N L Y A L S O N F E S SI O O R T A L P N E D PUBLISHED IN DUBAI www.dental-tribune.me March-April 2021 | No. 2, Vol. 11 Dental technicians: The missing link By Dr Ali Nankali, UK If you ask a dental patient to which member of the dental team we should give our thanks, many of them would say to dentists and dental nurses. What do you think is the correct answer? I assume we all agree that dentists cannot provide an appropriate healthcare service without their team. Members of the dental team who are registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) are clinical dental technicians, dental hy- gienists, dental nurses, dental tech- nicians, dental therapists, dentists and orthodontic therapists. Unfor- tunately, it seems to me that some members of this team have not been treated equally during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, I want to talk about dental technicians as an integral part of the dental team. I am a prosthodontist, and a large part of the healthcare services that I provide depend on dental techni- cians. We are in constant contact, as they help me during patient treat- ment and sometimes provide train- ing for new learners while observing various issues that need to be ad- dressed, such as delays in receiving work or a slight decrease in the qual- ity of work. Chad Cluff, tutor dental technolo- gist at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London in the UK, told me that many dental laboratory spaces are relatively inadequate for adopting required social distancing measures. Thus, not everyone can be present at work at the same time, and the absence of some employees can cause a delay in the delivery of Adel Houmani, lead technical skills manager at the university, said that the delays in work could have been caused by other reasons. He noted that all dental impressions have to be properly disinfected and that the process requires additional time. He also mentioned that it is unknown whether the virus can survive in den- Houmani also added that some den- tal laboratories are a great deal qui- eter than usual. According to him, this quietness could be explained by patients not visiting the dentist regularly since the onset of the pan- demic. There has been a decrease in workload, and this is directly affect- ing dental laboratory finances and Dr Ali Nankali is a clinical senior lecturer at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London in the UK and the president of UKDentalCourses. Dr Ali Nankali believes that dental technicians have received insufficient support during the pandemic, from both the government and the members of the dental team. the service and affect work perfor- mance. Cluff noted that the situation is currently beyond remedy. tal impressions, and therefore dental technicians should do their best to avoid any contamination. thus putting the owners and part- ners under pressure. So how can we help dental technicians? According to Houmani, dental laboratory fees are always a topic of discussion. However, since many dentists are looking to save money, increasing the fees would result in losing orders. It seems that this is- sue is gradually worsening, and a few organisations, such as the Den- tal Technologists Association in the UK, have warned that patients will soon be experiencing long delays in receiving their custom-made dental appliances.1 It has upset me to learn that, whereas dentists are being supported via the National Health Service, the country is likely to lose many qualified dental technicians for the lack of govern- ment support.2 Some sources sug- gest that over 1,000 dental techni- cians are currently out of work and that many of them are unable to maintain their registration with the GDC.3 According to dental technicians, den- tal technology has for too long been considered external to the dental team.4 However, I want to empha- sise that we are a team, and we have continued to provide healthcare ser- vices to everyone who has needed our help during the pandemic. We need to realise that, during this pan- demic, dental technicians have faced great difficulty in accessing any form of support, not just that from the government. Therefore, they do not only need financial help from health authorities; they also need support from the members of the dental team. We, as members of the dental team, should appreciate what dental tech- nicians are doing for us and our pa- tients, and this appreciation should be passed on to other members of our society. To achieve that, I am starting with myself. As stated re- cently, dental technicians have to maintain their registration with the GDC and keep their continuing pro- fessional development (CPD) up to date to remain employable.5 As pres- ident of UKDentalCourses, an active educational organisation in the UK, I am happy to tailor non-profitable CPD courses to their needs. There- fore, I ask our respected dental tech- nicians to send their requests to en- quiry@ukdentalcourses, and we will do our best to address your needs. In addition, UKDentalCourses would like to invite every member of the dental team to attend The Restored Link online event. The event is aimed at showing dental technicians our appreciation and respect and listen- ing to their enquiries. Please join us and express your needs and con- cerns. Editorial note: A list of references is available from the author upon re- quest. About the author Dr Ali Nankali Dr Ali Nankali is a clinical senior lecturer at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London and the president of UKDen- talCourses, an online education platform that offers continuing professional devel- opment opportunities to dentists world- wide.