What is a Dental Prosthetist and what is the best skills they need for the job?
A Dental Prosthetist is a dental professional holding a bachelor of diploma (tertiary qualified) specifically trained in the consultation, construction/manufacture and fitting and maintenance of dentures for the oral cavity.
We also supply manufacture and fit mouth guards for sporting purposes.
With 40 years experience in the profession, I believe the best skills required for this job is first to be a competent listener to a clients wants and expectations from their denture experience. Patients have dentures in their mouths for most of their lives, so they need to be comfortable, functional and visually appealing to both them and their friends and family.
A sound knowledge and experience in manufacturing the dentures is a must by keeping in touch with the latest products and techniques.
Over my time in the industry I have seen many failures with peoples dentures . I believe this mainly comes about by dentists and technicians collaborating to make the dentures for a client.
The typical scenario is the dentist takes the impressions of the patient and then employs the services of a technician to manufacture the dentures. This process is time consuming for both the dentist and the patient.
More importantly the technician making the dentures often never gets to see the patient they make the dentures for resulting in dentures that don’t function and look visually unappealing.
This makes it important to get the right person for the job. Just as a mechanic is not normally an auto electrician or panel beater the same goes for getting properly fitted dentures that “bring back” your original younger self or improve your look.
We do however collaborate closely with your dentist if extractions are necessary following their expert advice.
If you are looking to get dentures to resurrect your bite then call Rob Clark early on to get the best denture advice and service for your future success.