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Ana M. Remond, Dental Technician, Third Class, Prosthesis Department, Bethesda Navy Dental School, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland
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1. I chose this career because...
2. My typical workday involves...
3. What I like best/least about my work...
4. My career goals are...
5. When I'm not working, I like to...
6. The present task and future goals...
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1. I chose this career because...
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The articulator mimics the movements of the upper and lower jaw and is used to hold the the patient's dental impression as shown.
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I chose to become a dental technician because of the opportunities I discovered in the Navy. My native country is Peru. When I came to the U.S. I was 20 years old. I tried to secure a job at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center. Because I could not speak English well, I did not qualify. I decided to enter Parkdale High School in Riverdale, Maryland. While there, I took part in the ESOL (English as a Second Language) program and ultimately graduated with an American high school diploma. (I had a similar diploma from Peru.) After receiving my diploma, I found a job and continued to go to school part-time in the evenings. I knew I wanted to enter dentistry, but first needed to complete the college entrance courses. The cost of my schoolbooks took all my earnings and I had little time for anything but work and study.
Training in the Navy
At the suggestion of a friend, I talked to a Navy Recruiter and joined the Navy. I attended Boot Camp in Illinois. The physical training was very good and the treatment very fair. I was sent to Wichita Falls to train as a dental assistant at the Naval School of Health Sciences at Shepherd Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, (http://nshssd.med.navy.mil/sheppardafb/dentalA.htm). I chose to train as a dental assistant so that my skills would provide a job after I left the Navy. My training took 2 months and I successfully applied for advanced training that took an additional 6 months. I received an award as the best student in the class. At that time, I was deployed to the National Naval Medical Center’s Dental School in Bethesda, Maryland, where I work today.
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2. My typical workday involves...
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Ana Remond makes a mold of a patient's dental impression.
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My typical workday depends on the assignments I have for that particular day of the week. My major task is to make dentures for the upper and lower jaw. At the beginning of the week,
the dentists provide me with a list of cases that need to be completed by Friday.
A typical weekly process of making dentures is as follows:
Monday
- Receive an impression of a patient’s mouth from the dentist. The impression can be made of a variety of materials from alginate, polyvinyl substance, or rubber base
- Pour a mold from the impression. This mold is made of a special stone routinely used for dental applications. It is placed in an articulator, which is a metal device to hold the mold, and is set specifically for each patient’s mouth. The articulator provides a mechanical means to duplicate the patients jaw movements and teeth. It is a reasonable copy of the patient’s mouth so the patient doesn’t have to be in the dentist’s chair during the process.
- Receive the dentist’s approval of the articulator set-up, before I continue.
Tuesday
- Place the teeth in the upper and lower jaw of the articulator and attach them with wax. I check to make sure that the bite is correct and make any other adjustments that are necessary.
Wednesday
- Cover the wax model with stone powder, which will harden. I place the stone-covered model in a container and apply heat to melt the wax. I fill the wax-free stone mold with acrylic to make the final impression. I allow the acrylic set of teeth to set for 24 hours.
Thursday
- Remove the teeth from the container and place them in the articulator. I check the bite and make corrections. I will polish, and grind the dentures. My final task is to disinfect the dentures.
Friday
- Give the dentures to the dentist for inspection. The dentist will give them to the patient and ensure their proper fit.
Other procedures I perform:
- Make gold/porcelain crowns
- Work on orthodontic appliances
- Make partial dentures
- Repair dentures
- Make models of patients’ mouths
- Make teeth to implant
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