‘I was completely thrown in the deep end and I hated every minute of it’: Beth Brown discusses her journey to becoming a dental technician and how she keeps her passion alive.
Firstly, how did you decide to become a dental technician?
When I was in college I was doing art, textiles, photography – that kind of thing, all the creative subjects. And then I went on to do a foundation diploma in art and design.
Everyone was filling out their university applications for art, fine art, illustration and all of these kinds of things. And they asked me what I wanted to apply for.
I loved art and design and that creative field, but I never wanted a job in that area because it was never a safe option. You were never guaranteed to have a job forever. Most people get here-and-there jobs.
So, at this point, I decided that I wasn’t going to go to university because I wasn’t a 100% sure on what I wanted to do.
I took a year out and during this time I went back to college and spoke to my old tutors. When I was explaining my situation, they told me about a friend of theirs who was a dental technician.
‘I wasn’t that interested at first’
Before this I didn’t even know they existed. I had no idea what they did.
They said: ‘Just have a look, Google what they do. It’s medical and dental, but there’s also this creative side of it that we think you’d probably love.’
So I went away and did a quick Google search and I wasn’t actually that interested at first.
I thought that I probably wouldn’t like it. It sounded really science focused and I was never great at that during my school years.
But when I properly looked into it I immediately thought: ‘No, I think this is a good idea’.
I searched for courses and the closest one to me was Leeds University. So I made my application, but I had missed the deadline by four days! I couldn’t apply until the year after.
While I waited, I contacted all of the labs around me. I just rang them all up and said: ‘I have one day a week where I’m not at college, so can I come and be a volunteer just to see what you do and have a go at it?’ Then at least I would know if I liked what I was getting myself into.
Luckily a lab said yes, but I was basically just a tea lady for a year. I would make a couple of things like bite blocks, but it still helped me realise that it was what I wanted to do.
Then I started my course at Leeds in 2015. So that’s how I got into it, but it seems like a world away!
How did you find it when you first qualified?
I first qualified in 2018 and I went straight into an NHS lab. It was just a small lab connected to a practice.
It was amazing because I got hands-on experience and actually got to see patients as well because the lab was in the same building.
We didn’t do any outsource work, which was great. We just did the work for the dentists that were on site.
I had a lot of dentist/technician communication in that role which I was really grateful for.
They also had a really large domiciliary contract. This meant I had lots of patients that I was doing work for that had dementia, arthritis, and all of these other conditions.
I probably wouldn’t have seen these patients in a different lab because that was their main focus, so I was really grateful for that experience too.
But as an NHS lab, it was very fast paced and we were – you don’t want to say it, but – just getting the work out. It’s not the dentist’s fault because they’re in the same boat that we’re in.
They had to meet deadlines in terms of how many patients they need to see and how quickly they need to get out the door.
So there was not really enough time to spend on a case to actually feel proud of it at the end.
‘I hated every minute of it’
I also found it difficult because it was such a small lab. There were only four of us!
Also the entire staff changed when I started. I started and then everyone left. I don’t know if it was me…
The only person that was there was a CDT who was the acting lab manager, but he only worked one day a week and he was in surgery most of the time.
There was nobody there on a day-to-day basis if I was stuck on a case to ask for help.
I had to bank all my questions and then, when he came in, present my list of questions.
I remember in my first week at work I had one week with the CDT and then he went on holiday for three weeks. So, I had to run the lab for three weeks by myself which was a huge challenge for me!
I was completely thrown in the deep end and I hated every minute of it. But it made me a better technician for it.
I was finding it quite hard and that’s why I turned to Instagram at that point. I realised there was this whole community online of people that are so helpful!
When I first made my Instagram I was in my second year at university, so I still had a whole year before I qualified.
It wasn’t very often, but even then there were situations where I turned to the online community.
I was thinking: ‘Right, I’ve got an exam on Monday and it’s a practical and I’m stuck because I’ve got these teeth and they’re not working. How do I fix it?’
People from all over the world would would message me saying: ‘Why don’t you try this’, and ‘Have you tried this?’, ‘Maybe do this’, ‘Let me see’. Which was just so helpful.
I used that online community a lot when I first qualified. I don’t think I’d be where I am today without the help of people online. So, that was a big help.
You mentioned finding yourself in a rut. What did you do to come out of this?
In the last six months, I found myself in a bit of a rut. This was mainly because quite a lot of my life got really busy.
I still work in a lab all the time, and then I have my business that I’ve just just started. But then I’m also doing my masters at the same time, so it’s very full on.
And then I decided I’m just going to drop everything and move to Australia!
So I put Instagram to the back of my mind because obviously it’s not as important as everything else.
But, as a result of that, I then realised I had lost the passion behind the work because I wasn’t sharing it online anymore. I wasn’t getting that community involvement.
There’s so many people online and we all talk to each other, but I had slipped out of that group of people.
As well as this, working somewhere where you’re doing the same thing every day, you get in a rut of : ‘Oh, another complete denture to set.’
You’re not having conversations with dentists about cases and actually treating each case individually. It’s just another model and another model and another model.
Keeping the passion alive
The biggest thing for me was getting the passion back in what I was creating every day.
Technicians are notoriously known for just sitting at their bench with their headphones in and getting the work done.
I am sometimes like that. But when a dentist rings up and says: ‘Look, I’ve got this really creative case. What can we do?’ it just ignites something inside me where I’m think: ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so excited.’
I push for things like that and open up those conversations as well. If the dentist doesn’t talk to you, why not go and be annoying?
That’s one of the main things I do to ensure I keep the passion alive.
As well as this, sharing my work online really helps as well. You can really see your progression.
Sometimes I go back through my Instagram and look at the work I did last year. And, do you know what, I’ve actually come quite far since then. I often use it as my own portfolio to reflect back on.
I’m probably still a little bit in a rut, but that’s because I’ve got so much on my mind. I’m trying to make it a focus to stay excited about everything that I’m doing because I wouldn’t get everything done if I’m not excited about doing it.
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