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Julia Glancey RDT

@julia_dtapex

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Multi Disciplined Technician
Special interest AOX & Complex Cases
@nightshift.tech Ambassador
Den-Tech Ambassador

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I try to make time to do a little learning on my own.
Some of these things are to help me personally in my own workflow. Others will hopefully make their way out into the lab world depending on results. I think the important thing is to keep pushing to see where a better appliance can be made. It’s not always a success with a finished product, but if you can learn something new about why an idea hasn’t worked then that’s still progress. Don’t be afraid to trash something in the search for a solution to a problem. It’s still a step in the right direction.

Never stop being a student.

#dentaltech #dentaltechnician #dentaltechnology

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I think this is a conversation our industry needs to be having more often.

I completely understand why practices look overseas to reduce their laboratory costs. Dentistry is expensive to deliver, and everyone's trying to make the numbers work.

But I wonder whether, in trying to make dentistry more affordable today, we're overlooking what it might cost us tomorrow.

We're already facing challenges recruiting and training skilled dental technicians. And when work moves overseas, it's not just the revenue we're potentially losing, but opportunities to develop the next generation.

Then there's the environmental impact. 🌍

A 2026 study published in the British Dental Journal found that using local laboratories reduced the carbon footprint of the denture workflows studied by approximately 18% compared with global laboratory workflows.

That's before we even start thinking about the wider questions of accountability, traceability and the value of having technical support close to home.

I'm not against overseas laboratories. There are incredibly talented technicians all over the world.

But I do think we need to look beyond the price on the invoice.

Because the cheapest option today isn't necessarily the one that costs us the least in the long run.

I'd genuinely love to hear from dentists and technicians on this one. Are we considering the bigger picture when choosing where our laboratory work goes?

Research: Rosenblatt et al., British Dental Journal (2026).

#DentalTechnology #DentalLaboratory #UKDentistry #DentalTechnicians #sustainabledentistry

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Not all clasps are created equal! 🦷

And choosing the right one involves a lot more than just deciding how much metal the patient is happy to show.

Aesthetics are important, of course, but so are retention, reciprocation, support and the forces we're placing on those abutment teeth.

Sometimes the most discreet option isn't necessarily the most appropriate one.

Good partial denture design is about understanding the biomechanics, not just hiding the clasp.

I've put together a quick comparison of five common clasp designs and where they might be best used.

Save this for your next partial denture design!

Technicians and clinicians, what's your go-to clasp design? 👀

#DentalTechnician #PartialDentures #Prosthodontics #dentaleducation

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🚩 Some of you need couples therapy 😭🦷👇🏻

Communication is HALF the battle, and don’t get started on the last one 🫢

When you have an open, professional relationship with your clinicians and lab partners, you can have conversations that others might shy away from.

Asking questions, suggesting alternatives, discussing treatment plans and even disagreeing are all part of producing great work! 🙌🏼

Here are 5 tips to improve your clinic-lab relationship 👇🏼

1️⃣ Start strong. Have a phone or video call when onboarding new clients. Build a positive, open relationship from day one!

2️⃣ Use voice notes and videos. Tone gets lost in messages! Sometimes a 30-second video can save 20 emails and a whole lot of misunderstanding. 😂

3️⃣ Disagree without being a d*ck. Ask for clarity, explain your reasoning and give people the opportunity to respond before losing your cool.

4️⃣ STOP assuming people know what you know. Clinicians see the patient, technicians see the process. Neither sees the full picture without ✨ COMMUNICATION ✨

5️⃣ Learn about the other side. Understanding each other’s workflows, challenges and limitations makes you better at your own job.

Great dentistry isn’t just about technical and clinical skills. It’s about the decisions we make, the information we share and how well we work together. 🦷✨

Something I’m VERY passionate about, and a huge part of what I’ve been working on behind the scenes. Not long now and all will be revealed 👀🤯

Now, what’s YOUR review? ⭐️😂

I want to hear your best (or worst) clinic-lab experiences in the comments! 👇🏼

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Can we stop treating the denture try-in as just a chance to ask the patient if they're happy with how their teeth look? 👀

Because a patient can love their new smile, the bite can look great, and we can still be missing something important.

How do they actually function with those teeth?

Phonetics is one of those things that's so easy to overlook, particularly when we're focused on aesthetics, occlusion and getting everything ready for finish.

But a few carefully chosen words can give us some really useful clinical information before we commit to the final prosthesis.

And the best part? It takes less than a minute to incorporate into your try-in appointment.

I've put together a little clinical cheat sheet of the sounds I find useful, what they can tell us and what to look out for.

Save this one for your next denture try-in. 🦷

#ClinicalDentalTechnician #Dentures #DentalEducation #Prosthodontics #DentalTechnician

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At this point, I’m not managing my workload. I’m managing an increasingly elaborate network of reminders about my workload 😂

Calendar notifications. To-do lists. Sticky notes. Alarms.

And somehow, still walking into a room and forgetting why I’m there.

One thing I’ve learnt though: a reminder isn't a plan.

If something actually needs doing, give it a time slot, not just another notification you'll inevitably swipe away.

Anyway, happy Friday 🤙🏻

Just off to set a reminder to review my reminders before Monday. 🙃

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How it was done 👇🏼

Backings on teeth or occlusal metal onlays on denture teeth are a NIGHTMARE. You can get them close, but getting everything to fit perfectly can mean a lot of time spent at the bench making adjustments.

Unless you utilise digital 👀

For this case, I designed the teeth digitally and printed a try-in to verify everything before any metalwork was made.

Once we were happy, I sent the files over to @adam_artframe who was able to print a model that actually incorporated the denture teeth. This meant there was no guesswork around where the metal needed to be positioned.

When it came back, the teeth just SLOTTED into place 😍

I cannot tell you how happy that made me 😂 The time spent at the bench making things fit is the bane of my life, so having everything just go together like a little jigsaw puzzle was EVERYTHING.

We saw a problem and experimented until we found a solution. And boy, was it a good one 🙌🏼

But this workflow wouldn’t have been possible without understanding both analogue AND digital dental technology.

It wasn’t about replacing one with the other. It was about combining the two to create a better, more predictable workflow.

When you come across a problem, do you think outside the box and find a better solution? Or do you keep fixing the same problem every time it happens? 👀🦷

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🚨 LAST FEW TICKETS! 🚨

Our final Nightshift Study Club of the year is happening in few weeks guys!! Get your tickets!!!

Join us with Firas Dahbour for an exclusive combination of lecture + live demo on his 4×4 Technique — Minimal Tools, Maximum Aesthetics.

🎓 You Get 1 hour CPD

🎥 Can’t make it live? The session will be recorded, so you can watch it back in your own time!

📅 Happening on the 13th October | 6:30pm BST

💜 Last few tickets remaining don’t miss this one!

Comment DM 👇🏼 we will drop you the link 🔗

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Fun fact: Most lab problems don’t start in the lab.

They start with missing information, assumptions, or two people having a slightly different idea of what the end result should be.

Good communication between the clinic and the lab makes everyone’s life easier, and ultimately gives the patient a better result.

P.s. Make sure you put it in writing ✍️ writing on the ticket "call me" doesn't class as a prescription, give us a heads up of the plan at least 🙂‍↕️

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Dental technology is one of those careers most people don’t even know exists.

But dentistry doesn’t work without technicians. Dentures, crowns, bridges, implants, orthodontics… behind so much of what happens in the surgery is someone designing, making and problem-solving behind the scenes.

And when technician numbers keep falling, it doesn’t just affect dental labs. Eventually it affects the whole of dentistry, capacity, turnaround times, skills and where our dental work can actually be made.

At The Hive, we’ve taken on apprentices because I don’t think we can keep talking about the future of the profession without actually doing something to help build it.

There are so many people out there who would make brilliant dental technicians but have probably never even heard of dental technology as a career.

You don’t have to already work in dentistry either. If you’re practical, creative, good with your hands, interested in science, healthcare, design or digital technology, have a look at it. There are university and apprenticeship routes into the profession, leading to GDC registration.

And if you already work in dentistry but fancy a change, your existing knowledge could give you a brilliant starting point.

So please share this outside of the dental technology bubble.

Send it to your dental nurses. Your team. School leavers. Friends thinking about a career change. Or that ridiculously creative person you know who still hasn’t quite worked out what they want to do.
We need skilled people.

They might just need someone to tell them we exist.

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I own and help run a dental practice and laboratory.
But I’m not a dentist.

And I think that distinction is important.

There are clinical decisions I am neither qualified nor entitled to make, and having brilliant clinicians around me means I don’t need to be.

But running a dental business involves far more than clinical decision-making.

It involves patient experience, people, finance, marketing, systems, operations, capacity, communication, technology and strategy.

And I think dentistry can sometimes fall into the trap of assuming that the person with the most clinical expertise should automatically have the loudest voice on everything else too.

They shouldn’t.

Equally, being non-clinical doesn’t automatically make someone an expert in business, leadership or marketing either.

The better question is: what does this person bring to the conversation that the rest of us might not?
Experience.
Perspective.
Knowledge.
A different background.
Or simply being close enough to a problem to see something others have stopped noticing.

That doesn’t blur professional scope.

It means recognising that scope and contribution are two different things.

Do you think dentistry is good at listening to people outside the traditional clinical hierarchy?

And if not... whose voice do you think we’re missing?

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