Meet Tommy Wong, RDT

TOMMY WONG

Teamwork Dental Ceramic Laboratory

Tommy Wong was born in Hong Kong and has travelled around the world regarding his education. “My education started in Hong Kong, but I travelled to Melbourne, Australia for my high school and first year of university. I immigrated to Canada with my family and enrolled in the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where I completed my bachelor of science degree. I went on to the North Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), where I completed my dental technology diploma, ” Tommy states. Since graduating, he has worked in many different dental labs in Edmonton until 1990. He says, “I moved to Vancouver, where I worked for West Coast Dental Ceramic Lab in West Vancouver for seven years.”

After a successful stint working in dental laboratories for other people, he decided to start his own dental lab. “I founded Teamwork Dental Ceramic Laboratory in 1998. At the start, there were only two dental technicians, including myself. We were specializing in crown and bridge at that time. Since then, Teamwork has grown into a 16-person dental technician lab under my supervision,” he proclaims. Teamwork currently services dentists in many parts of Canada, including British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. The services have since expanded from fabricating simple night guards, complete dentures, PFM or FGC with precision attachments, zirconia crowns or bridges to complex full mouth restorations.

When proudly speaking about the team at Teamwork Dental Ceramic Laboratory, he exclaims, “Our team of dental technicians are all highly trained and very experienced. They continually improve themselves by taking relevant technical courses and discussing challenging cases with dental implant manufacturers and suppliers.” This investment in continuing education helps empower the technicians to provide in-depth information, solutions, and step-bystep guidance to help dentists achieve their dental lab projects to the highest standard.

With that being said, there have been some challenges over the years, the most obvious being the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Teamwork Dental Ceramic Laboratory as a whole pivoted quickly and made sure to follow all of BC’s Health Guidelines strictly. “Measures we implemented included mandatory COVID-19 screening for patients

that needed in-person shade matching, daily disinfecting, face masks, hand washing and sanitizing, dividers between technicians, and divesting staff usage of the pantry. These measures were all strictly enforced at our lab,” explains Tommy. The adherence to BC Health Guidelines and extra safety measures implemented continued to keep unnecessary risks down and keep everyone safe during uncertain times.

Luckily, things have returned to near pre-pandemic levels, and Tommy and his team are back doing what they do best. When asked about some career highlights, he had two instances that came to mind. “I remember, as a student, I got a summer job working as a driver for a dental lab. When I wasn’t busy driving around, the technicians would give me wax-up cases and some pointers on how to do it properly. I was amazed at how fast and precise they could wax up a crown using a Bunsen burner. This was my very first experience with dental labs,” says Tommy. “The other highlight (more like a challenge) was merging Teamwork with UniNature. At the height of the pandemic, I was presented with the opportunity to take the reins at UniNature. As you can imagine, it was difficult enough to uproot Teamwork from downtown Vancouver and move all my technicians and equipment to Richmond. And doing so in a full-blown pandemic! We overcame those challenges and are now on track again.” Another challenge Tommy mentioned was the labour shortage in the field. Attracting new talent into the dental technology industry will be the greatest challenge in the upcoming years.

Tommy is fortunate in that he enjoys what he does for a living and is happy to go to work every day. “I truly enjoy seeing how my work can help so many people regain their ability to use their teeth,” he says. He also states, “I have become one of those dental technicians I once admired when I was just a student.” As for someone looking to consider a career in dental technology – his answer is simple. “I suggest spending time observing the dental laboratory and how this industry is evolving. Take the time to talk to other dental technicians, and sharpen up on computer and digital knowledge.”

When Tommy is outside of the dental lab, he can be found enjoying the outdoors and being social. “In my spare time, I like travelling, gardening, cooking, and entertaining my friends in my backyard.”

NEW SHADES NEW MOULDS

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SHADES AVAILABLE

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