After 15 years: Govt restarts dental technician training to meet rising demand for oral care

After 15 years, the Health Ministry has reactivated the Dental Technician Training Programme to address the growing demand for proper dental care in the country.
The programme was launched on Tuesday at the ministry’s Brickdam Office in Georgetown.
The Dental Technician Training Programme is designed to provide comprehensive training to Dental Auxiliary Personnel (Dentex), so that they will be equipped with the skills needed to fabricate dental prosthesis – an essential component in restoring function and aesthetic for those who have lost their teeth.
Additionally, the dental technicians will learn to make dentures, crowns, bridges and dental braces that improve patients’ appearance, speech and ability to chew.
Without the services offered by a dental technician, dentists would not be able to offer the full range of services to their patients.
During his keynote address at the launching ceremony, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony encouraged the first batch of 15, to take advantage of the opportunity and build a career for themselves in the field.
“You are part of a pioneering batch in a sense and over your stay during this porgramme we are hoping that with new equipment and other things that we’ll be bringing in that more will benefit from this type of training,”.

“You are going to see a lot of transformation so whether it is new hospitals or new facilities, things that didn’t exist before you now have an opportunity to be part of this change that is happening.

Make sure you study well and I’m sure that from this course there will be other courses where you can improve and be the best in your field,” Dr Anthony added.
In about 18 months, the trainees will graduate from the Dental Technician Training Programme and successful candidates will be required to enter into an agreement to serve the Government of Guyana for a period of not less than three years.
Anthony noted that the batch will be stationed at facilities with dental equipment, such as X rays and modern laboratories.
“Before 2019, we had three x-rays that were working and they were probably all analog x-rays so you had to go watch these things in some dark room and then you look at the film and that was just 2019. Today, across the system we have 20 imaging units and most of them are digital and then we have recently bought five new pieces of equipment, which will be able to allow us to do CT scans and that’s the kind of investment we are making for dentistry,” he added.
Prior to the relaunch of the programme, Dental Technician Training was only facilitated at the Cheddi Jagan Dental School.
According to Dr Anthony, the programme’s reinstatement after 15 years, marks a significant milestone in the Government’s commitment to elevating healthcare standards in the country. (G1)