Calling all dental technicians, clinical dental technicians (CDTs) and dental labs: the final entry deadline for the 2024 Dentistry Awards is just around the corner.
The awards, which recognise excellence across all walks of general practice, will take place on 13 September at their usual home of The Athena in Leicester.
And with entry now closing on Monday 8 July, there’s not long left to get your submission together!
If you want a shot at bringing home an award, it’s time to start putting your entry together.
Whether it’s a groundbreaking treatment technique, a superb technical result or an exceptional commitment to patient satisfaction, the awards celebrate the best and brightest in dentistry.
This year, there are five categories open for dental labs, dental technicians and clinical dental technicians at the Dentistry Awards.
Read on for this year’s categories for the lab community and an abridged set of criteria. Please note that the following information is a guide only – for full entry details, please download the entry guide in full here.
Enhance your credibility
‘The awards aren’t everyone’s “cup of tea”‘, says Matt Everatt, Laboratory editor-in-chief. ‘Personally, I love dental awards.
‘I enjoy the process of entering – the opportunity to look back on the amazing work you and your colleagues do is almost cathartic.
‘Winning an award can serve as a powerful PR tool and significantly boosts team morale. Sharing the victory with your team generates excitement, making everyone feel integral to the achievement and fostering confidence and motivation.
‘Promoting your status as an “award-winning technician” or “award-winning lab” enhances your credibility and elevates your reputation, distinguishing you from competitors in the dental field.
‘Additionally, attending awards ceremonies offers valuable networking opportunities. It allows you to connect with peers at the pinnacle of their profession and introduces you to potential new clients, all while enjoying the spotlight of being featured on the grand stage.
‘Experiencing an awards ceremony is exciting and inspiring. The buzz in the room when the awards are announced is fantastic, and having your team with you makes it a wonderful team-building experience.’
The categories
Team Members of the Year
This category is open to dental technicians and clinical dental technicians. Explain why you should win by submitting any, or a combination, of the following:
- Demonstrate your passion for the profession
- Tell the judges of anything outstanding you have done or been involved in
- Detail any hurdles you have overcome
- Provide evidence of excellent patient care or where you go beyond the regular duty of care
- Show how or why you are different from others
- Show evidence of connection with the local community or a charity.
Dental Laboratory of the Year
Simply send up to 750 words explaining why your laboratory should win this award.
Consider the following:
- Highlight how you maintain consistent high standards of work throughout the laboratory
- Provide evidence of how you go beyond the regular duty of client care
- Describe how the team is led
- Show how you keep the team happy
- Demonstrate how you connect with the local community
- Show your marketing plan and demonstrate its effectiveness
- Give evidence of investment and development in your lab and your team
- Financial progress: is the lab successful and viable?
Website of the Year
To enter this category, explain why your website should win, detailing a selection of the following. Include screenshots as support.
- Show excellent structure and navigation
- Demonstrate how the website has been carefully designed to connect quickly with its target audience
- Explain what measures have been taken to reduce bounce rate
- Explain what measures have been taken to increase conversion rate
- Show the creative process that ensures the website doesn’t look like a ‘template’ website
- Demonstrate the website’s speed
- Show SEO visibility and usage numbers.
Sustainable Business Award
To enter this category, detail your commitment to operating a sustainable business and how you’ve taken steps to examine every area of its environmental footprint. You must describe the actions taken and provide evidence of the commitments.
Specifics to consider include your reduction of single-use plastics, your carbon footprint and emissions, the management of your sustainability work, your efforts to reduce what your business consumes, and your approach to biodiversity.
- Why is being a sustainable business important to you? Why are you committed?
- How do you organise yourself to deliver on your sustainability commitments?
- How do your commitments filter into aspects such as procurement, waste management, decision making and communications?
- How have you sought to engage with clients and staff over your sustainability commitments?
Team of the Year
To give your team the best chance to be recognised, demonstrate the following elements:
- Demonstrate a great team atmosphere and approach to patient care
- How does your lab invest in team development and training?
- How are you different from the competition?
- Show where your team goes above and beyond the regular duty of care
- Provide evidence of connection with the local community or a charity.
How to enter
Head over to dentistry.co.uk/the-dentistry-awards and click ‘register now’. You will then be able to add your details and select your categories.
As soon as entry for submissions has opened, you will be notified. Submissions must be received by the entry deadline, which is now Monday 8 July.
To be eligible for an award, you should not be subject to any ongoing fitness to practise investigation by the GDC or be practising under any conditions imposed as a result of such an investigation.
When you are ready to submit your entry, complete the online form and then upload your entry. In an effort to simplify the process, this is now the only way to submit entries for every awards.
For more information or for help with your submission, contact [email protected] or +44 1923 851777.
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