For those of you that are not familiar with me, I am a native of Pennsylvania and have either been involved with or accomplished the following: Twenty-nine years a dental technician. Certified Dental Technician since 1976. Served as an instructor at Lake Area Vocational Technical Institute Watertown, SD (1976-1977). Owned a dental practice in which I practiced Denturitry Since 1979. Founder of the Denturist Association of Pennsylvania in 1982. Certified Denturist since 1982. Attended several colleges and universities including Idaho State University School of Dentistry Denturitry program in 1984. Denturist License #3 in Montana - 1985. Served on the Montana State Board of Denturitry in 1985. Secretary of the National Denturist Association in 1985. Founder of the American Denturist Advocacy Council in 1997. Currently own three dental practices in central Pennsylvania and attending Mills Grae University College of Denturitry.

Why am I telling you all this? It was at the Dentsply EPF course in 1973, when attending with a whole class of Nova Scotian denturists and their instructor, David Robertson, from Northern Alberta Institute of Technology that I decided that I wanted to be a denturist. But, being in the U.S., how was I going to go about it? My conclusion? Our only success is education, education, education!

Lack of education is the only thing that is stopping us from practicing today. The only accredited denturist school in the U.S. is the Mills Grae University College of Denturitry in Kalispell, MT. Thirty three medical denturists graduated from Mills Grae in September 1999. To date the 70 medical denturists have graduated from the Medical Denturitry Program at MGU. The next denturist program at Mills Grae will be in session as of October 8, 2000. I recommend that everyone intending to practice as a denturist, apply for enrollment. Don't miss this grand opportunity.

Every once and a while I run into someone that thinks it is easier to open a dental practice. Don't get into that trap; to own a dental practice is far from a bed of roses.

Sincerely Yours,

Everett Van den Eeden,
Denturist