Dental technician

Dental technician or a dental prosthesis in Germany is a recognized profession by the Crafts Code. The training usually lasts 3 years and 6 months, while meeting specific conditions is also a shortening training time possible. In Switzerland, is called the Basic vocational training dental technicians / EFZ and lasts 4 years. In Austria, the basic training takes place dental technician / in the teaching profession with dual training in vocational schools and training company and lasts 4 years.

• 5.1 Germany
• 5.2 Austria
• 5.3 Switzerland

Area of ​​responsibility

Dental technician finished dentures ( dental crowns, pin crowns, bridges, partial and full dentures ), laboratory-made inlay fillings, orthodontic appliances ( braces ), more rarely bite guards and anti snoring devices on.

Each order requires an accurate modeling on the patients teeth. This impression ( negative mold of the patient's dentition ) takes the dentist before using materials based on silicone, polyether or alginate and must be very precise. The quality (accuracy) can be in some cases through the use of individual Abformungsträgern ( " spoon " ) improved. By pouring with special plasters of dental technician creates a working model (positive form) as its basis for work.

Contact with patients, the dental technicians more often, the closer the Zahnwerkstatt ( Dental Laboratory ) is (some are connected to practices). Usually the dentist pulls it added in certain steps in order to optimize the final result of dental work.

The patient has the right to find out in advance who will make his dentures and can insist on a certain dental workshop. Whether the denture is made of high quality enough, is responsible for the dentist ( " medical Eingliederbarkeit "); therefore he will also refuse any cooperation with a specific laboratory.

Operation - examples

Production of crowns and bridges - fixed prostheses

The dental technician modeled over a ground-down by the dentist tooth stump in the plaster model a life-like wax model: about the " muffle cast " ( " lost mold " ) is cast in metal and edited the finest craftsmanship.

Crowns replace individual teeth (on stumps or artificial roots: post build and implants ). Bridges provide more teeth to be replaced: two or more teeth serve as pillars to span a gap. For the connection of individual elements are one-piece casting, soldering, welding ( electric arc or laser ) or adhesive technology.

Inlays, onlays or veneers ( veneers ) replace only part of teeth.

Precious metal alloys ( valued for their biocompatibility, their mostly golden yellow color and its resistance value ) or non-precious metal alloys (usually alloyed from the elements cobalt, chromium and molybdenum and are also used for hip joint prostheses ) are conventional materials. In the lost wax modeled frameworks are implemented in metal. The so-called investment must exactly compensate for the shrinkage by thermal expansion of the alloy. A fitting tolerance to the natural tooth by 10 microns is desired. The melting process is carried out by means of fire, electrical resistance heating, induction current or arc in the centrifugal or vacuum die casting.

Alternatively, crowns and bridges are made ​​by casting of titanium or titanium alloys ( technologically complex ) or, more recently used CAD / CAM systems for milling of scaffolding made ​​of titanium or high-performance ceramics (zircon, zirconia, alumina ). At the moment, the latter are suitable for production systems with entry-level prices from 50,000 to 150,000 euros more for larger farms (see also below in section tendencies ). Another alternative is the laser sintering process for the preparation of precious metal crown copings and NEM alloys.

To establish frameworks for crowns, bridges and superstructures as well as for the telescope technique, electroplating is another alternative, be deposited in a non-toxic electrolyte galvanic gold pure gold. The advantage of this for decades proven technique is the excellent fit of electroformed.

Depending on the intended use, the metal frames are coated with ceramic materials to copy the natural teeth deceptively realistic in shape, surface design and color composition. Light effects of natural mineral tooth enamel, such as opalescence, fluorescence, transparency, color of varying intensity layers, etc., are built up in his own individual work of moist ceramic powder and baked at 780 to 900 ° C under vacuum. Even with ceramic staggered plastics (composites), stacked in kneadable consistency and polymerized with halogen light suitable.

Production of partial and full (total ) dentures - removable dentures

If many teeth have to be replaced, economic issues play a greater role, large claims regarding comfort are missing or a fixed prosthesis is not feasible to come part ( partial ) or full (total ) prostheses used.

The anchoring to the remaining dentition is done by V2A wire bent or chrome - cobalt -molybdenum alloys cast brackets ( CoCr ) which use the curvature of the tooth ( the prosthetic equator), to be held by spring force, the construction. Other possibilities would anchor ( push-button principle) and various forms of attachments, telescopic crowns, bridges and knobs to hold a prosthesis to remaining natural teeth.

These scaffolds prefabricated plastic teeth or rarely be fixed by means of ceramic gum-colored plastic. These teeth provides the industry in numerous shapes and shades of color. The dental technician combined according to the situation of the patient. Him articulators - these are devices that simulate and verify that the artificial teeth do their job in terms of aesthetics, phonetics ( articulation ) and chewing movements of the jaw joint.

When plastic is used for teeth and gums shares usually methyl methacrylate ( MMA) and used to PMMA polymerized ( UV curing ). The material was introduced as a reaction mixture with PMMA first time in 1936 the German company Heraeus Kulzer as denture resin under the brand name Paladon in the market ( Kulzer & Co. GmbH, UK Patent 484 343 (1938 ) ). It is similar chemically to the plexiglass.

In total prostheses of the grip on the edentulous jaw occurs

• Through the basic maintenance, ie adhesion cohesion forces and pressure differential forces (under the prosthesis to form a "vacuum", similar to a suction cup that seals the saliva).
• The fastener support (ie a valve-like " rim lock" and vectorial shares muscular forces) improves the basic maintenance.

Trends

Future developments in dental technology go in the direction of tooth-colored and particularly biocompatible materials, easier, safer and standardisable process technologies, and even greater individualisation of dentures to avoid any impression of "artificial ". This requires an optimal cooperation between the patient, dentist, dental assistants ( helpers ) and dental technicians.

Dental technology has changed in recent years. The embossed from a craft activity learns more and more influence of computer and automated processes, the profession is changing. Currently, various CAD / CAM systems are on the market, which receive the jaws situation in the mouth or on a model by means of mechanical scanning of the laser or optical scanning, in order then to construct the dental prosthesis on the screen. These data then go to production machines that mills the dentures of different materials or sintered. Rapid spread find high-strength framework materials such as zirconium oxide, zirconium oxide, aluminum oxide, titanium etc.

Dentures are usually made ​​in Germany in laboratories on site. This is a great benefit for the patient because the technician is in direct contact with the dentist and patient. This commercial dental laboratories play a role as well as directly employed by the dental technician. But the trend is towards ever more favorable dentures, resulting in that distant part of the dentist, but well priced laboratories are commissioned. Thus the patient gets more and more into the background, because it is not possible to work over such large distances by today's standards of quality and also the response times of remote labs is correspondingly longer. For several years, dentures is from Eastern European and Asian countries on the market, the quality varies. Some health insurance but have concluded with foreign dental providers framework contracts, which are illegal, German dental labs go collaborations and investments or relocate their production abroad.

Associations, organizations and trade fairs

Many dental laboratories in Germany are organized in the Association of German Dental Technicians' Guilds eV ( VDZI ). There are also other business combinations, such as the FVZL ( Free Association of Dental Laboratories ), VISION Dental, inter alia, m.

Dental technicians as employees in Germany are in different unions, notably IG Metall - which is alone capable of collective bargaining - and the German Dental Technicians Association eV ( ODP ) organized. Your earning potential have - deteriorated since the 1960s dramatically - partly due to Eastern European and increasingly Asian competition.

Many teachers at vocational schools for dental laboratories in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are members of e in the Pedagogical Association Dental Technology V.

In Switzerland, there are mainly three important organizations:

• The Association of Dental Laboratories in Switzerland ( VZLS ) for laboratory owners.
• In the Swiss Dental Technicians Association ( SZV ) are the dental technician.
• The third association there is the Swiss Master Dental Technician Association ( ASMO ).

In Austria, the dental technicians are organized into nine regional guilds and trade missions and summarized under the umbrella organization of the Federal Guild of the Austrian dental technician.

The world's leading trade fair is the International Dental Show, which takes place every two years in Cologne.

Training opportunities

The ongoing training is part of the profession of dental technician. In addition to these ongoing developments, there are also advancement training. Some of these are listed below.

Germany

• Zahntechnikermeister

Austria

• Academy of Dental Technology Austria ( educational institution for the training of apprentices and dental technicians )

Switzerland

• Prosthodontist / in ( Cantonal Diploma)

Higher College of Dental Technology:

• Professional male / female VZLS

Professional examination:

• Specialist / in dental technology with Federal. Fachausweis

Higher professional examinations:

• Master Dental Technician / in (HFP )