Denturist education!

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dborla01

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My take' concerning studying to become a denturist. My wife went to George Brown College in Toronto, a 3 year course to get her Diplomed license.They also give a two year LD license too, I believe. She received a more thorough education than the two year course. We are on the higher end of the cost/benefit scale than most denturists and some dentists. People come to us, not based on cheap fees, but upon custom treatment with esthetic results, with a strong referral base.We also laisson with dentists concerning Immediate work and general removable work.
Just as in the lab business, we rise to the standards that we set for ourselves, not by adopting the "race to the bottom" mentality so prevalent in the dental business. Dentures are a difficult "art" and quite inexact. We have seen quite a few graduates of two year programs who have not had prior lab experience and they are very early on the learning curve....to be quite generous in our opinion of them. My 30 plus years in this business provided a base for her to move forward and concentrate on her clinical end.
Working with more mature Pt. clientele is quite difficult at times. It takes almost a "calling" to achieve truly happy results, as public teachers find. There are a lot of dentists who will not do removable prostheses and we see why. It takes about 5 years after school to become truly comfortable with Removable. I hope this helps Hayden to make a wise decision. Darrell
 
kcdt

kcdt

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We have seen quite a few graduates of two year programs who have not had prior lab experience and they are very early on the learning curve....to be quite generous in our opinion of them.
I have come to this same conclusion as well, just based on my impressions of the ones I've met at hands on set up courses.
My perspective is it takes a good decade to get mastery of the lab processes involved, and that's for a technician with QC oversight and reasonable volume.
When I first came to Portland, I considered partnering with a Denturist looking to expand and/ or improve their laboratory process.
Nada.
I got a lot of disenchanted complaints from starving practitioners.
It was only later after working with one in my current situation and running into more at association meetings that I realized that many have gaps they don't know exist because they have no broader exposure to the industry and are isolated.

This is not a criticism of denturism, just an observation on the experience level of fairly recent graduates.
 
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dborla01

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"Good point there, Kc. I have known several Denturists who have had many years' experience before working toward their license. It really helps their future endeavors. Darrell
 
JKraver

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I cant answer that, but Im sure there are others here who can. My opinion is that, even with a denturist license, you are generally serving patients who want the cheapest dentures.. or cheaper than what a dentist would charge. Im sure you could make a living, there are many clinics here in the NW.. but.. I think you are going to hit a price ceiling much faster as a denturist than as a lab owner working for dentists. The disadvantages to me, and I mean no disrespect, are that you have to deal with patients, impressions, unsatisfied customers with unrealistic expectations.. Just a thought.
You are looking at it wrong, as a denturist you do not have to be on your own. You can work at a dentist and take the denture load off them. Find a Dr who doesn't like dentures very much and be the man. Dr checks over it and they fill your schedule to keep you getting paid. WIN WIN!
 
JKraver

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When it comes to FL I will take the courses.
 
Affinity

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While I think thats a great idea, if the money was there I think more denturists would be doing that.. Dr office = more overhead and probably making considerably less. If you want to run a denture mill that seems quite easy though if you just lower your prices. Out of the dozen Drs in my small town, none have a denturist on site and I would bet that most dont even use the local denturist for casework, it gets sent out of town or state. That is for the small percentage of patients that actually go to a dentist to get a denture in the first place.

I would love to hear from anyone that is working at a clinic though.
 
H.Ross

H.Ross

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Sorry to hijack the thread, but what if I wanted to study dentistry in the US, will they consider my experience as dental technician?
 
Affinity

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dentistry or denturism? I would say it might make it easier for you. But, Unless you have accredited classes you have taken that are recognized by a college, then experience doesnt matter. For denturism programs there are probably a few prerequisite classes you might skip if you have college experience, but not dental lab experience. For dentistry you still have to have a bachelors degree to even start school.
 
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dborla01

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As a further thought concerning the benefits of pursuing a denturist edu, I have known thru the years, folks who had their license, and remained, primarily laboratory owners. That is a nice option to have during a long career. The guys and gals who received their licenses early, tend to be those folks.
 
TomZ

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Kraver hits the nail on the head. Denturists with savvy can position themselves as a referral just like endodontists or periodontists.
Right now those practicing in a limited market may not see this, but I believe as denturism grows nationally in the US the opportunities
will be greater than most realize.

I remember when people told me 30 years ago I wouldn't fare well if I specialized in removable, I'm still here and thriving
and most of the crown and bridge labs I know are scrumming to get 15-20% above costs and overhead.
 

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