How to Build your Confidence as a Dental Technician

Dental technicians are vital to not only the maintenance but the future of the dental industry. Dental technicians are responsible for the production of prostheses like dentures, crowns, bridges and braces that improve patients’ appearance, speech and ability to chew. Essentially, dental technicians are the behind-the-scenes heroes that keep dentists in business. Therefore; as with any profession that contains a large amount of responsibility, the daily duties can be exciting yet daunting when beginning your career. This blog explains some top tips that can help build your confidence as a dental technician and how a dental technology degree can give you the industry-related skills that improve your employability. 

Take CPD Seriously 

The key to becoming a successful dental technician is to be passionate about your growth in the industry. Continuing professional development (CPD) is essential for this. A lot of dental professionals tend to complete CPD to simply make up their hours, but what they don’t realise is exactly how valuable it is to the success of your career. This is because - the reality is - no one is the finished article. So, if you want to grow, you need to be open to trying new things; taking on challenges and stepping out of your comfort zone. CPD can help you by providing opportunities to gain extra hours and continue learning during the process. As a result, you can become a better dental technician in the long run. 

Adopt a Positive Mindset  

As with any industry, your success is determined by the attitude you adopt for the situation you’re in. A dental technology career involves a large element of practical work. So, you need a positive mindset to enable you to make the most out of the opportunities you have available to you. As a dental technology degree student, you will have access to real-life case studies. These will allow you to put your academic learning into practice. Case studies also give you the opportunity to increase your industry connections through live work placements. By giving you access to their wealth of knowledge, you’ll drastically enhance your growth mindset as you get to learn about being a dental technician on-the-job. Also, if this wasn’t enough, the dental industry is always changing as new technologies come into play. This means that every dental technician in the country is essentially in the same boat; always required to learn new skills to succeed in the industry. 

Be Open to Improve 

It’s common knowledge that with any human comes an element of error. That’s one of the reasons why artificial intelligence has grown so quickly. It has the ability to complete the same tasks as humans in a quicker and more efficient way. Having said this, to grow as a successful dental technician, you need to have a proactive attitude. This means that if you happen to make a mistake, you should think to yourself, “how am I going to learn from it?” Alternatively, aspiring dental technicians have a great opportunity to bridge the gaps between technicians and the dentists themselves. This is because one of the best ways dental technicians can improve is to build their confidence to challenge things the dentist says or ask for a discussion to create more open dialogue in the working relationship. Ultimately, dental technicians create the prostheses that dentists use to treat patients’, so without them, dentists could be out of work.  

Join the UK’s Army of Dental Technicians  

Are you ready to start your journey as a future dental technician? 

At the University of Bolton, we offer one of the UK’s four BSc (Hons) Dental Technology degrees that can help put a smile on your face. Dental patient demand is constantly increasing. So, the need for new dental technicians has never been greater. You can guarantee that by the time you graduate, you will have a degree that is valuable to industry employers. That’s because our course is approved by the General Dental Council. You will also study in our £4.8 million Centre for Dental Sciences, home to state-of-the-art facilities like purpose-built dental laboratories, dental processing rooms, and a commercially sponsored digital dental laboratory. 

As a dental technology graduate, you not only will be on your way to achieving professional registration as a Dental Care Professional, but you will open the door to several rewarding careers: 

- Dental Technician 

- Dental Hygienist 

- Maxillofacial Technicians 

- Dental Therapist 

- Dental Care Practitioner 

Want to find out more about studying dental technology in our positive and supportive learning environment? Click here to view the full course details and find out how the University of Bolton can support your career ambitions.  

For more information, please contact us at enquiries@bolton.ac.uk or call us on 01204 903903.  

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