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Are technicians really part of the team?

Andrea Johnson explores why laboratories are still treated as outsiders – and how closer lab-clinic collaboration could help 🤝

Link in bio to read the article

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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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“The denture doesn't fit.”

Something ever lab hears, and one of the least helpful descriptions when trying to work out what's actually wrong. 😅

It's tempting to jump straight to a reline or remake, but are we actually fixing the problem or just guessing?

I've seen dentures fit beautifully on a model but fail completely in the mouth. And sometimes the fitting surface isn't even the issue!

A little more investigation can save a lot of unnecessary lab work.

Here are five things worth checking before sending that denture back to the lab. 🦷

Save this one for your next troubleshooting appointment!

#ClinicalDentalTechnician #Dentures #DentalLaboratory #Prosthodontics

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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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A chrome denture shouldn’t just replace what’s missing. It should protect what’s still there.

This case needed a little more thought: protecting areas of existing wear, incorporating backing where needed, and using a Scandinavian-style design to keep unnecessary coverage away from the gingival margins.

This is why I’m such a fan of designing before manufacturing.

Map it out, discuss it, amend it and agree it.

Good chrome design isn’t about how much metal you can add.

It’s knowing where you don’t need it.

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When I interview a dental technician, I’m interested in more than the work they can produce on their best day.

I want to know what they can do consistently, how they learn, how they speak to people and what happens when the plan changes.

If you take 45 minutes to make a bite block, tell me it takes 45 minutes. If you’re still developing a skill, tell me. An honest answer gives me something to work with. An inflated one becomes obvious pretty quickly.

And if you’re asking for a particular salary, be ready to talk about the value you’d bring. That might be technical ability, relationships, efficiency, leadership, new clients or a combination of those things.

You don’t need a rehearsed answer for every question. You do need to know yourself well enough to have a real conversation.

➡️ Technicians and lab owners: what’s one interview question you wish people answered more honestly?

Know your own pace.

If I ask how long it takes you to make a bite block, give me your honest answer. Tell me what affects the time and where you’re still building speed.

Please don’t give me the number you think I want to hear.

We’ll both know the reality within your first three months..

Show me what you’ve done since qualifying.

What have you learned because you wanted to, rather than because you had to?

A course, a mentor, a technique you’ve practised or a part of the job you’ve taken time to understand.

Tell me what you did with what you learned.

Give me something to get excited about.

Who inspires your work? What part of dental technology do you want to get better at? Where would you like to be in a few years?

You don’t need a perfect career plan. I’d like to hear that you’ve thought about where you’re going.

Understand the business you’re joining.

It’s fair to ask for the salary you want. I’ll also want to understand the value you can bring.

Can you help us improve quality or efficiency? Build relationships with clinicians? Bring clients with you? Are you the triple threat who can make excellent work, communicate well and help the lab grow?

Remember that your work involves people.

I need to know I can trust you with our clinicians, clients and patients.

How do

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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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Sunday me has plans.

Monday me is optimistic.

Tuesday me is slightly behind.

Wednesday me is answering emails with one hand, eating something questionable with the other and wondering who approved Sunday’s schedule. 😂

One thing that genuinely helps though: stop planning your week at 100% capacity.

When you make your Sunday plan, leave a couple of blocks completely empty.

Because something will take longer. Someone will need you. And something you absolutely did not plan for will appear at 10:47am on Tuesday.

The aim isn’t to follow the Sunday plan perfectly.

It’s to still vaguely recognise it by Wednesday. 🙃

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💾 Save this for the next time you’re fitting a new denture.

I think sometimes we underestimate just how much we’re asking a patient to adapt to.

We’ve changed the environment their tongue, muscles, speech and chewing have been working in for years, then we’re surprised when it doesn’t immediately feel “normal”.

Of course genuine problems need investigating. “You’ll get used to it” should never be an excuse for a denture that needs adjusting.

But adaptation is also a very real part of prosthetic treatment, and I think we need to talk about it more BEFORE fit day, not once the patient is already struggling.

A bit of expectation management at the beginning can make a huge difference to how those first few weeks feel.

Fit day isn’t the finish line. It’s the start of learning how to use the new prosthesis. 🦷

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