Dental technician
Dental technician or dental prosthetist is a recognized training occupation in Germany according to the craft regulations . The training usually lasts 3 years and 6 months; if special requirements are met, the training period can also be shortened. In Switzerland the basic vocational training is called a dental technician EFZ and lasts 4 years. In Austria, the basic training as a dental technician takes place as an apprenticeship with dual training in a vocational school and training company and lasts 4 years. The dental technician either works in a commercial dental laboratory or is employed in a practice laboratory.
Area of responsibility
Dental technician finished dental prosthesis ( crowns , pin crowns , bridges , partial or full dentures ), laboratory-made inlays , orthodontic appliances (braces), more rarely, occlusal splints and anti-snoring devices to.
Every order requires an exact impression of the patient's teeth. The dentist takes this impression (negative form of the patient's dentition ) with materials based on silicone , polyether or alginate and with the aid of ready-made spoons . In some cases, the quality (accuracy) can be improved by using custom-made impression carriers. By pouring special hard plaster of paris , the dental technician creates a working model (positive form) as his working basis.
The dental technician has patient contact the closer the dental laboratory (dental workshop) is to the dental practice. Sometimes the dentist calls in the dental technician for certain work steps or to determine the tooth color.
Establishing and operating a commercial dental laboratory (dental laboratory) in Germany requires a major certificate of proficiency ( master craftsman requirement). Forming can exclusively in the skilled trades registered industrial laboratories.
The patient has the right to be informed in advance who is going to make his dentures. The dental technician works on behalf of the dentist, who is also responsible for the dental workpieces that he has integrated ("medical integrability").
Field of activity
Fixed dentures
The dental technician models a wax shape on the plaster model using a tooth stump that has been ground by the dentist, which corresponds to the final workpiece. Using a "muffle casting" ("lost form") it is cast in metal and finished by hand.
Crowns reconstruct individual teeth or are attached using post abutments. They are also attached to implants as a superstructure . A bridge replaces one or more teeth, with two or more teeth serving as pillars for attachment. One- piece casting, soldering , welding ( using an arc or laser ) or a special adhesive technique are used to connect individual elements .
Inlays and onlays reconstruct destroyed, veneers (veneers) also unsightly tooth substance.
Precious metal alloys are valued for their biocompatibility, corrosion resistance and durability, or non-precious metal alloys (mostly composed of the elements cobalt , chrome and molybdenum ), which are also used for hip joint prostheses , are used as materials. The modeled frameworks are cast in metal using the lost wax technique. The investment material has to compensate for the shrinkage of the alloy during the cooling process after the casting by thermal expansion before casting. An accuracy of fit to the natural tooth of 10 µm is aimed for. The melting process takes place by means of a flame, electrical resistance heating, induction current or arc in centrifugal or vacuum pressure casting .
Alternatively, crowns and bridges made of titanium or titanium alloys are manufactured in a technologically more complex process. CAD / CAM systems for milling titanium or high-performance ceramics ( zirconium , zirconium dioxide , aluminum oxide ) are increasingly used. Another alternative is the laser sintering process for the production of crown frameworks in precious and non-precious metal alloys (NEM).
Electroplating is another alternative for producing frameworks for crowns, bridges and superstructures as well as for telescope technology , in which electroplating caps made of pure gold are deposited from a non-toxic gold electrolyte. The advantage of this proven technology lies in the high accuracy of fit of the electroplated parts.
Depending on the intended use, the metal frameworks are coated with ceramic compounds in order to copy the natural teeth in terms of shape, surface design and color structure as faithfully as possible. Light effects of the natural mineral tooth enamel, such as opalescence , fluorescence , transparency and layers of color of varying intensity are built up individually by hand from moist ceramic powder and fired under vacuum at 780 to 900 ° C. Furthermore, plastics mixed with ceramics ( composites ) are layered in a kneadable consistency and polymerized with halogen light .
Removable dentures
If numerous teeth have to be replaced, economic considerations have to be taken into account, great demands in terms of wearing comfort are lacking or a fixed denture is not feasible due to insufficient abutment value or number, partial (partial) or full (total) prostheses are used.
The anchoring to the remaining dentition is carried out by from V2A - wire bent or chromium-cobalt-molybdenum alloys cast brackets (CoCr) connecting the prosthetic equator use to hold by spring force, the construction retentive. With combination dentures, anchors (push-button principle) and various forms of attachments, telescopic crowns , bars and buttons are used to hold a prosthesis on still existing crowned teeth.
Prefabricated teeth made of plastic or, rarely, ceramic, are attached to the frameworks using gum-colored plastic . The industry supplies the artificial teeth in numerous shapes and colors. Dentures are manufactured in articulators , with which the movements of the temporomandibular joint or the lower jaw can be simulated. The artificial teeth fulfill their task in terms of aesthetics , phonetics (sound formation) and chewing function .
Methyl methacrylate (MMA) is usually used as the plastic for teeth and gum parts and is polymerized to polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) using UV light. The Kulzer company (today Kulzer, Mitsui Chemicals Group) introduced the material as a reaction mixture with PMMA in 1936 as a prosthesis plastic under the brand name PALADON . It is chemically similar to Plexiglas .
With full dentures , the toothless jaw is held by adhesive and cohesive forces and differential pressure forces. The latter arise from the fact that a negative pressure is created between the prosthesis and the mucous membrane; the effect is similar to a suction cup. The tightness is created by a valve-like "edge locking" and vector components of muscular forces.
Tendencies
The activity, which is shaped by the handicraft, is increasingly influenced by computers and automatic processes, and the job description is changing. Various CAD / CAM systems record the jaw situation in the mouth or on a model by means of mechanical scanning, laser or optical scans in order to design the dentures on the screen. These data are sent to the production machine, which mills or sinters the dentures from a wide variety of materials . High-strength framework materials such as zirconium , zirconium oxide or titanium are becoming increasingly popular .
Foreign dental technology
The trend is towards increasingly cheaper dentures, which means that dental laboratories, some of which are far away from the dentist, but are reasonably priced, are commissioned. Dentures are sometimes manufactured in Eastern European and Asian countries, the quality of which varies. Some health insurance companies have concluded framework agreements with foreign dental providers. German dental laboratories enter into partnerships and holdings with laboratories abroad or relocate their production abroad.
Associations, organizations and trade fairs
Many dental laboratories in Germany are members of dental technicians' guilds, which in turn are members of the Verband Deutsche Zahntechniker-Guild e. V. (VDZI) are organized. There are also other corporate associations, such as B. the FVZL (Free Association of Dental Laboratories) or VISION Dental.
Dental technicians as employees are in various trade unions in Germany , primarily IG Metall - which is the only one that is eligible for a tariff - and has been organized in the Association of Medical Professions since 2010 . Their earning potential has deteriorated dramatically since the 1960s, partly due to Eastern European and increasingly Asian competition . Some teachers at vocational schools for dental technology in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are members of the Pedagogical Working Group on Dental Technology. V.
The following associations are located in Switzerland :
- The Association of Dental Laboratories in Switzerland (VZLS) for laboratory owners.
- The dental technicians are members of the Swiss Association of Dental Technicians (SZV) .
- Swiss Association of Master Dental Technicians (ASMO) .
In Austria , the dental technicians are organized in nine national guilds or specialist representatives and are grouped together in the umbrella organization Federal Guild of Austrian Dental Technicians .
The world's most important trade fair is the International Dental Show , which takes place every two years in Cologne .
Training opportunities
The ongoing training is part of the job description of the dental technician. There are also advanced training courses.
Germany
- Master Dental Technician
Austria
- Academy for Austria's Dental Technology (educational institution for the advanced training of apprentices and dental technicians)
Switzerland
- Dental prosthetist (cantonal diploma)
Higher technical school for dental technology:
- VZLS specialist
- Specialist in dental technology with a federal diploma Qualification
- Master Dental Technician (HFP)
See also
Web links
Germany:
- Dental technician in Berufenet the Federal Employment Agency
- Association of German Dental Technicians' Guilds V. (VDZI)
- Free Association of Dental Laboratories eV (FVZL)
- Association of medical professionals
- Association of the German Dental Industry (VDDI)
Austria:
- Professional and industry information dental technician at the Austrian Chamber of Commerce
- The Austrian dental technician
Switzerland:
- Dental technician EFZ on Berufsberatung.ch
Individual evidence
- ↑ The list of the 41 master trades saved - handwerk magazin. Retrieved March 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Kulzer & Co. GmbH, UK Patent 484.343 (1938)
- ↑ Stiftung Warentest: Inexpensive dentures from the Far East , test.de, May 14, 2007 (accessed on February 4, 2013)
- ↑ BR-online: Gunther Franke: Dentures from China Really a bargain? ( Memento of March 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), March 16, 2009
- ^ Academy for Austria's Dental Technology
- ↑ http://www.berufsberatung.ch/dyn/1199.aspx?data=education&id=5423
- ↑ http://hfz.jimdo.com/fachmannfrau_vzls.php