PTC Certification

PTC is widely recognized around the world as the leader in dental laboratory technology training.  There are several ways for an individual to achieve PTC certification: through online anatomy training, hands-on technical courses and our latest TechMaster  modules.

Though there are differences between the national certification and PTC certification, PTC training (and certification) is one of the quickest ways to get started in your career as a dental lab technician.   Additionally, PTC training materials are extremely helpful for CDT test preparation.  Stay tuned, my next blog will explain in detail.

• 1 hour regulatory systems education
• 6 hours scientific or technical education, and
• 5 hours of additional scientific, or professional development education.

CDT credits can be earned by completing technical courses, attending clinics, or completing online training courses or webinars.

Courses and clinics are hosted across the country throughout the year at participating laboratories, trade shows, and at companies such as Dentsply, Ivoclar Vivadent and Zahn, to name a few.  LMT Commications has a detailed list of available courses.

PTC offers 4 online dental anatomy courses that are accredited for up to 5 CE credits each (completing all 4 courses will earn a total of 18 scientific credits) and 3 Hands On Dental Technician Courses that are accredited for 32 CE credits each.

Whether you choose to attend a show, complete a hands-on course, or earn your credits in the comfort of your own environment there are many options available to fulfill your CDT credit needs.

I had been thinking it over for a while before I made the commitment earlier this year. The CDT program is a certification program facilitated by the National Board for Certification in Dental Laboratory Technology (NBC), an independent certification organization, which was founded by the National Association of Dental Laboratories (NADL) in 1955. The certification process requires successful completion of 3 exams: a written comprehensive, a written specialty and a specialty practical exam.

I recently took both the comprehensive and specialty (written) exams, and passed. This feat could not have been accomplished without PTC (training). I’d like to share a little about the experience, and how useful PTC training and materials are to CDT exam preparation.

Though I have chosen Ceramics as my area of specialty, regardless of the area of specialty, the written comprehensive exam consists of 160 questions about every specialty area of the dental lab, including but not limited to:

1. Crown & Bridge
2. Ceramics
3. Partial Dentures
4. Complete Dentures, and
5. Orthodontics.

I went into the fixed crown & bridge portion with confidence, thanks to my PTC training and previous experience. This training provided me with a solid foundation in dental laboratory technology. The vocabulary that is taught in the PTC programs is essential, and the standard procedures are irreplaceable. Though each of the PTC modules has been key to my test prep; I would have been lacking without the hands-on application experience that a PTC hands-on, technical course provides.

Considering my lack of technical experience as a removable technician, I was less confident about the Dentures portion of the test (which the test does not skimp on, by the way). In addition to a manual recommended by the NADL, I relied heavily upon my PTC Creating Natural Dentures (CND) material. The Oral Anatomy and Physiology portion of CND is invaluable, and may be found not only in any of the CND training modules, but as a separate online training course.

The essential vocabulary I previously mentioned may be acquired through many of our products, including:

• Online courses
• Ness Visual Dictionary
• Techbook series
• Tech Master modules or
• The TVS program.

The hands-on experience may be acquired by registering for one of our upcoming technical courses.

If you are considering becoming a Certified Dental Techncian, and are looking for materials to aid in your preparation, you are in the right place. Let PTC help you, as it has helped me.

Average Annual Wage

The average annual income for dental technicians, as of May 2010, was $37,980.  This corresponds to an average hourly wage of $18.26 per hour.  These figures are based off of the 38,360 reported dental lab technicians.

National Wage Range

The difference between the highest and lowest earning technicians is almost $40,000.  Reported incomes ranged from $20,940 annually to $58,560.

Beginner Technician Wage

Experience and skill level is a major factor in dental technician salary.  Based on LMT’s 2010 wage survey beginner technician wages range anywhere from $24,273 to $33,508, depending on job function.  By beginner technician, is a dental technician with up to 5 years experience.

After 5 years, the average technician wage jumps up to $28,662 to $48,588, depending on the specific technician job function.  You can compare this range to the average median household income as of 2009, which was $50,860.

For more information on becoming a dental technician see our dental technician courses section or contact any dental technology school.

I can find no clearly defined borders to average. Is it the middle 50%, the middle 25%, the middle 80%? In 1977, in a forward to Dr. Peter Dawson’s book Evaluation diagnosis and Treatment of Occlusal Problems, Dr. L.D. Pankey said about dentists, “It has been said, and I think with generosity, that the general practitioner’s index of competency is as follows: 2% are masters, 8% are adept, 36% are students, and 54% are indifferent.”

I don’t think Dr. Pankey’s estimation is exclusive to dentists. I suspect that those percentages apply to many professions, including ours.

The Invisible Wall of Mediocrity

I have been training dental technicians in PTC technology for the last ten years. During that time I have been observing the phenomenon of “hitting the invisible wall”. This invisible wall is the point where no matter how many seminars we attend, how many books we read, no matter how many gurus we watch, we just don’t get much better. It is not something we talk about much, but it comes up in training.

Some don’t realize they have hit the wall. They equate increased information with increased ability. That is not always the case. Have you ever attended a seminar, and learned lots of new information and new techniques? Then you went back to your lab, applied them to a few cases, and eventually went back to the way you always did it? I believe most of us have.

The wall is not obvious. It is something that over time you begin to feel.

Tearing Down the Wall

If experience or education was the answer to breaking through, many of us would have already done it, but it isn’t. If the solution to breaking through was widely known there would be no excuse for average, but it isn’t. As it turns out, this wall is held in place by something that is so obvious that it itself has been rendered invisible. When spoken about, it is mostly dismissed.

We at PTC know why the wall is there, and more importantly, how break through. The answer lies in gaining the ability to recognize and perfect FUNDAMENTALS. This word, fundamentals, is used and discussed as though it is really understood. But when asked what fundamental means, most people will say “basic”. When asked what basic means, you hear, “well… fundamental.”

Let’s take a closer look.

Fundamentals

Definition: Fundamental
An essential or necessary part of a system or object. Serves as an original or generating force; being the one thing from which others are derived. Webster’s Collegiate

This definition applies to a person, a department,or an entire lab. Look at the words in the definition…essential part, original, meaning the source or beginning, generating force, the one thing from which others are derived, meaning where everything starts from and what drives the creation of.

When one is missing or doesn’t understand the fundamentals of a subject, project, or job, they will at some point have difficulty no matter what their experience level.

Copying and Creating
The Difference Between Mediocrity and Excellence

You might ask, if we all have missing fundamentals, how are we able to do our jobs so well? The answer is simple. Have you ever traced a picture? Pretty easy, right? It’s easy to make a duplicate of something when you copy the original and it isn’t necessary that you know how to draw.

In the absence of fundamentals, we copy. Over the shoulder training is mostly watching and copying. If you are good at duplicating what you see, in time you will able to make a coping, a crown, or a six unit bridge, from memory. But the moment you come across a case that requires something you haven’t seen before, you’re stuck; you have nothing to copy from. The only thing wrong with the technician who keeps asking what to do next is that he doesn’t have anything, in memory, to copy from. They get to a certain point based on the memory of past cases, and then run out of pictures to trace.

Lack of fundamentals is the source of mediocrity. That is a powerful statement but I believe it to be true. Let’s take a look at the reverse; when the fundamentals are known, and are understood.

With the fundamentals of a subject known, the result is no longer copying, but creating. When you have a case in front of you, you already know what it will look like when it is completed. Furthermore, you know exactly what steps you need to take and in what order, to create it. You don’t need to ponder and wonder how you are going to do something.

If you know the fundamentals of posterior anatomy, you can envision the final anatomy before you start the case. When you know the fundamentals of waxing. You know the exact steps to wax a crown, including the proper wax, proper waxer temperature, you can predictably and quickly wax the highest quality restoration.

When you know the fundamentals of anterior anatomy, you know exactly each labial feature and where they are placed to achieve the final esthetic result.

Unknown Ceramic Fundamentals

In training we have observed unknown fundamentals in most students concerning porcelain application.

Long standing techniques used and promoted by senior technicians and even schools and manufacturers as “the way to do it” often obscure or prevent closer inspection.  We have found in teaching our advanced layering course that many if not all our students have unknown fundamentals in Porcelain Mixing, Brush Selection, Moisture Control, Shinkage, Application, and Procedures.

To summarize, truly knowing and understanding the source of a procedure or technique and how it effects every action that follows it is understanding the fundamental.  As I said before, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.  What I’m sure of though, is once you are able to recognize the source of your knowledge doors open up and increased creativity and quality become effortless.

Master the Fundamentals with PTC Training

If you feel you are stalled in your career, if you have a need to produce higher quality, if you need to improve your productivity, or have anyone in your laboratory who you know would benefit from PTC’s bottom to top training, give us a call.

Whether you are a beginner or seasoned technician, PTC provides affordable training opportunities in Crown and Bridge, Porcelain and Dentures for everyone.

See you on the other side.

Sincerely,
Jim Mahan, CDT

PTC has been training dental lab technicians for the past 30 years.  Our training systems and technician courses use streamlined teaching techniques to train new technicians and improve the skills of existing technicians.  Our courses and systems establish stable references and standard procedures that enable you to advance to a level of technical competence in a very short amount of time.  We provide you with training models, TechBooks, and the instruments needed to learn a specific skill.

Dental Anatomy

The first step you should do is take the PTC posterior anatomy and anterior anatomy online courses.   These courses will help prepare you for the technical course and familiarize you with the vocabulary used in the dental industry.

Register

After you finish both online courses call PTC and speak with one of our technical consultants.  We will help you decide which dental technician area is best for you and your individual needs: Crown & Bridge, Porcelain, or Dentures.  You are now ready to register for the next technical course.  When you register you will receive custom PTC training models, the PTC TechBooks for your course and the accompanying instrument kit.

Study

Before you arrive you will study the TechBooks.  We recommend giving yourself at least 30 days to study for the course.  The more you prepare before the course, the more our expert instructors will be able to teach you the material.

Travel and Hotel

See our Travel & Hotel page for information on booking your flight, hotel, and car rental.

The Course

During the course you will learn the technical skills and fundamentals of dental technicians for the specific course.  You will go through all the material with our (Certified Dental Technician) technical trainer and will receive extensive one on one attention to help with your unique training needs.

Job Placement

After you have completed the course we can put you in contact with a dental lab recruitment firm who will help match you with your ideal position.

The beginning of your career as a dental lab technician is well within your reach.

Call (800) 448-8855 for a free technical consultation or send us a message.

The updated contouring procedure covers contouring from completed buildup through secondary anatomy.  It’s been tested and streamlined to ensure the most efficient contouring technique for high quality posterior dental bridges.

Stay tuned for more updates and our official launch date.

Jim,

The article that you e-mailed back on 1-28-11 was such an inspiration to us here that several of us have gone on to pursue their CDT. We have three new CDT’s here now with four more studying for the tests. I printed and passed out your article back then to everyone in the lab and then the fever hit. I’ve been working on my people to pursue their CDT’s for years but nothing inspired them like your words. Keep up the greatness!

Many thanks,

Steve

Everyone has a Reason

I can think of several reasons to pursue continuing education. You might want to learn a new skill or change careers; improve existing skills; increase your quality or productivity in your current job; learn a new technology in your field; prestige perhaps; you might want to learn to teach others, or maybe you only need CDT credits.

The # 1 Reason

I think every one of these reasons is good, but I believe underneath it all lies a fundamental that is common to all of them. That fundamental is increased control. No matter what your situation, whether you are an experienced technician, an owner, or someone new to dental technology, the primary purpose to invest in education should be to gain more control over your future.

As an owner, being able to better establish enforceable policy in a department can mean the difference between going to your daughter’s soccer game at 5:00 or having to work until 9:00 to get the last case out. As a technician, learning better, faster ways to produce can mean more job security and higher income. And, if you are out of work or are looking to change careers, learning the fundamentals of the craft is the place to start.

Take Control of your job, your business, your life

Whatever your situation, the ultimate result of continuing education should be gaining more control over your job, your business, your life.

PTC courses strive to provide just that. Every course begins from square one with anatomy and progresses in small increments to the highest levels of excellence. Using the PTC knowledge transfer techniques you learn the essentials of being a student, a manager and a trainer almost simultaneously.

You will leave our facility with the knowledge and ability to not only do it but also the ability to teach others to do it.

Sign up for one of our courses today to start putting more control in your job, your business, your life.

1.  Productivity and quality go hand in hand and are not exclusive of each other..

2.  Managing systems, not people, is the secret to growth and maintaining control in the dental lab.

3.  Having clearly defined technical procedures and precisely defined objectives is the only way to effectively hold dental technicians accountable for production and quality.

4.  A training system that enables you to rapidly train competent dental technicians  gives you the freedom to actively manage the business without the fear of loosing technicians or being held hostage by technicians you can’t afford to loose..

5.  A manager can not manage with their head down and their hands full, working at the bench.