or change, such as “Brexit” and its consequence for you, the technician is your voice through which you can reach your fellows. I have been trying throughout, to pass on as much about the new innovations and digital changes that are here now and those that will continue to have an effect on our working practices. I am concerned that we do not

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sleep walk into a situation where our skill and expertise is taken too cheaply. I will continue to challenge what I see as unfair and unacceptable practice by the profession or the supply lobby who enjoy a much stronger political situation than we do. I will also continue to challenge those who purport to be our representatives but in fact, not when the chips are down and they are asked to challenge and unacceptable decision or course of action. Those of you who are members of these bodies should and would expect to have them act on your behalf, to improve their members lot, but I see little evidence that in fact, that is happening.

I do hope you have been enjoying some of the recent content with regard to registration and the powers that be. I will continue to ask the questions that I feel should be asked as the information flow is certainly not, in my opinion, an even two way traffic. The complications around registration and the on-going requirements should at least give us some status and control over our destiny. Yes it is a commercial market place, but it does seem to be tilted in favour of everyone else and often at the cost of the technician. If our registration requirements stand for anything it should be professional recognition by the other professionals within Dentistry.

With corporates setting a public ceiling on the price for NHS laboratory work, which reflects prices below those widely charged in the 70’s and 80’s. I do think there should be some cause for reflection. Work being sent to the Far East may be a short-term answer for the profession but what of the future and the need for technical know how which reflects a realistic and desirable quality for the patient. People don't normally say this in print but we are all aware of the appalling low standard being offered to NHS patients in the commercial world. Lets not kid ourselves, by pretending that the work being offered to these patients, we would be happy with in our mouths. Little more than a few per cent of constructions on the NHS are seriously considered of be of good enough quality. Yet as registered professionals we are required to put the patients interest first. Are we? I think not. All NHS constructions are built to a price, not to any standard and it is time the representative bodies said so and out loud. Yes it may mean the end of restorative dentistry on the NHS, but would that be such a bad thing? As Technicians who have not yet become completely cynical

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it is reality. Who in their right mind would seriously imagine that a hand made construction made in 1980 could be advertised as on sale 38 years later at a cheaper price? Not withstanding CAD/ CAM, manufacture, it is impossible.

I am quite aware that what I have just written will enrage some of you and bring cheers from others. That's good that I can stir you. I would very much enjoy an open debate about the very subject. Those of you who travel, are aware of the opinion other countries technicians have about the system here in UK and the quality of work. Despite being the home of modern dental restoration in ceramics the quality of work we are all aware of for the NHS is unacceptable. Why does no one say. Those who meet with government and clinicians on our behalf, why don't they say? We all hope and pray the medical treatment we receive is not of the same comparable quality. I believe it is not but what do I, or any of us, know about medicine?

What do the patients of the corporates who have had the price driven work fitted, know about dentistry or the quality of their restoration? If you don't agree with what I have said please let me know. Write to me and to the other readers and begin the discussion, or write and agree. Email or via any other media. Let me know how you feel.

In an age of digital communication we are all aware that the undergraduate clinical students who used to be required to undertake a minimum numbers of hours of restorative practical work now do it on computers, which does not prepare them well for restoring patients’ teeth. I hear more and more that the younger associates, in these practices are so reliant on their technicians and need more help with the whole procedure. But on the NHS prices quoted it would not even cover the phone calls. May be our representative bodies could be present at the price setting meetings, as recognised experts and could have some influence in changing what is obviously a ludicrous and unsustainable situation without the Far East. But only until the Far East wages rates are driven higher then what?

Perhaps there will be change of heart and the government and profession will make restorations fit for purpose. I can dream!!

Larry Browne, Editor

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DENTAL OPINION FROM SIR PAUL BERESFORD, BDS. MP INSIGHT

LET US STRIKE A BLOW FOR MEN’S HEALTH

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t is not often I am 100% behind the Daily Mail. However they have a campaign for HPV inoculation for early teen boys alongside that already available for early teen aged girls. As dental professionals we should be behind it. Some of the human papilloma viruses (HPV) can cause cancers that kill. Two variations cause cervical cancer. This explains why girls in England, girls aged 12 to 13 years are routinely offered the first HPV vaccination when they're in school year 8. The second dose is normally offered 6 to 12 months after the first.

There are 4 dangerous types of HPV: types 16, 18, 6 and 11. Between them, types 16 and 18 are the cause of most cervical cancers in the UK (more than 70%).

HPV types 6 and 11 causes nearly all cases of genital warts (90%), which the vaccination course if completed helps protect girls against both cervical cancer and genital warts.

But these viruses hit men as well causing genital warts and penile cancers. Sadly, it gets worse.

These nasty viruses cause between 35% and 70% of head and neck cancers, depending on the anatomical site. For example, 70% of oropharyngeal cancers are caused

by HPV. Treatment of head and neck cancers is often debilitating, disfiguring and destructive of the patients and their self-esteem.

Frequently, radiology and/or surgery

SIR PAUL BERESFORD. BDS. MP. Dual UK/NZ nationality. New Zealand born, bred and educated, with post graduate education in UK. Worked as an NHS and private dentist

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is required, involving the face, the jaw and teeth, the neck, the tongue, the pharynx, the larynx, the oesophagus or combinations of them. Physical disfigurement is common, and speech and eating can be significantly impaired. Detection is frequently late.

Dentists are trained to look for mouth cancer but other areas where the cancer can strike in the head and neck are less easy to detect.

In the global ranking of cancer deaths, head and neck cancers rank fifth. Furthermore, the prevalence of head and neck cancer is markedly higher in males than it is in females, with a ratio of 2:1. It is a men’s problem. In the UK, the frequency of head and neck cancer is increasing at one of the fastest rates of all cancers.

The cost of treatment to the NHS is astronomical.

The answer is “herd immunity” such as we have achieved with polio - a dreadful disease unheard of now thanks to vaccination of school girls and boys. The HPV vaccination programme for adolescent girls in the United Kingdom has had considerable success, but it is not producing full herd immunity. The estimate is that 10% of young UK girls do not get the full vaccination cover. Research suggests that 20% of 16 to 24-year-old men have had 10 or more sexual partners.

Statistically, one of those partners has not been vaccinated.

There has been a campaign for NHS vaccination of men who

in East and South West London. Private dentist in the West End of London then and currently in a very part time capacity in South West London. l Councillor including Leader of Wandsworth Council moving to the

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have sex with men. As a result, Public Health England is currently running a trial programme in a number of areas across England where MSM up to the age of 45 can get the HPV vaccination for free from certain sexual health clinics. The results of this trial will help the Government decide, after advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, on whether it would be effective to roll out a HPV vaccination programme for MSM across the country.

However, there is still a large portion of the population who are sexually active hetero-sexual men. These men can buy the vaccination course of 2 or 3 injections at £150 per injection from some pharmacies and private clinics.

As an MP and occasional dentist, I am appalled. Vaccination programmes for girls and boys would stand a reasonable chance of producing effective herd immunity. I understand that the cost would be another £22 million a year. Set that against the £58 million for treating genital warts and way over £300 million for head and neck cancer. What is important is not who is having sex with whom, but the need for that herd immunity. If Australia, Austria, Canada, Israel, Switzerland, the United States and even New Zealand can manage this, with staggeringly positive results then we can, too. To put it simply, it is not fair, ethical, or socially responsible to have a public health policy that leaves 50% of the population vulnerable to HPV and head and neck cancer.

At 2.1 ratio for head and neck cancer this now is a men’s health cause. Help the campaign and write to your MP asking the MP to write to Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Health.

House of Commons.

A Minister in the John Major Government, MP for the then Croydon Central, then elected as MP for Mole Valley as a result of the boundary changes for the 1997 election.

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DEDICAM PUSHES THE RIGHT BUTTONS ®

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

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s dentistry increasingly turns towards digital technology, it has never been more important for dental technicians to keep up with the latest developments and to embrace new products - not just for the good of their current jobs but to future-proof their skills as their careers develop.

Streamlining workflow brings cost- and timeefficiencies to dental laboratories and, ultimately, practices, and one of the latest solutions to combine the design and production of custom implant prosthetics is DEDICAM®, the CAD/ CAM prosthetics solution from CAMLOG. Available in Germany since 2013 and with a solid track-record, DEDICAM® is now being brought to the UK dental market by BioHorizons, a leading worldwide supplier of implants and the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor of CAMLOG products.

BIOHORIZONS LAUNCHES DEDICAM® The DEDICAM® service aims to give dental technicians the opportunity to achieve a custom-made, patient-specific prosthesis that is cost-effective and yet easy to design, made-tomeasure, and delivered quickly.

Technicians access DEDICAM® by installing a library of materials and components into their own CAD software.

Once they have scanned their patient’s plaster model and input the implant position, the construction of the bespoke implantprosthetic begins. Components are selected from the implant systems of a whole range of leading manufacturers, including CAMLOG® and BioHorizons, where the implant connection is guaranteed.

EXTENSIVE CATALOGUE By using DEDICAM®, technicians can choose from a wider range of materials than would usually be available in a laboratory, and this gives greater flexibility in design. For example, one-piece abutments are made of CAMLOG®quality titanium alloy (Ti6AI4V); mesostructures from ceramic materials can be combined with a two-piece abutment with a titanium base; Zirlux FC2,

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IPS e.max® CAD materials could be the right choice for the restoration of a fully anatomical crown where aesthetics are important due to the implant’s position; Telio® CAD may be suitable for a temporary restoration.

This ability to create a bespoke design using components and materials that are appropriate for the needs of each case means that the finished restoration is fit for purpose and likely to be more durable than a one-size-fits-all restoration.

In addition to a wider range of materials, there is also an extensive catalogue of components and attachments for bars and bridges, gingiva formers, direct screw-retained, titaniumbased or passive-fit bridges and bars, onepiece abutments, scanbodies, scanning caps and crowns for titanium bases, all in a range of diameters and materials, encompassing CAMLOG® and other leading manufacturers.

Where DEDICAM® adds even greater value is in the milling process, where the range of materials enables fully anatomical restorations to be created for any case. High-speed milling

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machines, capable of milling all materials, guarantee precision, even for 5-axial processing.

CAMLOG® is also an Authorised Milling Partner (AMP) of Ivoclar Vivadent AG, a company that produces materials designed to provide long-term stability. These materials, including IPS Empress® CAD glass ceramics and IPS e.max CAD Lithium disilicate ceramics, suitable for anything from thin veneers to fully anatomical bridges, are available in various degrees of translucency and tooth shades to ensure a perfect aesthetic match to the patient.

What’s more, IPS e.max® CAD is supplied in a metasilicate phase, which enables the dentist to try the restoration on the patient before it is finished in the laboratory. Full anatomical designs can be produced using Zirlux® FC2 zirconium oxide, which is translucent and available in five basic shades. It can be cut-back or stained to achieve an aesthetic appearance.

Telio® CAD is available in six basic shades. The material does not tend to discolour like PMMA and, in the case of a full restoration, a cobaltp10 chrome alloy can be used to reduce the cost.

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DEDICAM WHERE EVERYTHING JUST FITS. Everything from one company. Custom made, patient specific prosthetics. The quality you are used to from CAMLOG. Everything is possible. Wide range of products and services from inlay to bridge. Everything is efficient. Open interfaces, precise manufacturing and prompt delivery. Everything is comprehensive. Wide range of implant manufacturers supported. Explore DEDICAM - the individual CAD/CAM solution for patient specific, implant prosthetics.

Contact BioHorizons, the UK & Ireland distributor for DEDICAM. Phone 01344 752560 or Email dedicamuk@biohorizons.com

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DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

uTRAINING FOR SUCCESS In anticipation of the launch, nine carefully selected and highly experienced dental technicians from some of the UK’s most respected laboratories were invited to see how DEDICAM® could help them improve efficiencies with their designs. Training took place at the offices of Henry Schein in London, and laptops were pre-installed with 3Shape software, the DEDICAM® digital libraries and training set-ups to enable the technicians to experiment with planning cases.

Throughout the day, technicians worked on designing five cases: a one-piece abutment, gingiva former, full contour crown on a titanium base, a bar design with several attachments and a direct-screwed bridge.

These cases gave technicians the chance to see the full range of components and materials that are available through DEDICAM®.

Once the technicians’ designs were complete, they were introduced to the inbox feature on 3Shape. This automatically compiles the details from the design into a single order and, at the click of a button, sends the order directly to DEDICAM® for immediate processing. If the order has been completed correctly, there should be no need for DEDICAM® to query any details with the laboratory, and the order can be turned around in as little as two days.

Stephen Green, managing director of Stephen Green Dental Studio said, “Overall the facility seems well prepared to support labs, with a wide variety of materials and available products. The future is undoubtedly

screw-retained bars with attachments on the CAMLOG® implant system.”

leaning heavily towards digital manufacture and the type of facility DEDICAM® offers is there to support labs, large and small, without the need to make expensive investment.”

A dental technician from Evolution Dental Lab said, “I thought the course was very informative and best suited for technicians who wish to gain hands-on experience designing cases on the Camlog® library.

“Both Philipp and Rüdiger provided support throughout the day and took the time to demonstrate how to get the best results on various cases, from gingiva formers to

Ben Hogben, director of sales and operations at BioHorizons, said, “I am absolutely delighted at the success of the DEDICAM® training day. It is a fantastic service that can make a big difference to a laboratory’s cost- and timeefficiencies. Everyone who attended said that they were likely to continue to use the service.

As dentistry becomes more reliant upon digital technology, it follows that the industry will become more reliant upon dental technicians who are equipped with the right skills.”

For more information on DEDICAM®, please contact the exclusive UK & Ireland distributor, BioHorizons.

Note: names marked with ® are registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers.

BioHorizons, Richmond House, Oldbury Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8TQ Email: dedicamuk@ biohorizons.com Phone: +44 (0) 1344 752560, Visit: www.camlog.co.uk

MARKETING

MARKETING SIMPLIFIED JAN CLARKE BDS FDSRCPS

MARKETING INTO 2018 – HOW IS IT GOING?

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e are now well into 2018 and hopefully some of you will have been considering the marketing of your business and implementing changes?

One of these area may be your website? Perhaps you have decided to embark on a new design or perhaps you have decided this is the year for a website? If so, that is great news. The Internet has allowed us to reach potential clients like never before. You don’t have to rely on just popping into your local dental practices. With a website you can have as much visibility as the larger dental technical businesses and reach the right clients for you – your ideal client.

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So whether you already have a website or are considering one for the first time, let’s look at some of the factors that really matter with a good quality modern site. Your website will be a considerable investment and you want to get it right first time.

IS YOUR WEBSITE WORKING FOR YOUR DENTAL BUSINESS? For most businesses in the digital era, a website is usually the biggest marketing platform for their particular business which creates that “first impression”. Your dental business is no different!

With many dental technicians having some form

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of web presence it is now more important than ever to have a website that works for you on more than just “yes we have a website” level.

With this in mind it is worth considering how your website looks, and more importantly how it functions for your target client.

In days gone by many businesses have had fairly “home made” types of website, perhaps one or two pages. Whilst less maybe more, this type of site just doesn’t fit the bill anymore, potential clients are a sophisticated lot, yes that’s right, don’t under estimate that first impression. p12

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uWITH YOUR OWN WEBSITE, DOES IT FULFILL THE FOLLOWING? Does your website: • Reflect your business, is professional, clean, make it quite clear what you are all about?

• Make it easy to navigate through, to find the information your clients are looking for?

• Function well and is it quick to load?

• Have full optimisation to ensure your site will be found when searched for?

And finally, is your website • GDC & ICO compliant?

• Kept updated and show that it is up to date?

MARKETING

Over the past few years we have seen a surge in the creation of new websites in the dental technician sector, with ever more functionality and opportunity for potential clients to interact, whether through contact forms, call back requests and even chat windows. But how do we attract interest to get to your website in the first place and what do visitors want to see and read?

Social Media We all know about the power of the new “word of mouth”, or social media, to spread the word about your business, however it is rarely used in a fully effective manner that drives users to your largest marketing asset, your dental business website.

It is now not enough to cram your social media channels with memes and links to “funny” videos. Your social media channels should be as sophisticated as your dental practice website in order to carry your marketing message to your potential clients. In other words use your website as the destination for your social media marketing activities… link posts back to your website.

ON SITE BLOG Do you have a blog on your website?

A blog is a great tool for landing on from your social media channels, enabling you to create unique human interest stories or good quality educational articles for existing and potential clients.

Do not underestimate the power of your blog in search too, it can be a great tool to share your articles via organic search.

SEO Search engine optimisation. This is a bit more technical but the basics, in our experience, are to make sure your site is properly optimised “on page”. It is no secret that Google is constantly changing the goal posts for search, however a solid well optimised site with good on page optimisation should get you to the right place on Google, Bing, Yahoo to name a few!

As ever Google is constantly looking at websites and deciding if the content is relevant, engaging and more importantly of good quality. Google is also now looking at sites on a holistic basis and then deciding how it is weighted. Ensure your site has balanced content, and it loads quickly, especially on mobile devices.

Rank checkers are great online tools to check on search ranking for specific keywords but don’t rely on them solely, sometimes there is no substitute for a real time human search to get a snapshot of how your site is performing, however this can fluctuate on a daily basis!

ANALYTICS Understand how your website is being used.

Granted, you won’t know until your shiny new website is launched, however you can glean all sorts of data from your Google Analytics once it has been up and running for a few weeks.

Google analytics data is invaluable, allowing you to work out what content is working, and more importantly what isn’t working.

A simple look at the user behavior flow will show you your visitor flow through your site.

Make sure you keep an eye on your acquisition data. This data is invaluable to assess engagement of users on your site, pages viewed, time on site, and importantly bounce rates.

Always keep an eye on the bounce rate, if it increases significantly for a given data segment find out why and address the issue, the clues will be in the various analytics data in the various reports available to you.

WHAT NOW FOR YOUR DENTAL WEBSITE AND DENTAL BUSINESS MARKETING? In short your website is possibly your largest marketing asset, and probably your largest marketing investment and expense.

Keep it healthy and it will serve you well: • Make sure it is updated regularly with good quality content.

• Check that your on page optimisation is relevant and concise.

• Write regular blog articles to promote your services, key offerings and think education.

Show dentists how you can use certain laboratory work and even case studies (with appropriate permissions of course).

• Share your content on social media channels.

• Know how your site is performing.

• Check your analytics data regularly.

THE IMPORTANCE OF JOINED UP THINKING I often talk about this, but essentially one marketing activity will have an effect on another.

For instance a good blog posted onto social media will create traffic to your website which will help reduce the bounce rate and help the health of your website, thus allowing better optimisation.

Any printed material you produce should also reflect the content, look and design of your website. Additionally, to avoid confusing your clients when they call your business or call into your premises, the message they receive should be consistent with your digital message.

“Marketing is everything a company does, from how they answer the phone, how quickly and effectively they respond to email, to how they handle accounts payable, to how they treat their employees and customers. Done right, marketing integrates a great product or service with PR, sales, advertising, new media, personal contact.

In other words, marketing is not a discipline or an activity – it is everything a company is – at least if the company wants to be successful.”

B.L. Ochman – President, What’s Next.

As ever I am here to help with any of these issues so do email or connect online with me, I look forward to meeting some of you in cyberspace!

JAN CLARKE BDS FDSRCPS Jan qualified as a dentist in 1988 and worked in the hospital service and then general practice. She was a practice owner for 17 years and worked as an Advisor with Denplan. Jan now works helping dental businesses with their marketing and business strategy.

Web: www.roseand.co Email: jan@roseand.co Facebook: Jan ClarkeTaplin Twitter: @JanetLClarke Instagram: janlclarkeacademy LinkedIn: Jan Clarke BDS FDSRCPS

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LOOKING BACK JOHN WINDIBANK FOA INSIGHT

MEMORIES OF AN OLD CODGER 9 Standing on the shoulders of giants

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Standing on the shoulders of giants", Isaac Newton used the phrase when writing to Robert Hook and that's what we all do as we progress with new knowledge and achievements. I suppose history will decide if I met any on my way through life, but if not giants I met a lot of very talented and interesting people, who certainly gave us and our profession a leg up on the ladder of life.

I won't be writing any biographies but I will certainly give them a mention on my way through my memories. A lot of my career was spent with All the technicians at the Queen technicians who had Victoria Hospital (QV) could see all qualified through that certificated qualifications would an apprenticeship be necessary in the future and they er lm Pa Harry system and they had all took and passed their G&G while I achieved a high level of was there almost all of them with credits. competence as Dental Technicians. They had all read the books and I was also impressed The technicians Sir Terrace Ward had with their general engineering skills, most collected around himself at the QV were an had made their own tools or knew how exceptional lot, Harry Palmer and Ralph Sharp to and their mechanical knowledge was had worked with him at the end of the war with impressive and generally better than mine.

Sergeant R Sharp in charge of the lab. The unit They all talked about the changes they had at the end of the war was still funded by the seen pre war in Technology, where there were military, but with the start of the health service constant attempts to improve the quality of Mr Ward became the senior consultant and the denture base and they had all tried using because Ralph wanted to think about his future Bakelite products and were in on the start of Harry Palmer was appointed Chief Technician, I acrylic, chrome cobalt and stainless steel. will talk about Ralph in a later article.

Harry, who in an earlier life had played violin in the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, saw his role in the lab as an administrator and did much of the planning as the laboratory was expanded and he was very encouraging to me personally. He was an examiner for City & Guilds, ran the Maxillo facial courses for the RAF technicians and was a very able lecturer. One night he was being driven home after lecturing at another hospital when he was stopped at a police check point.

Peering into the back of the car with his torch the policeman observed skulls and bloody photographs and then fatally he said "What's this ere then" and ten minutes later Harry had bombarded the poor man with how important we all were and how lucky the p14 world was to have us.

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JOHN WINDIBANK FOTA Senior Chief Technician at West Hill Hospital, Dartford, Kent. l Represents OTA at CCHADT & Regional Delegate l

PASSED POSTS: Member of the first steering committee that founded the OTA. l Founder Member of the CCHADT l Member of the Whitley Council and Committees for 15 years. l

Dental Technology Representative on the National Health Service Training Advisory Board l Member of the City and Guilds Dental Advisory Board l Member BTEC Dental Technology Higher Awards Advisory Board l Member DTETAB Representing MSF l Teacher of Orthodontics at Maidstone & Medway Technical College. l

www.dentaltechnician.org.uk

Vice Chairman OTA : Chairman CCHADT : Education Officer : Minutes Secretary : First Treasurer l Member of SLC Dental Advisory Committee l l

HONOURS: Fellow of the OTA l AE Dennison Award for services to Dental Technology l

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INSIGHT

uLen Yeats was an RAF technician and they were very keen to keep him in the service and they offered him a course at East Grinstead's QV if he would sign on for more military service.

Len said he looked into the officer’s eyes and said with a smile that it was a very nice offer, but that he would be working at the QV in a few weeks as a senior surgical technician. Len had Errol Flynn looks (Film Star pre and post war) and it was his silver galleon I had seen on Mr Wards desk when I was being interviewed, he had other models about and a motorbike with working suspension totally handmade fascinated me. Len was the messiest technician I ever knew but arguably one of the most able and was the chrome expert in the lab and lectured on it at the time. A multi talented man he could make anything and was also musical, later in his career Len was Chief Technician at Southampton and I worked with him on Central Council where he was secretary and chairman for a while. When Len retired he retrained as a chiropodist and he was much amused that his old consultant was referred to him for treatment.

The Orthodontics in the department was the responsibility of Jim Benford and Robin Hugget. Jim was a very tidy technician clearing up between jobs and he helped me with my Orthodontic practice before I left the lab. Jim was at one time the only technician with a City & Guilds qualification and he later joined the development team at the Chaily Heritage Foundation working on artificial limbs. Both Jim and Robin used heavily adapted and ground pliers when constructing Adams Cribs, which I borrowed at the time, as they were the only suitable pliers available and having the right tools for the job was a good lesson for an apprentice.

Robin Hugget emerged later in my career when I was putting together the program for the OTA Manchester Conference,

and he talked to us on the work he was doing with Orthodontic resins and their properties.

Robin later did his PhD on resins and became Dr. Hugget to the rest of the world and he considered himself a very fortunate man and said he had the best job in the word.

Dr. Hugget got involved in all our efforts to improve things for Dental Technicians and when I asked him why he said, we do what we can to help. The last time I spoke to him shortly before he died he was asking me about a paper I had compiled about the numbers and funding of hospital student dental technology courses. So right to the end of his life Dr. Hugget was trying to help and his influence at meetings was very obvious.

I however will remember him as Robin the quiet spoken man who showed me how to properly sweep the lab, taught me some of my first dance steps and helped me learn to drive.

I clearly remember him clinging on to the hand break of the car for dear life as I drove him round the lanes of Sussex.

The other senior surgical technician working at the lab when I was there was Jerry Sorrel and he is mainly to blame for my introduction into Dental Technology. Jerry was a Boy Scout district commissioner in his spare time, that's where I met him and he got me the introduction for my interview to become an apprentice. Mr Sorrel replaced Harry Palmer when he retired and we worked together setting up the south east branch of Central Council.

The QV Laboratory at that time was divided into two, with the senior surgical technicians in one lab and the, so called, production technicians in the other. Dentures in those days were the bread and butter of dentistry and most of us earned our living by making them and for the previous 150 years they had been the most profitable part of dentistry but for a number of reasons false

teeth had an image problem. Even today older dentist look down on false teeth, but to me I could not see the difference, the guys making the teeth were just as skilful and important as those making an ear or a splint. So before I leave these giants I would like to mention the final four who worked in production.

Don Habgood was knowledgeable and well respected and was the labs story teller. Don had been in the Royal Navy during the war had seen a fair bit of action, and his stories were so good that one of the apprentices that followed me at the QV ran away to sea. Don set up several branches of the Nautical Training Association, and he was helped in this by Len and Gordon all great working colleagues.

Ted Hopper a good sportsman and enthusiastic fisherman later worked as a senior surgical technician and became Chief Technician at Clan Clwyd Hospital. Gordon Jenner was the second apprentice at the lab after the war and later opened the Maxillo Facial Lab at Canterbury. Gordon and I argued most of the time and I remember he took a ÂŁ1 bet off me after picking 3 consecutive winners at a horse race meeting, pretty impressive I thought. Later he attended an Orthodontic course I was running and passed his C&G exam with credit, I found him difficult to sum up but he was certainly a successful man. Peter Wicks was a very precise technician we had some good social times together and we met a lot at OTA Conferences and he was Chief Orthodontic technician at Brighton the last I heard. Chris Davis my senior apprentice went on to work at the Royal Dental Leicester Square until it was closed and I met him there a few times, always enthusiastic about the job he had chosen to do.

REFERENCE The Strange story of False teeth : J Windibank

MEMORIES OF AN OLD CODGER 10 Maxillo facial technicians, new beginnings and moving on

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or most of my working life, my income and employment was generally in the field of Orthodontics, but how I became involved with the development of our profession and its myriad of committees was greatly influenced by Maxillo Facial Technicians.

About the time I was finishing my apprenticeship there was a lot of talk in the Queen Victoria Hospital (QV) laboratory about meetings taking place to form an Association of Surgical Technicians and Ralph Sharp (Senior surgical technician) confirmed this and said that there were talks going on.

Ralph is a difficult man to describe, he was quite brilliant as a technician and was

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an acknowledged expert in his field, if you asked him a question he would answer you with a few examples and then flatten you with logic. Ralph was always polite but I felt he would rather not have to talk to you, he was very critical of anyone who fell short of his standards, which was almost everyone, but he was a great admirer of Stanley Brasier (Surgical Technician & author at St Lawrence, Chepstow). I never knew if Ralph had any interests other than Maxillo facial technology, but in his lovely home he had a very smart laboratory, which he was very proud of and he continued working at home until he was in his eighties, definitely a man who loved his work. Ralph was head hunted by Doug Larter to lecture at the South London college where

www.dentaltechnician.org.uk

to prove a point, Ralph cast a full upper cap splint on a single sprue, to demonstrate that successful work was all about, correct technique. He later returned to QV as Principle Technician and was awarded the A.E. Dennison award for services to Dental Technology at the end of his career.

My time as an apprentice came to an end and I had secured a a job as a technician at Lewisham Hospital, Harry Palmer (Chief Technician at QV) had warned me that the lab there was going to be closed and the work

The conference was a great success with lectures amongst others from Prof. Liddlow & Mr D Glass on cleft palate rehabilitation.

A surgical fracture repair operation was conducted by Mr Ward in the theatres which had excellent viewing balconies. Lectures from technicians included Brian Conroy (Queen Mary's) Ted Turner (Frencham) Paul Smith (Wordsley) Len Yeats (QV), A C Robert's (St Luke's Bradford) and others, with table demonstrations from all round the country. The conference provided a much

needed, platform for Maxillo Facial Technology and proved to be the start of the very successful MFTA then the IMFT and now the IMPT, with contacts all around the world.

As I was approaching retirement I went to see Ralph at his home and we had a long chat about the old days, and at last I understood what for him it had all been about.

Ralph had had a very active war in the Army Dental Corps, he had seen service at Antwerp Hospital field unit and at Oslo using a German Lab. Back in England he served at Leeds, Nottingham and York as a lance corporal doing Maxillo facial work and then as a sergeant at East Grinstead. During this period he had worked closely with the surgeons on a lot of trauma cases, in and out of the theatres and their rehabilitation including patients with the loss of facial features. With these cases rehabilitation in the final stages was down to the technicians, this was pioneering work and they got on with it. This sort of work included a lot of contact with patients and for this in the army you were paid as a sergeant. In the health service you received a surgical technicians grade, equivalent to a senior technician, but to Ralph and other surgical technicians this did not reflect the work and responsibilities they felt they deserved.

Ralph and Brasier had exchanged ideas but knew they needed a forum for an interchange of ideas and had tried to form an association for Maxillo Facial technicians. They wrote to labs and had a meeting in London, they approached unions and the ministry of health but the association fell through due to lack of funding.

When talks begun again Mr. Terence Ward (Consultant Oral Surgeon) advised them to go for high standards, have a regular conference to keep the association viable and to distance

themselves from Dental Technology if they wanted to improve their standing and pay. He also funded the first conference, became their first president and was always a great support.

The MFTA pursued their aims with great vigour and did indeed strive to improve standards, they arranged meetings with the department of health and unions to push their claims and after its internal traumas it is now a cherished and influential part of the establishment.

Efforts to improve their profile was of course common to all the professions active in the health service, as we all tried to improve and obtain better rewards for the staff.

Dental technicians in the health service were well represented on the Whitley Council.

The union USDAW had 5 seats on the staff side of the committee B that represented Dental Technicians at the Whitly Council, the Goldsmiths, NALGO, and NUPE had two seats each. The staff side secretary of the committee was Bill Warrington of the Goldsmiths union and all these unions were represented on the Professional & Technical Staffs Council. Bill was the treasurer of this Council and was also the editor and owner of the Dental Technician magazine. Years before he and others had started the magazine which had grown out of an internal news letter from within the Goldsmiths Union. I only had one brief memorable meeting with Bill where I became forcibly aware of his fiery character, but more of that later.

REFERENCE Whitly Council Papers: Dental Technician: Ralph Sharp Glossary NALGO National Union of Local Government Officers NUGSAT National Union of Gold and Silver and Allied Trades GU Goldsmiths Union (Later NUGSAT) NUPE National Union of Public Employees USDAW Union of Shop Distributive and other Workers

DIGITAL DENTAL

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Really easy to use software interface and scan process so there’s no steep learning

curve. Articulator, Triple-tray and texture scanning are also supported.

PRINT. Choose between two highperformance models. MoonRay D75 is the preferred solution for producing highly detailed crowns, copings, and bridges, and RPDs. MoonRay S100 allows you to quickly print multiple precise dental models, surgical guides or night guards.

Both MoonRay models have easyto-use software and are compatible with a wide range of dental materials, including NextDent resins.

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The ideal solution for those who focus on productivity and costeffectiveness.

Visit www. digitaldental. co.uk or call 0800 756 5642 for more information or see us on stand P30 at the Dentistry/Dental Technology Show, 18/19th May, at the NEC.

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INSIGHT

would come to the QV, but more of that later.

On a visit to the Lab at QV in early 1963 I asked how things were going and was told by Ralph that they had formed a Maxillo Facial Technicians Association (MFTA) and the first Conference was to be at Queen Victoria Hospital in March.

Interested to attend the conference, I was told that it was not for the likes of me and as the new Chairman of the association he would see I could not attend. A bit flabbergasted by his reply (and spilling his tea couldn't be the only reason) I pressed him for reasons and his reply did not make sense to me at the time and he said, only technicians working in proper surgical units could join and attend the conference. Lewisham Hospitals Dental Lab and their catchment area including Woolwich, dealt with a lot of trauma and although we weren't paid as Surgical Technicians we made an awful lot of splints, as in those days of no seat belts in cars, it meant that a lot of passengers in an accident, ended up with a middle third fracture. This however to Ralph, this did not constitute working in a proper unit and anyway he did not believe me. So I did not attend the first MFT conference and although I became Maxillo Facial qualified, I did not join MFTA for many years.

GC UK LIMITED SEE ALL THE LATEST GC INNOVATIONS AT DTS

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GC Initial LiSi Press is a revolutionary pressable ceramic which combines unparalleled strength with exceptional aesthetics. Best of all it is faster to process, optimized for use with both GC Initial LiSi veneering ceramic and lustre pastes, and leaves virtually no reaction layer using the Lisi spray, making the laboratory more productive.

GC WILL BE EXHIBITING ALL THEIR LATEST INNOVATIONS ON STAND A10 AT DTS group of top Dental Technicians, Gradia® Plus is a modular composite system for indirect restorations which sets a new standard in lifelike mixing and layering of shades.

Based on the latest ceramic polymer technology this advanced, high-strength, nanohybrid, light-curing composite offers brightness, translucency, chroma and a natural opalescence in the oral environment that is similar to porcelain. Its unique modular concept has fewer standard shades, but uses a more individual mixing and layering approach making it more compact and cost-effective. Nevertheless it meets all the demands on indications or techniques used from classic or multi-chromatic build-up to the monolithic approach.

GC Initial LiSi Press is a high strength lithium disilicate ingot with High Density Micronization (HDM) Technology. This proprietary technology provides unsurpassed physical properties while delivering the most aesthetic pressed ceramic option on the market.

DIGITAL DENTISTRY

GC have further enhanced the Initial range with the launch of their new Initial Spectrum Stains, Enamel Opal Booster and two new IQ One Body Lustre Paste NF Effect Shades.

For further information visit Stand A10 at the DTS or contact GC UK Ltd on 01908 218999, e-mail info@gcukltd.co.uk or visit www.gceurope.com

Developed in close co-operation with a

GC INITIAL CERAMICS GO “ON TOUR” WITH PRACTICAL MASTER COURSES ALL OVER EUROPE

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This year, GC Initial is celebrating its 15th anniversary. This unique all-round ceramic system offers Dental Technicians a high degree of flexibility and a wide range of applications, from monochrome to bio-aesthetic restorations.

During the coming 15 months, hands-on courses will be given all around Europe by renowned Dental Technicians. GC would like to invite you to celebrate with them and join them on "GC Initial on Tour" for an unforgettable experience!

This unique concept lies at the heart of its success; Dental Technicians who have experienced working with GC Initial are particularly fond of it because of its optimised technique tolerance and ease of use, since an identical colour system and processing technique is used for all types of ceramics. This ensures a high reproducibility and reliability, which will increase effectiveness and reduce time and costs.

From economical to high-end solutions: explore all the possibilities What is more, the GC Initial product portfolio – from IQ One Body to Initial Expert – enables Dental Laboratories to calculate differentiated prices and exercise

Let’s Initialise together!

Are you curious about GC Initial and do you want to experience this unique, intuitive ceramic concept yourself? Or are you already working with Initial, but you want to discuss day-to-day challenges and exchange useful tips and tricks? Meet the experts and get inspired!

Check for upcoming courses on the “GC Initial on Tour” website: www.initialontour. com. Select your location, lecturer and/or topic of choice and come ‘Initialise’ with us! Don’t wait too long to subscribe - the number of participants is limited in order to provide every Technician with an optimal hands-on experience.

Fifteen years ago, the GC Initial line emerged from a bold and aspirational vision: to enable the Dental Technician to obtain the desired outcome for each restoration with the same systematic approach, whatever restoration type was created or process used and without any compromises in quality.

Each GC Initial ceramic is adapted to meet the needs of its particular fabrication process and framework, such as its coefficient of thermal expansion, adhesion and shading.

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a high degree of flexibility. For each case, the grade of individualization can be adapted to the demands and needs of each client without having to make sacrifices in terms of material quality. Pink aesthetics are also covered with a wide range of gum shades, which is particularly interesting for Laboratories that deal with implant cases.

For further information please contact GC UK Ltd on 01908 218999, e-mail info@ gcukltd.co.uk or visit www.gceurope.com

www.dentaltechnician.org.uk

CHOOSING A DENTAL LABORATORY

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dentist would probably have some basic criteria in mind as to what he is looking for in a dental laboratory.

Fast turn around times, reasonable prices, and reliable quality might be at the top of your list. From what most dental labs choose to highlight on their websites. These are the benchmarks that suppliers deem most important to you as well, and ones that can possibly be met from anywhere in the world – hence the rise of dental lab outsourcing in recent years.

Arguments to and for the outsourcing of dental lab work have been made and discussed in various articles, blogs and dental publications.

It’s been put forward that outsourcing dental lab work overseas may be detrimental to our local industry, and that we can’t really be sure about the quality of work or material we get when placing orders for crowns and bridges from halfway around the world. Then the flip side of the issue comes up: with all the economic difficulties in the UK today, and prices of local goods and labour ever rising, how do we expect dental practices to keep their heads above the water without turning to suitable money-saving methods such as delegating some of the work they need done to cheaper suppliers?

All these arguments raise a valid point, but in the noise from both sides of this debate, a more vital issue is lost – no matter where you choose to have your lab work done, isn’t the kind of relationship you have with your lab always as important?

As easy as it may sound for simple restoration work to be sent off and made without the need for anything other than a lab ticket, there are of course more complicated cases that can benefit from another critical eye, and restorations that can’t really be crafted to the best standards without an actual discussion. On the off-chance that you mistakenly omit a seemingly negligible but vital piece of information from the lab ticket, the lab you outsourced to based in a different country might not be able to get in touch with you to double check the facts handed to them.

The loss can be even greater when a restoration won’t fit at all and needs to be sent back. Then you not only lose the chair time, you lose your patient’s trust as well, because as far as the patient is concerned you, the dentist, made the mistake – they don’t know that the lab you chose to work with is responsible for the unwanted outcome.

In an ideal world, what every dentist should be getting from their dental lab is this: A technical manager whom you can bounce ideas back and forth with and cares about the end result of your treatment. Maintaining the sense the technician is on exactly the same page as you when it comes to ideal treatment outcome. Importantly the feeling that you’re not creating the restoration on your own, that the lab you choose to work with views your patient as someone for whom they are partly responsible,. In an ideal world, you should be able to call your dental lab with regards to an order you’ve placed, and have a helpful discussion with an experienced professional who can give you some input on the work you’re planning. This of course is the ideal, and something that might not be entirely possible when you take factors such as economics into consideration.

With the work dental labs provide being such a huge part of treatment outcome, it really pays to have a lab you can work with, not just send work to. Though your initial impression may be that finding such a lab with expertise and quality assurance in the UK will cost your practice way too much monetarily, you should be aware that there are options available out there today. There are dental labs in the UK that provide expertise, personal service and unparalleled quality for economical prices. There are many examples of helpful experienced laboratories managed and run by the working technicians who enjoy communicating with their clinical clients.

For those who do deem the monetary advantage of outsourcing to be more important than the dentist-lab relationship, it may be enough for you to send an order off and get the restorations back at a cheaper price. But you also end up losing out when you receive a less than perfect crown or bridge from a supplier whose communication with you may have been somewhat sparse. You may have saved money on the product, but if you had to spend an extra half hour trying to make that crown fit properly into your patient’s mouth then you would have lost a considerable amount on additional chair time anyway.

www.dentaltechnician.org.uk

Finding a lab you’re happy to work with is a delicate balance of economics and gain. Dental laboratories are responsible for far too much of the treatment to be regarded as mere vendors to your practice, but at the same time you need to find a lab whose prices you can realistically afford over a longer period of time.

Thankfully, there are options out there that can give you the kind of service you ought to receive at better prices, making the possibility of an actual working partnership with your dental lab possible once more.

For any additional information please call 0800 138 6255 or email customerservice@sparkledentallabs.com or visit: www.sparkledentallabs.com

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TECHNICAL

Some dentists seem to have forgotten that in order for effective dentistry to be performed, dental labs should be full practice partners to those requiring their services, and not just mere vendors selling a product needed to complete a treatment. Considering that coming up with excellent dental restoration work is the shared responsibility of both technicians and dentists, shouldn’t you seek a more personal working relationship with your dental lab of choice?

Of course, there may be some dental labs outside the UK who do offer an effective, personal service. But more often than not, if you choose to outsource your dental lab requirements overseas, communication is unfortunately limited to lab tickets and emails. This lack of deeper communication might lead to small mistakes and even big mishaps in the end.

GDC’S PATIENT AND PUBLIC SURVEY REVEALS SATISFACTION REMAINS VERY HIGH

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New figures, released today by the General Dental Council (GDC), reveal overall satisfaction with UK dental care remains very high among those who visit the dentist at least once a year, at 97%. Perhaps even more encouraging for the sector, within this, the number, who say they are ‘very satisfied’ has increased by six percentage points over the last five years to 67%.

DENTAL NEWS

However, the findings, which are part of the GDC’s 2017 annual Patient and Public Survey, exposed young people (aged between 25-34) and those over 65 are more likely to be dissatisfied. In addition, patients from an ethnic minority are significantly less likely to be very satisfied with their care than those who are white, at 53% and 69% respectively.

Guy Rubin, Research Manager at the GDC, said “The results of our research are incredibly useful in helping to better understand public views, particularly in relation to those within different demographics. The data also shows wide variances in perceptions of importance of misconduct in professionals’ private lives, which is very relevant to our ongoing work to better define ‘seriousness’ as a concept.”

Fitness to practice should be reserved for only the most serious of complaints and the GDC is working to more clearly define ‘seriousness’. Misconduct and appropriate regulatory action in situations of poor care or

wrongdoing were explored in the survey and this exposed mixed views about the importance of dental professionals’ behaviour in personal time.

However, participants were far more likely to agree that more severe regulatory action should be taken for instances of poor care during treatment which results in serious side effects. For example, more than six in ten (63%) thought that being removed from the register or suspended was the right action where a dentist has prescribed the wrong medication, resulting in hospitalisation, whereas half (47%) thought that no action should be taken against a dental nurse charged with drunk and disorderly behavior, on a night out.

Some behaviour in personal time was viewed differently however. Nearly half of those surveyed thought that a dentist should be removed from the register or suspended (46%) for posting racist comments on their Facebook page. One survey participant said: “As with any person in a professional role that you place trust in, they are there to treat you and are unable to do that objectively if they are discriminative against certain groups.”

The survey also found that on average, seven in 10 people (69%) visit the dentist each year but that ratio significantly drops for people from social grades D/E (55%). These levels are largely unchanged from previous years.

THE QUESTION OF REGISTRATION. IS IT REAL?

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The recent article The U.K. Dental devices not regulated by the GDC (from I.A.A. Finder in the February issue) regarding the questionable ability of the GDC and the MHRA to actually ensure the suitability of dental devices to patients. Especially those imported from overseas. As I stated the articles were forwarded to the DTA and the DLA for their comment. The DLA (who represents the laboratory owner members) responded efficiently and quickly saying they were seeking further advice as to the content as it did not meet with their understanding of some points. I am sure in time I will receive a full reply. The DTA (which represents the

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interests of individual technicians members) did not reply? Either they do not have an answer or are unwilling to share their understanding of the subject. The purpose of sending copies to these organisations was to draw their attention to the potentially comic situation of “pretending to be registered”.

Which in effect we are.

Interestingly one of the organisations, I know not which one, sent a copy of the pre-published article to the GDC. The GDC contacted me to have the article changed, with some suggestions of changes. After discussion with the author I decided not to change the article

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and published. We do seem to have a very unclear area around registration and it needs to be cleared up. We are either registered, in the patients and professions interest or we are not. If registration is to be what it purports to be the whole thing needs changing. We need a meeting of minds from these representative bodies. (DTA & DLA) and all other bodies, that represent interest groups within technical dentistry and clear discussion with the GDC and MHRA. I look forward to response from all organisations named above and comments from other groups within technical dentistry U.K. and Ireland. I will keep my readers informed of progress.

RESEARCH INDICATES A POTENTIAL STAIN FREE BRACKET CEMENT

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Orthodontic brackets often leave white stains on teeth as a result of enamel demineralization caused by bacterial proliferation in the adhesive area, especially when accompanied by poor oral hygiene.

Researchers from Valencia (Spain), London (England) and Sul (Brazil) have performed research to develop adhesive materials that will prevent white stains from appearing on the teeth of individuals who use brackets.

BACTERICIDAL AND REMINERALISATION PROPERTIES The study compares three experimental dental adhesives which contain a bioactive nano-mineral called halloysite and whose nanotubes have been loaded with triclosan, a strong antibacterial and fungicidal agent in different concentrations: 5, 10 and 20 per cent. The research compares the three new, experimental biomaterials’ polymerisation properties, their antibacterial strength and bioactive properties, which not only prevent demineralization of the teeth, but also promote remineralisation.

The three experimental materials tested in the laboratory have demonstrated an ability to stop bacterial proliferation in the 24 hours following

One of the most undesirable side effects of comprehensive orthodontic treatment is white spot lesions (WSLs). Despite many attempts at prevention of WSLs, its prevalence remains very high on de-bonding. There are many agents like fluoride toothpastes, fluoride varnishes, and fluoride mouth rinses, and casein phosphorpeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPPACP) is frequently used for the re-mineralization of WSLs. However, there is no consensus in the literature with respect to the success rates of these agents (Singh et al, 2016). http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/globaldental-ceramics-market-global-industryanalysis-and-forecast-till-2027-925255.htm

A TO C IT´S EASY Sue Karran DCP reviews the options for screw-retained custom abutments

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For a few years now, many dental labs have focused on using a certain CADCAM production method for screwretained custom abutments. This system, call it system ‘A’, has delivered a reasonable result in many cases but has limitations and we all know what really differentiates labs is their ability to continually improve production quality.

Today, even the highest-performing labs can boost their performance still further by revisiting and reassessing the processes and systems they use to deliver CADCAM implant abutments.

Now, let’s talk about system ‘C’, or Createch as it is better known. Createch’s CADCAM custom abutments are created using the very latest technology, which includes performance measurement and management based on precise data. Sensors monitor the entire production process, from the inspection of incoming materials through manufacturing and shipment of the final abutment, allowing labs to benefit from up-todate production data, training and reporting.

OVER 600 IMPLANT CONNECTIONS The Createch portal with its responsive, customised interface ensures that the right employees get access to the right information and tools at the right time, simplifying and accelerating the production system for custom abutments and allowing the lab manager to see current and historical data on file. This system helps labs collaborate more effectively with Createch for the greater good of all and delivers

an end-to-end view of the whole process, leading to greater communication and sharing of information.

Createch can create over 600 implant connections and delivers an optimal emergence profile to deliver a perfectly natural result.

• Available for over 600 implant connections • High quality custom abutments in a range of materials • State-of-the-art milling process to ensure highest precision and quality • Reliable high-quality service • Training and support to deliver the best When it comes to CADCAM custom abutments, Createch’s options can be screwed directly to the implant and individually designed to include a personalised emergence profile.

The options include titanium abutments for cemented crowns, gold titanium abutments for superior aesthetics and cobalt-chrome abutments for applying ceramic directly. Additionally, cobalt-chrome abutments have the possibility of incorporating a 20° angulated bore.

These customised abutments are controlled and executed entirely by Createch Medical, delivering optimised results and a guarantee of quality. Createch Medical is leading the sector towards the digital age and their expertise in cutting-edge technologies allows them to work with state-of-the-art processes such us digital impressions and virtual model building.

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QUALITY ALL THE WAY Established in 2006, Createch Medical are accredited to ISO 9001 and ISO 13485. ISO 9001 ensures that the company has a strong customer-focus and processes that deliver continual improvement, helping to ensure that customers get consistent, good quality products and services. ISO 13485 is a quality management system specifically related to medical devices and related services and ensures that prostheses made by Createch Medical are of the highest standards. Additionally, Createch are also accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). UKAS is recognised by government, to assess against internationally agreed standards, organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services and this accreditation is a highly prized accolade for any business.

YOUR TOTAL SOLUTIONS PARTNER Whatever the chosen implant system used, Createch offers the widest range of unique and fully customisable CADCAM solutions that deliver the most exacting fit. This is coupled with training and support to help labs make the most of this exciting technology.

To find out more about how your lab could benefit from working with Createch visit www.createchmedical.com

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DENTAL NEWS

Professors Salvatore Sauro and Santiago Arias at the Odontology Department of Valencia’s Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera, in collaboration with the King’s College London Dental Institute and the Universidade Federaldo Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), have compared the efficacy of three new types of experimental adhesives with bactericidal and enamel remineralisation properties which could prevent the appearance of these white stains around

the brackets. This research has been published in the Journal of Dentistry scientific magazine, one of the most prestigious in the field on an international level.

their use, but only the one with the highest concentration of triclosan, at 20 per cent, has maintained this property after 72 hours. As far as the re-mineralising effect, all three tested materials have proven to be effective two weeks after their use in dental enamel samples submerged in experimental saliva.

ALL ARE WELCOME TO THE DENTAL PROFESSIONALS CONFERENCE IN SEPTEMBER 2018

T

his will be the first ever dental professional’s annual conference hosted by the Orthodontic Technicians Association (OTA), it will be held in association with FutureLabs, the Dental Technologists Association (DTA) and the Society of British Dental Nurses (SBDN), held at the Park Plaza Hotel in Nottingham on the 14th & 15th of September 2018 everyone and anyone working in the dental field are welcome to attend.

Fiona Elwood

Jutta Rflfing

George Antonopoulos

Kash Qureshi

Lesley Sharpe

Nick Larry Browne Miedzianowski

Speakers confirmed so far include: Lesley Sharpe, Kash Qureshi, Julianne Kumm, John Brown, Nicolas Miedzianowski-Sinclair, Jutta Ruffing, Larry Browne, George Antonopoulos, Fiona Ellwood and many more...

DENTAL NEWS

The conference will unofficially begin on the evening of Thursday 13th for those who wish to join the OTA council, representatives from FutureLabs, the DTA and the SBDN at an exclusive event to be held in the ‘Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem’ which is just around the corner from the conference hotel.

The ‘Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem’ in Nottingham, claims to be the oldest pub in Britain, reputing to have been established in 1189AD, the pub building is built into the Castle Rock upon which Nottingham Castle is also built. It is also attached to several caves carved out of the soft sandstone of Castle Rock, which were originally used as a brewhouse for the castle, and which appear to date from around the time of the construction of the castle in 1068 AD. The conference itself will be a two day event, offering up to 10 hours of verifiable CPD, it will start in earnest on Friday 14th in the morning with a choice of four hands-on workshops with enough time for each delegate to attend two workshops of their choice.

Also if you like a spot of golf and wish to forgo the Friday morning workshop sessions, there will be a golf competition held at a local course. More details coming soon...

The afternoon session on Friday will offer attendees the opportunity to tailor their own conference programme with a total of sixteen different lectures to choose from. These lectures will cover a variety of subjects from within the field of orthodontics, fixed and removable prosthodontics, and dental nursing.

The days programme on Friday will finish with

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a drinks reception and buffet dinner with plenty of time for networking and relaxing with friends.

ceremony on the Saturday evening, with live music from local band ‘Wayward Brotherhood’.

Saturday morning will be the start of a more combined ‘team’ day, but still offering choices in the morning, there will be a choice of attending a workshop session, a combined tech session or a nurse’s programme followed by a fully integrated team lecture programme in the afternoon. The OTA will also be holding its AGM at the end of the days lecture programme.

For details of how to apply and for more details as they are revealed go to https://ota-uk.org/ota-conference/ For anything else please contact the conference organiser Andrea Johnson directly at chair@ota.-uk.org

The conference will officially end with the much loved Black Tie Dinner and awards

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The early bird deadline is 31st August 2018, but places are limited, so to guarantee your place at this fantastic event get your applications in as soon as you can.

EFFICIENCY AND PRECISION IN THE LABORATORY LAB OWNER, PHIL REDDINGTON, KNOWS ALL TOO WELL THE IMPORTANCE OF EFFICIENCY AND PRECISION IN THE LABORATORY. HERE HE SHARES WITH READERS SOME OF THE WAYS IN WHICH HE AND HIS TEAM WORK IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE BEST POSSIBLE RESULTS, TO THE BENEFIT OF BOTH PATIENTS AND THE BUSINESS

“

ARTICULATING SUCCESS So, back to my story about chasing articulators around the lab. Fairly recently, technology has caught up with my desire not to need an articulator specific to each case. Not only that, the latest engineering expertise also means the dentists and I don’t have to send articulators back and forth with patients’ models.

Of course, experience teaches us how to manage our time as effectively as possible to minimise the challenges we face and subsequently eliminate - as far as possible any potential repercussions.

This revelation came to me by accident.

We do some work for the Dawson Academy UK and on one trip there, Dr Ian Buckle asked me if we had a Denar 300. When I said no, he gave us one of his to try out. I immediately knew this was something we couldn’t be without in the lab.

By way of an example, one significant challenge we used to face in our relatively large premises was finding the right articulator for each case. It’s no joke searching over three floors for ‘articulator 4’!

At one point there was no suitable solution to this problem for us, but times have changed and so has our need to run up and down the stairs in manic pursuit of articulators – but more on that later.

A PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVE Firstly, it’s worth considering what a lack of efficiency and precision in the lab means in reality. Without these two fundamentals you may well find yourself struggling with all the different demands of running a business: keeping up with the bills; producing a good level of work; staff retention; and, perhaps most significantly, keeping yourself fit, worry free and focused on the development and growth of the business.

On the flipside, at Beever we have put a great deal of effort into developing an effective working relationship with our dentistry partners over the years, in part because we have built up a reputation for producing great technical work.

However, a significant element of achieving this is focusing on effective communication with our partners. Whilst establishing a business relationship we always aim to be on friendly terms, but it is also essential to engender a mutual understanding of your business aims and the support needed so talking and sharing information should therefore benefit both parties.

The happy outcome from all this, is greater accuracy, resulting in fewer remakes; the net result is efficiency and precision – also known as time and cost savings!

I found that the 300 series is so stable that the models all transfer across perfectly with absolute precision. No more running up and down the stairs in search of ‘articulator 4’, no more couriering articulators with models at an exorbitant cost, as long as the dentist has a Denar 300, too. Within a matter of months, I found myself the owner of five, because it facilitates that much sought-after efficiency and precision in the lab! Now I wonder how we ever managed without them.”

The Denar 300 is distributed solely in the UK by Prestige Dental. For further information or a visit from one of our Product Specialists, please contact Jeni Ball 07341 127608, email: jenniferb@prestige-dental.co.uk web: www.prestigedental.co.uk

PHIL REDDINGTON l Phil Reddington is the owner and technical director at Beever Dental Technology, based in Leeds, working with private dentists. Key to their continued success is on-going investment and keeping up with new technology in order to provide the best possible service and products to clients.

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21

TECHNICAL

Every dental professional I’ve ever spoken to, from the dentist to the technician, has one fundamental in common – lack of time. As healthcare providers, we are so focused on providing the best possible care to our patients, that sometimes efficiency suffers in the pursuit of precision. And at some time in our careers many of us will, sadly, fail on both counts.

YOUR GUIDE TO ECPD FOR AUGUST 1ST 2018 ECPD - TYPES OF ACTIVITY THAT CAN BE INCLUDED

Continuing professional development (CPD) describes the variety of activities that you can do to maintain and build your skills and knowledge in your field of practice. Whilst you may find that non-verifiable CPD is beneficial to your learning needs, you only need to declare your verifiable CPD to the GDC. Please refer to section 5.3 on the evidence required to show that your activity is verifiable.

Examples of types of verifiable CPD may include (but are not exclusive to): • Courses and lectures; • Training days; • Hands-on clinical training or workshops; • Clinical audit; • Attending conferences; • E-learning activity

DENTAL NEWS

The GDC recommends that you carry out a diverse range of activities, with an emphasis on opportunities for discussions and interactive learning with fellow professionals.

Changes to ECPD due to affect all registered Technicians from August 1ST this year.

RECORD PLAN DO RECORD You must do at least 10 hours in any 2 year period PLANNING CPD FOR YOUR FIELD OF PRACTICE • The CPD rules state that you must choose CPD that includes activities relevant to each field of practice you work in during your CPD cycle.

• Your CPD may support you to maintain current skills, or develop new skills within your current or future field of practice.

• Your field of practice encompasses a variety of aspects about your work as a professional beyond just your scope of practice.

recommend that you do at least five hours in every CPD cycle. This applies only to those who undertake radiography. If you are a dental technician you can do CPD in materials and equipment instead of radiography and radiation protection: at least five hours in every CPD cycle.

You should consider the regular skills, practice and professional roles that you undertake.

We also recommend that you keep up to date by doing CPD in the following areas: • Legal and ethical issues; • Complaints handling; • Oral Cancer: Early detection; • Safeguarding children and young people; and • Safeguarding vulnerable adults.

• We make these recommendations because we believe regularly keeping up to date in these topics contributes to patient safety

• If you work in a specialist practice or laboratory, have a professionally focused area of work, or have educational roles, this should be reflected in your CPD planning and activity; REFLECTION • The aim of reflection is for you to think about the outcomes of your CPD activity, focusing on what you have learned from the activity and how this influences your daily practice and duties.

• The enhanced CPD scheme is not prescriptive about how you reflect, or how you record that reflection has taken place.

• For example, you might like to reflect on your CPD and PDP at the end of each year, by writing a summary of your reflections.

THE GDC'S RECOMMENDED TOPICS • To help and support you in your CPD choices, the GDC has identified some CPD topics that will relate to many dental professionals in their field of practice. These are highly recommended to do as part of the minimum verifiable CPD requirement: • Medical Emergencies: at least 10 hours in every CPD cycle –and we recommend that you do at least two hours of CPD in this every year; • Disinfection and Decontamination: we recommend that you do at least five hours in every CPD cycle; and • Radiography and radiation protection: we

Types of activity that can be included: • Whilst you may find that non-verifiable CPD is beneficial to your learning needs, you only need to declare your verifiable CPD to the GDC • Examples of types of verifiable CPD may include (but are not exclusive to): - Courses and lectures; - Training days; - Hands-on training or workshops; - Clinical audit; - Attending conferences; - E-learning activity.

The GDC recommends that you carry out a diverse range of activities, with an emphasis on opportunities for discussions and your annual CPD statement.

Your annual CPD statement includes: • A declaration of the number of hours of CPD you have completed during your CPD year or, if you have not completed any hours in that year, then confirmation that you have completed zero hours; • A declaration that you have kept a CPD record; • A declaration that you have a plan (PDP) in place; • A declaration that the CPD you have completed and recorded is relevant to your current or intended field of practice; • A declaration that your statement is full and accurate.

• You can make your statement up to 28 days after your CPD year has ended.

YOUR END OF CYCLE STATEMENT • A declaration of the total number of hours of CPD you have undertaken in your five year cycle; • A declaration that you have kept a CPD record; • A declaration that you have kept a plan (PDP); • A declaration that the CPD you have completed and recorded is relevant to your current or intended field of practice; • A declaration that, your statement is full and accurate.

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TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS Prior to 1 January 2022 for dentists and 1 August 2022 for DCPs and depending on where you are in your cycle, you may have to complete CPD based on both the 2008 CPD scheme and enhanced CPD scheme to be compliant at the end of your cycle. A pro-rata approach will be applied, taking into account the requirements of the old and new scheme. After you renew your registration for 2018, you will be able to log onto eGDC where an individual calculation has been done for each dental professional to show you what your specific requirements are over the transition period.

For a general idea of how the transition period works, please use our online transition tool. Once your current cycle ends, you will start the next cycle on the enhanced CPD scheme only.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (PDP) For the GDC, your PDP must include: 1) The CPD you plan to undertake during your cycle, which must include CPD that is relevant to your current or intended field(s) of practice; 2) The anticipated development outcomes that will link to each activity; 3) The timeframes in which you expect to complete your CPD over your cycle.

You might find that your field of practice or learning needs change, and so you should adjust your plan and activity accordingly. The GDC encourages you to review your plan annually as it relates to your role and daily work.

TRANSITION TOOL

LOG OF COMPLETED ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY LOG Name: Jo Bloggs Registration No. 153256 Cycle Period.

Date: Hours Completed: Evidence of Verification: Evidence of Verifiable CPD: Title of Provider and Content: CPD activity: Development Outcomes: 1. How did this benefit my daily work 2. Certificate: Harley St Study Club: David Smith: Vanishing Dental Technicians: eCPD: T Levels: Outcome: 1. Understood the changing role of dental technicians and why numbers are decreasing.

2. Learned about eCPD and how I must comply with the new CPD rules.

3. Learned about 'T Levels' and discussed if they are appropriate for dental technology

Below is an example taken from the GDC website

Linking to the Standards for the Dental Team through development outcomes THE EVIDENCE REQUIRED FROM EACH ACTIVITY • As part of your CPD record you must also obtain evidence of having completed the CPD activity.

• The evidence from the provider must include the following details: - The subject, learning content, aims and objectives; - The anticipated GDC development outcomes of the CPD;

Lot’s more information available here: https://gdc.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/ecpdtool

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DENTAL NEWS

YOUR CYCLE PERIOD https://gdc.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/ecpdtool

- The date(s) that the CPD was undertaken; - The total number of hours of CPD undertaken; - The name of the professional who has participated in the CPD activity; - That the CPD is subject to quality assurance, with the name of the person or body providing the quality assurance; - Confirmation from the provider that the information contained in it is full and accurate.

• It should also include your registration number.

THE DENTAL TECHNICIAN MARKETPLACE DENAR 300: STREAMLINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRACTICE AND LAB w The need to transport articulators with models between the dental practice and lab costs both businesses time and money, as well as being a potential source of stress.

So, how would you feel if you no longer needed to do it? You need wonder no more, because the Denar 300 series of articulators by Whipmix allows that dream to become a reality.

VITA: EVEN CLOSER TO YOU: YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER IN THE UK

COMPANY NEWS

w VITA has been the reliable partner of technicians and dentists around the globe for over 90 years, providing both materials and technology. VITA’s aspiration is to inspire

PLASTERSAFE HALF PRICE OFFER/ DENTISTRY SHOW 2018 w PlasterSafe is just one of the many Kemdent products on display at the Dentistry show 2018 stand F02. Take advantage of the half price offer exclusive to the Dentistry show.

Buy 1 x 5L PlasterSafe for only £13.20+ VAT! PlasterSafe is a plaster solvent and tray cleaner. It is a ready to use, alcohol free solution that aids the safe removal of dental plaster and stone from the fitted surface of dentures and the hard to reach areas.

PlasterSafe is a water based solution with no harmful chemicals. It is easy to use, just

With factory-set accuracy within 20 microns, if both the practice and the lab are using the Denar 300, each party’s articulator can stay safely ensconced on its workbench.

‘When I tried the 300, I knew this was something we needed. The consistent 20-micron repeatability saves us time, and we no longer need to send the articulator, along with the models, to the practice when the dentist also has a 300,’ said Phil Reddington, owner and technical director at Beever Dental Technology, and Denar 300 convert.

and support professionals to be able to deliver the most esthetic, functional and long-lasting restorations with an efficient protocol to their patients. To accomplish this mission, VITA provides precise communication means between the dental lab and practice, based on an accurate digital and visual tooth shade determination. With its high quality, metal-free restoration materials and reliable equipment for shade reproduction, VITA enables technicians and dentists to achieve clinical and economic

For more information, contact sole distributors Prestige Dental - Jeni Ball 07341 127608, email: jenniferb@prestige-dental.co.uk

success. Get in touch with your ‘perfect match’ on Facebook or get more detailed information from our representatives and on www.vita-zahnfabrik.com VITA Specialist - Mr. Shane Kent Mobile: +44 7387 0879 82 Email: s.kent@vita-zahnfabrik.com Order Department & Customer Service Mrs. Nicole Vogt Phone: +49 7761 562-289 Email: n.vogt@vita-zahnfabrik.com

remove any excess plaster or alginate, then immerse your trays in PlasterSafe. This can either be done rapidly in an Ultrasonic bath or soaked for as long as it is required. The plaster dissolves and the trays can be rinsed quickly and efficiently in clean water.

PlasterSafe is cost effective, saves time and it is the ideal safe solution for the busy dental laboratory. At such a low cost it is a priority purchase at the dentistry show 2018.

For further information on PlasterSafe contact Kemdent on 01793 770256.

Email sales@kemdent.co.uk or visit our website www.kemdent.co.uk

ACTEON GROUP ACQUIRES PRODONT HOLLIGER w At the heart of France and a region known worldwide for its metal and in particular its blades and knives, Prodont Holliger manufactures reliable, leading-edge tools that are designed by dentist for dentists and technicians for technicians.

Carried by a passionate team of skilled engineers, their unique competence knows no bounds and rigor and precision are key words in every aspect of R&D, production and delivery.

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Explore the wide range of dental laboratory products from handheld instruments and discs for working with all types of materials, to the new Protorch 4, one of the most reliable and constant burners on the market, with a precise and

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adjustable flame and automatic piezo ignition.

For more information, a product catalogue or demonstration, call Acteon UK on 01480 477307 or email info.uk@acteongroup.com

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FREE VERIFIABLE CPD

As before if you wish to submit your CPD online it will be free of charge. Once our web designers give it the all clear there will be a small charge.

This will be less than the CPD submitted by post. This offer is open to our subscribers only.

To go directly to the CPD page please go to https://dentaltechnician.org.uk/dental-technician-cpd.

You will normally have one month from the date you receive your magazine before being able to submit your CPD either online or by post.

If you have any issues with the CPD please email us cpd@dentaltechnician.org.uk

4 Hours Verifiable CPD in this issue LEARNING AIM

The questions are designed to help dental professionals keep up to date with best practice by reading articles in the present journal covering Clinical, Technical, Business, Personal development and related topics, and checking that this information has been retained and understood.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES REVIEW: n Strength of Zirconia n Implant planning n Customised Special trays n Business of Management

LEARNING OUTCOME

By completing the Quiz successfully you will have confirmed your ability to understand, retain and reinforce your knowledge related in the chosen articles.

Correct answers from February DT Edition:

CPD

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VERIFIABLE CPD - MARCH 2018 1. Your details First Name: ............................................. Last Name: .......................................................Title: ...............

Address: ............................................................................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................... Postcode: ..............................................

Telephone: .....................................................Email: ................................................. GDC No: .................

2. Your answers. Tick the boxes you consider correct. It may be more than one.

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7

Question 8

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

B

B

B

B

B

B

B

B

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

D

Question 9

Question 10 Question 11

Question 12

Question 13

Question 14

Question 15

Question 16

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

A

B

B

B

B

B

B

B

B

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

D

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D

D

Q1.

B.

Q2.

C.

Q3.

D.

Q4.

D.

Q5.

C.

Q6.

C.

.....................................................................................................................................................

Q7.

B.

Q8.

C.

As of April 2016 issue CPD will carry a charge of £10.00. per month.

Or an annual fee of £99.00 if paid in advance.

Q9.

A.

You can submit your answers in the following ways:

Q10.

C.

Q11.

C.

1.

2.

Q12.

D.

Q13.

C.

Q14.

C.

Q15.

D.

Q16

B.

3. Evaluation: Tell us how we are doing with your CPD Service. All comments welcome.

.....................................................................................................................................................

Via email: cpd@dentaltechnician.org.uk By post to: THE DENTAL TECHNICIAN, PO BOX 430, LEATHERHEAD KT22 2HT

Payment by cheque to: The Dental Technician Magazine Limited. Natwest Sort Code 516135 A/C No 79790852 You are required to answer at least 50% correctly for a pass. If you score below 50% you will need to re-submit your answers.

Answers will be published in the next issue of The Dental Technician. Certificates will be issued within 60 days of receipt of correct submission.

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VERIFIABLE CPD AS YOU NEED IT VIA THE DENTAL TECHNICIAN OPINION. SIR PAUL BERESFORD Q1. What does HPV indicate?

A. Happy Party Visit.

B. Heavily Private Visit.

C. Human Papilloma Virus.

D. Human Papilla Virus.

Q9.

A. B. C. D.

Q10. What percentage of ethnic minority patients were very satisfied with their care?

A. 74%.

B. 81% C. 53% D. 69%

Q2.

A. B. C. D.

Which 4 Types of HPV are most dangerous?

Types 12 14 7 11.

Types 17 19 9 13.

Types 12 14 21 7.

Types 16 18 1 11.

Q3.

A. B. C. D.

What percentage of head and neck cancer can be linked to HPV? 43% to 67%.

35% to 70%.

41% to 75%.

30% to 80%.

MARKETING INTO 2018 Q4. What is the biggest marketing platform?

A. Open evenings at the Laboratory.

B. Hands on training courses at the laboratory.

C. Company Website.

D. Company Literature Q5.

A. B. C. D.

What percentage were very satisfied?

67%.

46% 69% 89%.

How do you know you are optimising your website?

Via Google Analytics Via Google Feedback Service Via Internet audit Service.

Via Website Magnet service.

Q6. What recommended addition would enhance your website?

A. Funny Videos.

B. Personal Photos of Staff.

C. A Blog.

D. An Open Internet Link.

CHOOSING A DENTAL LABORATORY. Q7. What is said to be at the top of the list for dentists seeking a laboratory?

A. Cheap prices.

B. Fast turn around time.

C. Fast turn around, reasonable prices and reliable quality.

D. Good delivery service.

GOOD MORNING GDC. Q8. What is the overall satisfaction rate for patients who see their dentist once a year?

A. 67% B. 97%.

C. 53%.

D. 69%

Q11. What percentage thought a Dentist should be removed from the register for posting racist comments on his website?

A. 53%.

B. 39%.

C. 57%.

D. 46%.

Q12.

A. B. C. D.

What percentage visit their Dentist once a year?

Between 46% and 72%.

Between 55% and 69% Between 53% and 65% Between 57% and 68%.

RESEARCH REVEALS A POTENTIAL FOR STAIN FREE BRACKET CEMENT Q13. What is the cause of the staining?

A. Metal oxide penetration.

B. Lack of direct light.

C. Demineralisation and poor hygiene.

D. Chemical reaction with present cements.

Q14.

A. B. C. D.

Where were the studies carried out?

London, Paris and Rome.

London, San Marino and Montevideo.

London, Madrid and San Paolo.

Valencia Spain, London and Sul Brazil.

Q15.

A. B. C. D.

What are the successful active contents in these studies?

Fluoride and Peroxide.

Triclosan, and Halloysite.

Casein-Phosphor-Peptide.

Amorphous calcium phosphate.

LOVE WHAT TO DO AT DTS Q16. What is Ricardo Soares passion?

A. Creating natural colour in his dentures.

B. Building full arch bridgework.

C. Implant borne constructions.

D. Maxillo-Facial Reconstruction.

CPD

Payment by cheque to: The Dental Technician Magazine Limited. NatWest Sort Code 516135 A/C No 79790852

You can submit your answers in the following ways: 1. Via email: cpd@dentaltechnician.org.uk 2. By post to: THE DENTAL TECHNICIAN LIMITED, PO BOX 430, LEATHERHEAD KT22 2HT You are required to answer at least 50% correctly for a pass. If you score below 50% you will need to re-submit your answers.

Answers will be published in the next issue of The Dental Technician. Certificates will be issued within 60 days of receipt of correct submission.

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27

DENTAL TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE 2018

PRESS TO IMPRESS

A

s we now live in a 'broadband society' the development of digital skills for both life and work is significantly important. Nevertheless, we should not discount the benefits of traditional abilities such as interacting faceto-face and learning and engaging with physical rather than online resources. Even in the fast-paced, continually evolving world of digital dental technology, traditional skills are still very relevant and the ability to blend these with contemporary methods is paramount in order to create the most favourable solutions for patients.

This is just one of the reasons why the Dental Technology Showcase (DTS) is such a valuable learning platform. Here, technicians can participate in a huge variety of educational environments, hear from some of the most renowned and respected professionals in the industry and interact with like-minded peers.

There is knowledge and information to glean from all areas of dental technology and technicians have the opportunity to explore a huge spectrum of ideas. For example: pressable ceramics is an increasingly popular field within dental laboratory technology. With the evolution of digital technology, this is an area that has managed to fend off a decline in the last decade. This is partly due to the highly aesthetic results that can be achieved, but also because using pressable ceramics is still a very cost effective way of creating a restoration.

something, all with the same instructions but it is the little variables that can make a big difference and can result in completely different outcomes. Understandably, this can seem like black magic at times, but my aim is to demystify the whole thing; explain the science and the reasons why materials behave in certain ways.

“Materials are very sensitive and achieving the best results is partly down to technology and equipment, but also down to the way in which the materials are handled. I want to explain a few things for dental technicians to look out for and offer some guidance about the use of pressable ceramic dental investments in conjunction with a variety of materials such as wax, printed resin and milled blanks for instance. I hope to show delegates how to ensure the performance of different materials and help them to gain more success with their pressing; get more out of it, avoid problems and achieve better results particularly when premium products are used.”

To come to the presentation by Alex Wilde as well as a diverse range of other valuable educational sessions, book your free tickets for the Dental Technology Showcase 2018 today.

This is the topic that Alex Wilder (left) will cover at his session entitled ‘How to press with success’ in the Digital & Innovation Theatre at the DTS 2018. As a chemist and director of Just Pressables, Alex plans to speak about handling and working with dental investments for pressable ceramics and to share some useful hints, tips and precautions to enable dental technicians to gain more.

Alex Wilder success and better results from their pressing. In a recent interview, Alex provided an overview of his presentation: “While there is a lot of talk about digital technology, there is still relevance for pressable technologies both in western and developing countries.

It is a means of generating great aesthetics without investing large amounts of capital in digital technology and currently, the use of dental investments is shifting in volumes across different parts of the world.

FOCUS

“As manufacturers, the team at Just Pressables have learnt a lot about developing dental investments as well as the kinds of issues that dental technicians can encounter. I will spend some time speaking about the misconceptions and misunderstandings regarding the use of dental investments.”

Dedicated to supporting dental professionals and laboratories for over 65 years, with innovative quality products, equipment and cabinetry.

For the very latest information and offers in analogue or digital technology, technical support, equipment servicing or repair and courses with CPD, call Bracon today!

Bracon proudly represents the very best products from manufacturers around the world... ...and now you can order online at

www.bracon.co.uk

Using a simple analogy, Alex explained: “If you cast your mind back to a chemistry lessons that you may have attended in school where a class of students are required to crystallise a substance such as salt.

What most will remember is that the results would vary significantly – there would be crystallising at different times, different types of crystals forming, some students would have no crystals at all and some would have a beaker full.

Call: 01580 817000 Search ‘Bracon Ltd’

“This process governs a lot of the complications that can occur with dental investments; you might have 20 people using

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09/11/2017 16:44

LOVE WHAT YOU DO AT THE DENTAL TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE The flagship event of the Dental l Laboratories Association, the Dental Technology Showcase will be back home at

the NEC Birmingham in May, with a tailored, cutting-edge education programme of highquality content that is suitable for everyone.

Whether you are new to the profession, or are looking for fresh, exciting perspectives on your years of experience, you will surely find something to pique your interest, stimulate your thinking and inspire your work.

Learning and networking opportunities are once again combined with a trade exhibition.

Being co-located with the British Dental Conference and Dentistry Show gives the event a novel and unique character to make a visit worthwhile for any lab owner, clinical technician or student. That’s regardless if you specialise in prosthetics, orthodontics or crown and bridgework – or all of the above.

This year as every year, the educational content is world-class (there is a wide range of verifiable CPD up for grabs, too) and designed to benefit any forward-thinking laboratory and its staff. As well as the various at-bench workshops and the popular Digital & Innovation Theatre, attendees to the DTS Lecture Theatre can listen to respected speakers from home and abroad in a series of excellent conference sessions.

Looking forward to presenting at the Dental Technology Showcase for the first time is from Vr Dent Studio. With a fast-growing reputation as a highly gifted and skilled technician with an

incredible eye for detail, Ricardo (pictured above right) is truly passionate about his work and dedicated to his craft. With his lecture entitled, ‘Make it look invisible, the Signature Denture concept’, he wants to share some of that passion with delegates. He says: “During the last few years, different materials and techniques have appeared on the market allowing the dental technician to progress and develop new skills and, in turn, accomplish more aesthetic and natural results. The quality of removable dentures has been raised to a level much higher than had been achieved previously, revitalising an area of dental prosthesis that was said to be dead! So today we can copy any characteristic of the patient’s mouth with a high degree of accuracy.

“I have seen an increased demand from patients for personalised dentures, which is why I think that this is an important and relevant topic. My lecture will be an in-depth look at my concept for the production of a Signature Denture.

“I will cover the benefits of the use of colour on a gingiva wax-up and where to place colour to obtain a natural look. I will also look at layering composite and how photography can help us improve our work.

“As for what delegates can gain from my session, well, I hope an understanding of how we can change a patient’s life. For me, I believe that if we want to be good, we need to work hard and really love our job.

“It was a true honour for me to be invited to speak at the Dental Technology Showcase. It is the biggest dental show in the UK! I came to England six years ago, and it is time for me to

IT’S ALL ABOUT TEAMWORK AT DTS 2018 l Dentist Dr Marc Römer (left) and MDT Andreas Leimbach will be co-presenting a session in the DTS Lecture Theatre at the Dental Technology Showcase 2018. They will discuss how it is possible to provide patients with invisible and highly aesthetic, removable dentures.

Andreas Leimbach (right) who will be speaking in the UK for the first time, comments: “We will be talking about removable dentures and the logical and effective steps we follow to achieve the perfect result. I believe

About the teamwork required to achieve exceptional results with removable dentures, Andreas adds: “Establishing an efficient workflow with the dentist helps the laboratory save time and money. Speaking alongside Dr Römer, we plan to show how we work together and how important it is to have a good communication between the dentist and dental technician. Good outcomes are not just about the technician’s work – they’re the result of teamwork.

“I hope delegates will take away the key points on how to build a strong workflow between the technician and the dentist. Most of all, we wish to share our passion for the work that we do and motivate others to be the best they can be.”

As well as Ricardo, delegates can also look forward to presentations from such key names as Finlay Sutton, Mark Bladen and John Wibberley.

Aside from learning, attendees can meet with over 100 suppliers on the exhibition floor who will be demonstrating the latest in equipment, materials and software. If you want to source new products, compare investment ideas or are thinking about switching a supplier, you will be able to discuss your specific needs and options and possibly secure a good deal. Meaningful business conversations can be tricky if not impossible when working on complicated cases in the lab all day; the Dental Technology Showcase is a valuable opportunity to tap into what’s new.

With the British Dental Conference and Dentistry Show running alongside, visitors can also take advantage of networking opportunities with every branch of the profession – from technicians and laboratory owners to dentists, hygienists, practice managers, dental nurses and more. Sharing ideas with friends and colleagues old and new is a great way to stay motivated and keep up to date.

As Ricardo Soares says, it’s important to love what you do! Attending an event that allows you to take new ideas, fresh concepts and ways to do things better back to your lab will not only enrich your work, but also help you to develop personally as well as professionally. Book your ticket to the Dental Technology Showcase today.

Supported by the Dental Technicians Guild (DTG) – a group of dental technicians and dentists committed to promoting the advantages of handmade restorations – the DTS Lecture Theatre programme will provide a wealth of ideas and guidance to help delegates enhance their own skills.

“I have been involved with the DTG since 2013. The group brings amazing people together and in doing so has helped me improve my own skills and has motivated me to do my very best everyday, just like they do. Without the DTG I would not know Phil [Reddington] and I would not have the opportunity to speak at DTS 2018.”

Dr Römer and Andreas will join an impressive speaker line-up at DTS 2018 including Mark Bladen, Roy Davies, Robert Arvai, Stefan Picha, Phil Reddington, John Wibberley, George Morgan and Dr Finlay Sutton. Make sure you and your team don’t miss out!

DTS 2018 will be held on Friday 18th and Saturday 19th May at the NEC in Birmingham, co-located with the British Dental Conference and Dentistry Show. For further details visit www.the-dts.co.uk, call 020 7348 5270 or email dts@closerstillmedia.com

www.dentaltechnician.org.uk

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FOCUS

Dr Römer says: “This concept is based on an efficient and reproducible workflow that includes CAD, 3D Printing, milling and the SLM Technique. The end result is completely based on the craftsmanship and skills of the dental team.”

providing professional work that is customised according to each individual patient is the only way to separate your lab from mainstream digital technology labs.”

give something back to the country that helped me develop as a technician and as a person.”

GROWTH IN ORTHODONTICS MARKET LAST YEAR, THE ORTHODONTICS MARKET SAW $11 BILLION IN REVENUE, ACCORDING TO MARKET RESEARCH COMPANY IBISWORLD.

DENTAL NEWS

CERAMICS AND ORTHODONTICS Dental ceramics has advanced in the past few years in terms of its mechanical properties and methods of fabrication of ceramic materials.

Moreover, there has been development in terms of the bonding technique which has increased the range and scope for use of ceramics in dentistry. The porcelain-based materials are used as a major component in the market and market players are bringing in materials to replace the metal ceramics systems with all ceramic systems. The market for dental ceramics is driven by the increasing research to replace the metal ceramics with metal free ceramics. Moreover, the aesthetic appeal of offered by dental ceramics as compared to metal ceramics is also driving the market. Metal ceramics systems has both advantage of aesthetic appeal and extraordinary mechanical properties of metals.

But some of the restorative materials used as constitute a problem for some patients.

However, problems constitutes of gum staining and release of metallic ions into the

ORAL CANCER SCREENING GLASSES w Oral cancer is not only one of the most frequent cancers globally, it also often goes undetected in the early stages.

Early detection through regular checkups and full-mouth screenings are an essential part of preventive dentistry. Early discovery is the most crucial step in saving lives, with first-stage oral cancer having an 80-90% survival rate. Pierrel Group has made Goccles, specialist glasses which the company states offer a non-invasive, simple and painless test of the oral cavity for early detection of cancer.

Using fluorescence technology alongside a common curing light, Pierrel states that Goccles enable rapid screening of internal surface areas of the mucosa, in order to provide an accurate aid to detection of dysplasia and early cancer. According to the company, Goccles have an innovative optical filter that allowsa clear visual of the oral cavity and accurate detection of anomalies within.

gingival tissue and the gingival fluid. These drawbacks, as well as the search for more esthetic materials by patients and dentists, have stimulated research and development of metal-free ceramic systems.

Nanoparticles to develop nextgeneration invisible orthodontic braces Researchers are using nanoparticles to develop next-generation invisible orthodontics. For instance, researchers in the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain, have developed nanoparticles for developing invisible orthodontic braces.

These particles help to increase the mechanical and friction resistance and to maintain the transparency of the invisible orthodontic braces.

Similarly, in November 2012, Euro Ortodoncia, a Spain-based orthodontic materials manufacturer, collaborated with the researchers at the University to develop nanotechnology-based invisible orthodontic

SOURCES: https://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem. aspx?ItemId=182862&CultureCode=en Singh S et al (2016) Effects of various remineralizing agents on the outcome of post-orthodontic white spot lesions (WSLs): a clinical trial. https://www.businesswire.com/news/ home/20170602005423/en/Top-3-Trends-ImpactingGlobal-Orthodontic-Services http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/global-dentalceramics-market-global-industry-analysis-and-forecasttill-2027-925255.htm

YOUR NEW LOOK CPD CERTIFICATE w This is an example taken from the GDC website of the CPD Certificates that will be required for the ECPD, Technicians and surgery assistants as from the beginning of August this year.

Already started for Clinicians on 1st January 2018.

Quite a lot of specific detail will be required if you are to claim your CPD.

Pierrel states that thetechnology is quick, simple and easy to use, as well as being a completely pain free and non-invasive way of checking that your patients are healthy and safe from oral cancer.�

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braces that can help to reduce the friction between the teeth and braces and provide additional comfort to the people using themThese results of the most recent Spanish study are a promising step forward in the development of new adhesives that are capable of preventing the appearance of the bacteria that demineralise the enamel surrounding the brackets and, at the same time, remineralise the area and thus prevent the appearance of white stains on the teeth.

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