A Technician Goes to Dental School: a Profile of the Modern Dental Student
Posted May 19, 2011 in Labs & Profiles
The University of Louisville School of Dentistry has completely transitioned to digital radiography. Eric Nunnally, CDT, and his techno-savvy classmates have no experience with film radiographs—and they‘re happy about it.
Everything changes; it's unavoidable. In the dental industry, it's the ever-present battle of new school vs. old school. Throughout my experience in the laboratory world, I've seen a noticeable difference in the mindset of new technicians compared to those that are more seasoned. And the more I experience the dental practitioner world, the more I see that this phenomenon exists here as well: today's dental student is different than he was a decade ago and changing more and more every year.
As you know, dental students are learning less about laboratory procedures than ever before. As the dental school curriculum has expanded to incorporate many new medical aspects, the amount of laboratory-related training has drastically decreased.
At the University of Louisville, I'm also seeing several other trends. And while they're based on my personal experiences, I suspect they're very telling of patterns across the nation...
