need some advise

[Baker]

Should I look into dental hygein or learn how to process dentures with my father in his Crown and bridge lab?

I am 42 yrs old and really just want to make some $, if you know what I mean.

Can anyone help me out?

And as far as learning to do dentures, does anyone have an idea where I can get the education at. Hopefully in California.
thanx

[AmyLouRDH]

I am currently a registered dental hygienist w/ a license in PA. I would be all for you going into hygiene. I have a bachelors but you can go into the field with an associates. The only problem with getting into this field is most dentists like you to have experience, that was the only difficulty I came across when applying for jobs. I love hygiene. I love talking to people and hearing about how their lives change and seeing them lose their primary teeth and get their permanent teeth in. I work in three different offices and I mean different. One office is a high patient load, one office is high tech, and one is both of those put together. I am sure all the dental techs out their know all doctors have their quirks but who doesn't.

On the opposite end of the spectrum my husband is a dental tech and he loves what he does. He owns his own business so he makes his own hrs which is pretty cool. He is a really good artist and I always thought to be a dental tech you have to have artistic ability. I think both would be great fields.

My only thought that (bear with me don't be insulted) with your age you would be close to 45 getting out of hygiene school (2/4 yr school) would you really wanna be 55 yrs old running around a dental office chasing after kids, working someone else's hours and getting bossed around by someone younger than you. A dental tech would have more freedom.

Sorry I am a big talker which in turn means big typer. Whatever desision you make best of luck to ya!

[Travis]

Have you done any lab work before or is it all new to you? You wouldn't need to go to school if you were to start working for your father. Plus it would be something you could take over once he retires. This to me makes the most sense.

[trisha]

Hi Baker~

If you take into consideration whether you are an extrovert or introvert I think this might really help you with making a decision. If you like interacting with people, a hygienist would probably be more rewarding. My hygienist is in her late 50's and she does a great job, she really likes what she does. I don't know anything about making dentures, but I do know what it is like to work in a lab. If you don't mind not interacting much with others maybe the lab would suit you better.I too am 42 ~ don't let your age discourage you from going to hygienist school. I still toy with going back to school to get an RN degree. I would really like to do a more humanitarian type job, but I love what I do and the flexibility that it provides.
Just my op! Good luck in your endeavor, keep us posted
trisha

[Brian8]

Baker,

I own and run dental lab with two of my brothers. We started off just fixed then decided to go into removables, which is the department that I am currently running.

Like you I did not know much about removables. We looked around and decided to go with the Ivocap system from Ivolcar. They had courses that you can take to teach you how to work their system and through that I found out how to do most of the denture work. On the down side the are located in Buffalo N.Y.

I do not know if your father currently offers any removables or if the doctors that he currently has will try out your possibly new denture department. To us it was a matter of growing and offering another product, and like any dental lab the hardest part is finding and retaining good Doctors to make a good amount of money. Basically if I knew what would make money quickly I would be doing that.

Brain