Welcome from the editor

Welcome TO YOUR JUNE 2021 ISSUE

By Matt Everatt F.O.T.A I Editor

Welcome to your June

edition of The Dental Technician Magazine.

No doubt most of you are hanging on baited breath for the opening up of life again on the 21st June. What a funny and difficult time to live in and experience.

I was surprised to read that many labs are still experiencing a drop in revenue by as much as 50% in some instances, whilst others are busier now than they have ever been and struggling to recruit quick enough to keep up with the demand in work. There is clearly some levelling out and I expect that NHS dentistry is going to change in the next few years. I do hope that we are beyond the worst of times and that all labs are able to continue and thrive in this next season.

I wanted to thank everyone who continues to contribute to the magazine and this month I am delighted to include Sean Thompsons article on ‘Life Outside of The Lab’. Sean gives us a really inspiring glimpse into his life beyond Dental technology. I would really like to expand this feature and make it a regular appearance. Please do contact me if you would like to take part in this feature.

Another area that has sparked my interest this month was educational institutions. I read several damning posts in the DTGB group about the poor quality of service from several training institutions. I do have a soft spot for our training institutions and I do empathise with their struggles. So much so, I visited our local college and have subsequently delivered a few training sessions to the first year students. Covid has had a massive impact on their ability to get into the labs in college and get the vital hands on experience that we as a profession need them to have. I interviewed Julie Barker, Head of the Academy for Science and Dental at Sheffield College. Julie gets it, she understands the need to get industry and colleges talking to each other. We, as a profession, are desperate for qualified Dental Technicians who have some form of practical ability. If we work with our colleges, they can help us.

I want to wish you all well for the coming month, I do hope June the 21st brings us all the freedom we need to get our profession, businesses and lives back on track and that we don’t experience another event like this in our lifetime.

Again, it goes without saying, I do hope you enjoy this month’s issue. We are always keen to hear from you, if you want to reply to an article or feature, or if you have an idea for a feature, I would be really keen to hear from you.