‘I couldn’t see myself lasting long’: Gabriel Sweeney discusses what he learned from his experience as a young dental technician.
‘Is that like a dental nurse then?’
Since becoming a dental technician I have come to expect this response when I tell someone what I do for a living.
I’m unsure why so few people are aware of our job role, but I do know that the proportion of newly qualified dental technicians that stick with the job is extremely low.
Out of the 30 or so people in my class, I’m only aware of two other classmates that are still technicians. Everyone else has either made lateral moves into dental nursing, hygiene and therapy, or changed industries completely.
From my perspective, as someone who joined the industry relatively recently, I can understand why so many drop out of the profession. The job can be tough, dusty and poorly paid.
However, it’s not all stress, plaster and underwhelming wage slips. At the age of 17 I failed my AS-Levels and found myself on the dental technology course at Sheffield City College.
At the time this felt like a disaster. But nine years later I can say it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I applied myself to the course and enjoyed learning real skills for the first time in my life.
‘I couldn’t see myself lasting long’
Two years later I had a job at a large orthodontic laboratory in Sheffield. I quickly experienced all of the aspects of the job that must drive people into other professions and, I must admit, I couldn’t see myself lasting long.
As always though, the good came with the bad and I discovered aspects of the job that I enjoyed and could take pride in. Like polishing up the first removable appliance that I’d made from scratch which was going to be shipped and fitted into a patient’s mouth.
After a year I moved onto another large orthodontic lab to work in their CAD/CAM department. This involved setting up clear aligner cases and operating the 3D printers.
To my surprise, after a couple of years since qualifying I found myself doing a job that wasn’t very much like the job I was trained to do. I’d swapped the pliers and bunsen burner for a computer and 3D printer.
Yet I felt like I’d found a role I could naturally excel in for the first time. After a couple more years I was promoted to team leader of the department.
Helping to manage one of the biggest digital orthodontic departments in the country while in my early twenties didn’t only teach me a range of practical skills. I also learned how to perform under pressure, how to manage staff and workflow through the department, and how to think independently.
Like working in any large dental lab, there were days when I questioned whether the stress was worth it. But overall I found it to be a satisfying job that played a huge role in shaping me into a capable, hard working technician. All of this at the same time as most of my friends were only just graduating university.
Shaky ground
After only a few years into my new role, I sensed the career progression wasn’t going to be what I had originally hoped for. So I decided to quit and start my own company. I’m now the owner of Express PAR Score – the company I started with the goal of providing the best Peer Assessment Rating (PAR) scoring service in the country.
After several years in two large orthodontic labs, I believe this is an area within our industry in which there is much room for improvement. I noticed that PAR scoring often caused a problem for both practice and lab. The labs were often already under pressure to manufacture hundreds of appliances and retainers each day.
When a batch of 20 PAR scoring cases came in, they were neglected until the last minute. As a result, the practice would have to call to chase the work up which is unnecessary time and stress for everyone involved. The service I provide solves that problem.
Starting a company in the dental industry has taught me a lot and I have enjoyed every second of it.
Just like working in the orthodontic labs, being self employed has its ups and downs. The future of NHS dental care seems to be on shaky ground which puts me on shaky ground.
Life, however, would be boring if it was all plain sailing. For as long as I am driven by the goal of growing my company until Express PAR Score is a household name in British orthodontics, I will be a happy man.
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