The professions of dentistry and dental laboratory technology: improving the interface.
BACKGROUND
Dentistry's mission to provide rehabilitation services to patients who experienced dental disease is being jeopardized through the continual reduction of critical to quality skills and knowledge in dental laboratory technology being offered in dental and dental laboratory technician education. These reductions are creating a shortage of knowledgeable dentists and dental laboratory technicians who will be needed to address the projected public demand for laboratory-fabricated tooth replacements and restorations.


METHODS
Demographic trend analysis supports a hypothesis that without immediate action by dentistry, substantial patient needs will not be met owing to inadequate levels of dental laboratory support for general dentists.


RESULTS
The sophistication of laboratory-based rehabilitative and elective therapies demand closer cooperation between dentists and dental laboratory technologists.


CONCLUSIONS
Dentistry must not abdicate its responsibilities in dental technology as it pursues a path away from rehabilitation services toward a projected future of prevention services. With decreasing educational exposure and training in dental laboratory procedures, dentists will have difficulty participating with dental laboratory technologists to fabricate laboratory-based rehabilitative and elective therapies. Without significant guidance from dental professionals in establishing laboratory standards in both education and practice, proprietary interests and commercial biases may set the laboratory and clinical standards of the future.


CONCLUSIONS
Dentists will have limited experience or background to evaluate the dental laboratory technology offered in the marketplace and will be subject to the marketing of the industry. A shortage of educationally trained dental laboratory technologists will create a clinical and an economic burden on both dentists and patients.
McGarry
Thomas J
TJ
mcgarry@qns.com
Jacobson
Theodore E
TE
D003800:Dental Technicians / Q000193:education*; D003779:Denture Design; D004497:Education, Dental / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D011476:Prosthodontics / Q000193:education*; D013674:Technology, Dental / Q000193:education* / Q000639:trends*