July 1999

We as denturists want to be especially cautious of how we use our time, because time is the valuable stuff that life is made of. If we want to get the best out of life, we need to manage our time carefully. What is the best way for a technician or denturist to manage his or her time wisely? In this article we will include some practical suggestions that can help us to reach our goal in becoming licensed denturists. Meanwhile, several teams of American Denturist Advocacy Council recognized strategists are paving the way to bring about our dream, state licensure. What can we do to assure speedy success? There are several things everyone of us should be doing. Before we get started we have to be sure that we are displaying the following basic qualities. These qualities are trust, patience, support, enrichment, balance and safety.

W e need to trust those taking the lead and have confidence in their experience and ability to guide us. Realizing the fact that anything worthwhile takes time, it will also be necessary for us to exercise patience. To accomplish denturist legalization will take at least sixteen months and there could be setbacks. So, in order for us to endure, we must learn to trust and show patience.

A nything worth while also needs support. Famous men such as presidents, military generals and inventors would never have been successful without support. Leaders are imperfect too, and display varying personalities; many of them are extremists and some have strong egos. We must keep in mind their track record, dedication and sacrifice. Our monetary support and volunteer efforts are essential and should go, first to our state association, then to national efforts.

Meanwhile, we have ample time to enrich ourselves by getting adequate education so that we can be ready when the time comes for licensing. On October 17th of this year a new class is beginning at MGU (Mills Grae University). The time is going to pass whether or not we get our education. We can think of plenty of excuses to justify putting it off, however, since it is due to be replaced by the four year program, this current abbreviated course will be the last one.

M any of us are serving the public in unregulated states. This is not only a benefit to the consumer, but also a means by which we can quadruple our income compared to that of lab work. However, take caution not to wave a flag. We must maintain balance. The safety and livelihood of ourselves, our families and patients are important. It is prudent not to advertise in the newspaper without a dentist's name appearing in the advertisement. If we use business cards, it would be wise to list our services in such a way that authorities can not distinguish whether they are intended for dentist accounts, or for public advertisement. Denturitry can not be won by drawing attention to ones public practice. It is always best to maintain a low profile in this area. When we join our state association, we can take advantage of the confidential membership, for that same reason. When we plug into quarterly newsletters, the web site and communicate with our state association by phone we are not putting ourselves in such a vulnerable position as when we display ourselves at public denturist meetings.

The opportunity to be a denturist, today, does not come without sacrifice; but after the road to the profession is smoothly paved, entry will not be so easy. When every state has licensing provisions and four year colleges are abundant, aspiring denturists will have more competition and higher standards to meet, not to mention that tuition costs will have escalated. This will not be the experience of those who get into the profession, now. If we pursue our goal in a balance manner, we can be assured that the window of opportunity will be in our hands. So, in order to maintain that balance we must remember the importance of trust, patience, support, enrichment and safety.