Download mental demands of the job - NHS Scotland Recruitment

Working together to achieve the healthiest
life possible for everyone in Ayrshire and Arran
Candidate
information pack
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Post Title:
Specialist Orthodontic / Prosthodontic Technician
Job Reference Number:
T/498/15
Informal Enquiries:
Informal enquiries are welcomed by: Kirsty Barbour, Highly Specialist
Orthodontic Technician/Maxillofacial Prosthetist & Technologist, Oral Facial
Laboratory, Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock. Tel: 01563-827320, email:
[email protected]
Closing Date:
19 November 2015
Process for Submitting Application Form:
You can apply using the online application form on the SHOW website –
www.jobs.scot.nhs.uk Alternatively your completed application form can be
returned to [email protected] or to the Department of O&HRD,
63A Lister Street, University Hospital Crosshouse, Kilmarnock, KA2 0BE
Please note: if applying using the online application facility on the SHOW
website, the text in the supporting statement section is limited and overlong
statements may be cut off. Please try to limit this section to the length of two
A4 pages.
Section one: Why work in Ayrshire?
Ayrshire is situated in the south-west of Scotland on the Firth of Clyde, and is
characterised by 80 miles of varied coastline, picturesque beaches, rolling green hills
and islands.
Just a 30-minute drive from Glasgow city centre, Ayrshire is an ideal location for
those who want to enjoy city life, with all the benefits of living in a semi-rural area.
Ayr, Irvine and Kilmarnock are the largest towns. However, there are many rural
towns, villages and communities throughout the area should you wish to relocate to
Ayrshire. Whether you decide to locate to Ayrshire or a neighbouring area, you will
find that property prices are more affordable than in other parts of the UK.
Local educational standards are very high at primary and secondary level. However,
private education is also available in the area. See below for more information on
local authority services:
East Ayrshire Council – www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk
North Ayrshire Council – www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk
South Ayrshire Council – www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk
Alternatively, working in Ayrshire provides an easy commute from both Glasgow and
the wider central belt. There is an excellent network of both rail and bus links
throughout Ayrshire to Glasgow and beyond. There are UK and international flights
available from Glasgow Airport, as well as a range of services from Glasgow
Prestwick Airport.
Ayrshire provides a wide range of excellent recreational activities: whether you are
interested in history and heritage, outdoor pursuits, events and festivals, or simply
food and drink, there is something for everyone.
Ayrshire boasts more than 40 quality golf courses, including two Open
Championship courses at Turnberry and Royal Troon.
For more information on the range of recreational activities in Ayrshire, visit
www.visitscotland.com
Section two: NHS Ayrshire & Arran as an employer
NHS Ayrshire & Arran recognises that our staff are vital to delivering our purpose,
values and commitments and to achieving our strategic objectives.
Our purpose
Working together to achieve the healthiest life
possible for everyone in Ayrshire and Arran
Our values
Caring
Safe
Respectful
Our aim is to create an organisation where people want to work and strive to deliver
excellence each day; where staff wellbeing and personal resilience is supported;
where careers are interesting and developed; where staff are encouraged to reach
their full potential; and where staff feel their contribution is recognised and valued.
To do this, we need to attract, develop, support and retain our staff and enhance
their work experience. This will directly contribute to our aspiration to deliver
excellent high quality services to every person every time.
We believe the unique factors that help to define us as an employer are:
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our friendly and supportive environment;
our commitment to staff engagement and effective team working;
our track record in creativity and innovation and our ability to successfully
implement change and redesign;
our track record in supporting our staff’s learning, development and career
aspirations, from an initial comprehensive three-day corporate induction
programme to the availability of a wide range of internal training programmes;
our commitment to supporting flexible working through a wide range of family
friendly policies; and
our commitment to support and improve our staff’s health, safety, wellbeing
and resilience. We do this by implementing our Staff Health, Safety and
Wellbeing Strategy, and in our work towards achieving and maintaining the
Health Working Lives Gold Award. In addition, our Staff Care and
Occupational Health Service provide a range of support and interventions to
our staff.
The organisation has a statutory responsibility to ensure the Staff Governance
Standard is embedded and adhered to as part of the governance framework –
staff, financial, information and clinical governance – in which NHS Boards
operate. The Staff Governance Standard requires all NHS Boards to
demonstrate that staff are:
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well informed;
appropriately trained and developed;
involved in decisions;
treated fairly and consistently, with dignity and respect in an environment
where diversity is valued; and
provided with a continuously improving and safe working environment,
promoting the health and wellbeing of staff, patients and the wider
community.
During 2013, we consulted with our staff to select the key values and behaviours
which they believed were essential to create a safe, effective and person-centred
working environment which benefits patients, staff and carers. This allowed us to
develop our purpose, values and commitments. We passionately believe in creating
a culture which is open, fair and just.
Section three: Delivering our services
Acute Services
Emergency and elective hospital services are provided by our acute services, which
includes inpatient, outpatient and day case care. There are two district general
hospitals within Ayrshire: University Hospital Ayr and University Hospital
Crosshouse. These hospitals provide a wide range of acute services:
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University Hospital Ayr
University Hospital Ayr provides medical and surgical services on an inpatient,
day case and outpatient basis. It is the main Accident and Emergency service
for South Ayrshire. It provides a number of Ayrshire-wide services including
Vascular Surgery, Ophthalmology and Audiology.
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University Hospital Crosshouse
University Hospital Crosshouse provides medical and surgical services on an
inpatient, day case and outpatient basis. It is the main Accident and
Emergency service for East and North Ayrshire. Inpatient paediatrics, the
Ayrshire Maternity Unit and the main Laboratories for Ayrshire are on the
Crosshouse site.
Community, mental health and learning disabilities services
Following the introduction of Health and Social Care Integration, the operational
delivery for the range of community healthcare services and mental health and
learning disabilities services is through the newly created Health and Social Care
Partnerships and the Integrated Joint Boards:
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East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership
North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership
South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership
Community Services
General medical and dental services are provided throughout Ayrshire and Arran by
general practitioners, dentists, community pharmacies and optometry practices.
Community nurses, health visitors and Allied Health Professionals are all involved in
providing care within our local communities.
Out-of-hours general medical services are provided by Ayrshire Doctors On Call
(ADOC) within the community.
Mental health and learning disability services
Inpatient mental health services, including the Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit, are
largely delivered at Ailsa Hospital in Ayr with further mental health inpatient services
provided at University Hospital Crosshouse
Learning disability services are provided from Arrol Park in Ayr. Elderly mental
health inpatient services are provided from Ayrshire Central Hospital in Irvine, and
East Ayrshire Community Hospital in Cumnock. Community based services are
provided throughout Ayrshire for the range of clinical groups: adults, child and
adolescent, elderly and addiction services.
For more information on the full range of clinical services provided by NHS
Ayrshire & Arran, visit our website www.nhsaaa.net
Section four: Investing for the future
There are two major capital developments underway within NHS Ayrshire & Arran to
ensure safe, effective and person centred care:
Building for better care
We are investing £27.5 million to provide fit for purpose front door services for
University Hospitals Ayr and Crosshouse, in order to improve emergency and urgent
care for patients who come to hospital for anything other than a scheduled
appointment.
North Ayrshire Community Hospital – Woodland View
We are investing £47 million to provide a 206 en-suite bedroom integrated mental
health and community facility, including older people’s long term care and
rehabilitation. This development will bring together a full range of outpatient and
inpatient facilities.
Section five: Post Details
1. Job Identification
Job Title: Specialist Orthodontic / Prosthodontic Technician
Responsible to (insert job title): Consultant Maxillofacial Prosthetist And Technologist/
Head Of Service
Department(s): Oral Facial Laboratory
Directorate:
Surgical/ Head and Neck
Operating Division:
Acute Services
Job Reference: T/498/15
No of Job Holders:
1
Last Update (insert date):
2. Job Purpose
To provide specialist technical advice and support to the Restorative, Orthodontic and Maxillofacial services
through provision of a broad range of design and fabricated appliances.
3. Dimensions
The Oral Facial Laboratory is the sole unit of its kind serving the patient population of Ayrshire & Arran and
beyond by providing clinical, technical and advisory services to Maxillofacial, Advanced Restorative Dentistry,
Ophthalmology, E.N.T., and Orthodontics departments.
This post is primarily responsible for basic appliance design and construction with aspects of complexity involved
for each of the following specialised services:
ORTHODONTICS
ADVANCED RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY
MAXILLOFACIAL
4. Organisational Position
4. ORGANISATIONAL POSITION
Consultant Maxillofacial Prosthetist &
Technologist/Head of Service
Secretary
Highly Specialist Orthodontic
Technician/Maxillofacial Prosthetist
& Technologist
Highly Specialist Orthodontic
Prosthodontic Technican
(2 Posts)
(1 Post)
Postholder
Dental Laboratory
Support Worker
5. Role of Department
Provide scientific and advisory services to the patient population of Ayrshire & Arran and beyond
through provision of the following:
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Artificial Eye design, fabrication and fitting service
Facial Prosthesis design, fabrication and fitting service
Orthognathic Surgical Planning service
Orthodontic Appliance design and fabrication service
Maxillofacial Appliance design and fabrication service
Restorative Appliance design and fabrication service
Osseointegration Implantology design, fabrication and fitting service
All of the above specialised services require the necessity to liaise with consultants, junior medical staff,
patients and other relevant parties to ensure up to date information and episodes relating to patient care
and future planning of treatment.
6. Key Result Areas
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Design and fabrication of a broad range of orthodontic appliances with aspects of complexity
involved for the correction of malocclusions
Design and fabrication of a broad range of restorative appliances, aspects of which are
complex, for the restoration of mastication, speech and facial aesthetics
Design and fabrication of a limited range of maxillofacial appliances which have orthodontic
underpinning for the alleviation, stabilisation or correction of temporomandibular joint
disorders, obstructive sleep apnoea, bruxism
In the absence of Dental Laboratory Support Worker, fabrication of working casts from dental
impressions to facilitate appliance design and fabrication
In the absence of Dental Laboratory Support Worker, fabrication of quality orthodontic study
casts for pre and post treatment dental arch assessment
Assisting in the training and supervision of student Dental Technicians
To assist/train/ support service users as required
Identify research and development needs as appropriate for own mandatory Continuous
Personal Development. Required to support and be involved in clinical trials and equipment
testing
Personal Development Plan appraisals with Consultant Maxillofacial Prosthetist &
Technologist/Head of Service
Participate with clinicians as appropriate in the design and construction of appliances
Observe and comply with current Health and Safety and COSHH Legislation – Safely handle
and manage laboratory chemistry; safely handle and use laboratory equipment
Comply with any other duties prescribed by the Consultant Maxillofacial Prosthetist &
Technologist/Head of Service in line with the exigencies of the service
Comply with medical devices directive 93/42/EEC ensuring all materials, component parts
and processes for appliance patient provision meet national guidelines
Provide technical information regarding the long term management of medical devices
Adhere to departmental policy and guidelines regarding cross-infection control
Assist in the administration of laboratory work as necessary
Maintain the strictest confidences in relation to personal related information of patients
Set up, use and maintain computer controlled equipment in the production of medical devices
IT communication skills required, e.g. email, word processing to produce written reports,
internet for research purposes and compiling presentation materials
7a. Equipment and Machinery
Computer Controlled Dry Heat Processing Unit - programming required for the processing of various
types of materials by changing the materials from, e.g. acrylics from dough stage to hard acrylic stage,
silicones from a runny/stringy stage to a soft solid stage in the manufacture of all types of
orthodontic/maxillofacial appliances, etc.
Polishing/Abrading Units Incorporating Internal
abrading/polishing processes of appliance fabrication.
Extraction
Systems
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utilised
in
the
Computer Controlled Hydromat Boiling Out/Processing Unit – programming required for
automatically flushing wax from plaster moulds and then processing acrylic resin and silicone materials
under pressure for a pre-determined period of time changing material state from dough to solid.
Computer Controlled Safety Cell Trimming Units Incorporating Integral Dust Extraction Systems,
Micro Motor Hand Pieces and Control Units - for the trimming, shaping of appliances utilising
computerised electrical micromotors with constant adjustable dust extraction employed.
High Speed Grinder - required for the trimming to shape of extremely hard metals such as cobolt
chromium.
Workstation Dust Extraction Systems - required for removal of harmful acrylic/metal dusts created
through shaping and trimming process.
Workstation Natural Daylight Lighting – essential for fabrication of extremely fine appliance wires,
components, in the provision of patient prosthetics.
Magnifiers – for enlargement of intricate and extremely fine items of work.
Various Types of Anatomical Articulators – setting up of teeth on provision of patient prosthetic
appliances ensuring balance occlusion and articulation is achieved.
Full Sets of Carving and Modelling Instruments - required for the sculpting and shaping of certain
types of orthodontic appliances, restorative and maxillofacial appliances.
Microwave – programming required for quick method heating of reversible hydrocolloid material for
model duplication purposes.
Dry Heat Oven - utilised for the drying out of models, etc.
Ultrasonic Bath - utilised for the removal of ingrained materials from appliances following de-flasking of
appliance from plaster or investment moulds. Also used in conjunction with ammoniated cleaning fluid
for the removal of tarnish from metals.
Computer Controlled Duplicating Machine – programmed and utilised for the duplication of large
numbers of plaster models.
Computer Controlled Vacuum Mixer – programming required for the mixing of plaster of paris/stone
model materials producing a vacuum to ensure that all air is removed from the material prior to use in
model casting.
Electrical PlasterTrimmer - required for trimming of plaster/stone models, essential for the production
of orthodontic study/working models.
Dental Surveyor Parallelometer – utilised for analysing the path of insertion and planning and tracing
of plates and clasps by locating and recording undercut depths present in patients’ maxillary/mandibular
arches prior to appliance fabrication.
Disinfection Baths – utilised for disinfection of facial/ocular/body and oral impressions.
Electronic Weighing Scales – when measuring powder/liquid ratios of stone model materials.
Plaster Oscillator - utilised for the removal of occluded air from plaster/investment material during
casting/investing procedures.
Computer Controlled Soldering Unit - required for the soldering of stainless steel in the fabrication of
orthodontic appliances, etc.
Sandblaster - required for removal of contaminants from the surfaces of metals, e.g. cast cap rapid
maxillary expansion appliances, etc.
Computer Controlled Electrically Heated Pressure Vessel – programming of the unit in the
manufacture of auto polymonising acrylic resin materials, e.g. changing the state of acrylic resin from a
fluid material into a hard surface material in the forming of orthodontic, maxillofacial appliances and
devices, etc.
External Fume Extraction Systems – utilised for the safe removal of harmful fumes created in the
fabrication of medical devices, e.g. soldering, metal casting, heating of investment moulds, etc.
Computer Controlled Downflow Fume Extraction Systems - employed to remove harmful methylmethylacrylate fumes in the mixing and spraying techniques involved in acrylic resin appliance
fabrication.
Steam Cleaner – required for removing residue from appliance surfaces following de-flasking process.
Full Sets of Orthodontic Pliers and Cutters - required for the forming of extremely intricate, fine wire
components in the fabrication of all types of orthodontic and certain maxillofacial appliances.
Bunsen Burners - required for heating of various types of waxes for sculpting, modelling purposes in
the appliance fabrication.
Micro-torches - required for flaming and smoothing of modelling/carving/casting waxes during sculpting
and modelling procedures. Also utilised for soldering of fine orthodontic wire components.
Computer Controlled Vernier Gauge – for measuring of appliance/components.
Calipers – for recording material thickness of appliances to microns of accuracy.
Electric Carving Knife - required for trimming excess vacuum forming material from soft and hard
laminated mouthguards, anti-snoring appliances, essix retainers, etc.
Computer Controlled Pressure Forming Machine/ Manual Vacuum Forming Machine -utilised for
adapting various types of plastic material closely to working models in the fabrication process of
mouthguards, anti-snoring devices, essix orthodontic retainers, etc.
Clinic Patient Chair – required for treatment of patients who may require appliance alterations.
Glue Gun - utilised for dispensing specialised adhesive glues onto soft laminate materials for bonding of
maxillary/mandibular components when fabricating anti-snoring devices.
Fridge - utilised for the storage of materials to extend shelf life.
Slide Viewer - utilised for viewing patient slides and providing presentations to members of staff.
Slide Projector and Screen - providing presentations.
Video Player - required for staff training, etc where new techniques can be shown.
Computer - retrieval of information, accessing email, internet for research and development purposes,
etc.
Printer/Scanner/Copier - producing hard copies of work stored on computer.
Fax Machine - sending and receiving facsimile documents.
7b. Systems
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Manual Records – appliance prescription cards stored chronologically for retrieval by
technical/admin staff; diaries of appliance/work requests updated daily; files holding information
on Laboratory staff for leave, training, etc; paper diaries of staff; resource files for reference
purposes, e.g. Safety Health and Environmental manual, Child Protection Protocol Manual,
requisitions placed retained for reference/ invoice processing purposes, brochures of supply
companies, etc
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Medical Devices Directive Recording and Tracking System: This system is utilised for the
documenting of C marked materials and components which are provided to patients through the
provision of appliances on completion of their treatment plans. This also permits the tracking of
components and materials to their supplying company where LOT numbers can be checked for
conformity where failure of material component has occurred. These forms are filed in
chronological order and retained for 5 years.
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Safe Systems of Work: Located through resource file and computerised information system.
carrying out the work to ensure adherence to the approved systems. A reference system
requiring to be complied with to ensure that approved and documented safe systems of work are
followed in the day to day fabrication and provision of appliances.
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Risk Management: Located through resource file and computerised information systems. A
system requiring to be accessed and complied with to determine the risks arising from identified
hazards and the appropriate precautions to be taken within the workplace.
8. Assignment and Review of Work
Work which is referred to the laboratory from the specialist orthodontic, maxillofacial, restorative clinics
has the appliance type, time and date information transferred from supplied work cards into laboratory
work book. Work which is appropriate for the post is allocated daily by self and undertaken under own
initiative. Appliances which are referred for fabrication from external clinicians for income generation
purposes would be assigned to postholder by senior members of staff.
Supervision can be required by more senior members of staff who would issue non-routine appliances
for design and construction.
Quality assurance of work is achieved and maintained through conformity on a daily basis with
Medical Devices Directive 93/42/EEC. This is an appliance/prosthesis recording system for
material/component conformity and quality control checking system for adherence to prescription
plans which is countersigned by senior members of staff.
Work is reviewed by Consultant Maxillofacial Prosthetist & Technologist/Head of Service
through regular personal contact and formal meetings, written reports, e.g. personal development
planning.
9. Decisions and Judgements
Typical decisions and judgements required of the post may involve:
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Urgent appliance requests requiring assessment of present workload and decision as to
where prioritisation falls, e.g. is urgent cases of higher importance than of work previously
assigned. Use own initiative and time management skills to incorporate request into current
workload or reach decision with other staff members for reallocation of work.
Accuracy of impression received from clinician, if defects are found then decision is made
whether defect will compromise fit or action of appliance. If so, a new impression is
requested from clinician
Clinicians prescription contra-indicated when assessed with anatomical landmarks recorded
on working cast. Discussion with clinician regarding alternative design prior to appliance
fabrication
When providing patients who have jaw discrepancies, with prosthetics for the restoration of
speech, mastication and aesthetics, decisions have to be made regarding the setting up of
the artificial teeth within the mandibular, maxillary arches. For instance, correct
overbite/overjet required to prevent tripping of the prosthetics; correct curve of spee,
monson, degree of cuspal grinding to provide balanced occlusion and to prevent cusp
locking, mould of teeth required to permit good interdigitation of opposing teeth and to
compliment the facial shape of the patient. Judgement as to the positioning of individual
teeth to alleviate malocclusions and the contouring of the prosthetics labial/buccal flanges to
determine the degree of facial plumping required particularly important when treating
patients who have undergone
radical ablative jaw surgery where facial form must be
restored by building out and shaping of buccal surfaces of prosthetics to support flaccid
buccinator muscles.
Judgements concerning a broad range of Health and Safety issues/situations in a busy
working laboratory.
In the treatment of patients requiring orthodontic intervention for correction of malocclusions
– this can result in the requirement of complex orthodontic appliances being designed and
fabricated incorporating multiple, active, passive and retentive components being positioned
and acrylated into an orthodontic appliance base plate. Careful analysis must be
undertaken to determine the appropriate design and positioning of the orthodontic
components to ensure that 1. Activation of tooth movement is unrestricted by adjacent
components; 2. Desired direction of tooth movements is achieved without obstruction from
erupting teeth; 3. Retention of appliance is achieved through thorough analysis of available
undercut areas present on teeth required for retention. Deciduous teeth rarely have
sufficient undercut areas present for ideal retentive clasp placement therefore permanent
dentition is often the preferred teeth of choice. However, in the case of multi component
appliances, this can be most problematic as permanent tooth choice may not be possible
due to the positioning and number of active components incorporated in the device required
to achieve the desired treatment result. In such cases improvisation of component design
and positioning incorporating innovative techniques must be employed.
10. Most Challenging/Difficult Parts of the Job
The number of specialties that the post requires to provide direct services to, and the diversity of
knowledge and skills required for the provision and implementation of each individual service, inevitably
can result in difficulties being experienced through the frequency of unavoidable interruptions. Due to
the nature of the post, keeping up to date with the latest innovative techniques for each specialised
service becomes very challenging as many units in the country have departments specialising in a
single individual specialty only. This post has to achieve and maintain similar high levels of knowledge
and skills in not one but three separate specialties in the provision of high quality services to patients.
When constructing oral prosthesis for patients who have undergone ablative reconstructive jaw surgery
and for whom essential anatomical landmarks are no longer present on working casts, technical
planning if often compromised to meet clinicians’s prescription criteria. This poses a challenge for
myself with regards to achieving improved aesthetics, speech and masticatory function for the
restorative patient.
A challenging aspect of orthodontics can arise in the fabrication of appliances for the mixed dentition
patient. Each orthodontic case has two components to examine: the dental component and the skeletal
or facial component. After careful evaluation and analysis of the patient’s dentition on the dental
models, anticipation of the development stage can be challenging where both deciduous and permanent
teeth are present. Growth may be dynamic if the patient is a growing child; facial harmony is
established when both components fit closely together. The further apart the two components are the
greater the discord and the more complex the case becomes.
11. Communications and Relationships
Orthodontic, Maxillofacial, Restorative consultants and junior medical staff – require frequent
communication face to face and by telephone for information sharing on appliance design
Nurses – frequent communication face to face and by telephone for training of nurses and information
sharing regarding timescale for appliance construction/disinfection of impressions, etc to ensure
appliances are delivered to external hospitals on due date/time and to ensure collection and distribution
of work takes place
Laboratory Secretary – frequent communication face to face/written information regarding used
material items for stock control purposes. Information regarding equipment repair and liaising with
Secretary regarding admin aspects of training, updating personnel records, patient prescriptions, etc.
Patients –regular communication face to face, e.g. witnessing consent forms for medical photography;
giving opinion/reassurance regarding cosmetic result of facial/ocular prosthesis; acting as chaperone
(when requested by Senior Chief Maxillofacial Prosthetist and Technologist) when he is treating certain
facial patients who may be emotional. Attending orthodontic, Restorative, maxillofacial patient clinics for
receiving patient information regarding appliance design requirements and treatment plans.
Relieving/adjusting patient appointments at chairside
College/University Lecturers – Face to face, email and telephone communication required when
attending post graduate courses.
Sales Representatives – Telephone, face to face communication when receiving information
regarding laboratory materials, equipment and products and also when attending company
presentations.
Education Department – Face to face communication when providing table top
demonstrations/presentations to public, e.g. large groups of school leavers who have an interest in
medicine as a career and Open Days.
Various internal departments - e.g. human resources, IT, Communication, Works Department and
Ambulance Service – face to face, telephone and email regarding information sharing and reporting.
External Laboratory Contractors – telephone, written communication for relaying of
appointments/invoices/technical information and involvement in provision of specialised training
courses.
Medical Photography – face to face contact when escorting patients for photographic evidence of
patient/prosthesis and defect site on behalf of Senior Chief Maxillofacial Prosthetist and Technologist
Other Laboratory Staff – daily face to face/telephone/written/email contact regarding e.g. information
sharing, workload issues, advice and guidance, training, laboratory staff meetings including
requirement to participate in delivery of technical presentations.
Technicians From Other Health Boards and External Laboratories – telephone/written
communication for information sharing regarding appliance construction and supply.
12. Physical, Mental, Emotional and Environmental Demands of the Job
PHYSICAL SKILLS NEEDED FOR THE JOB:
Highly developed manual dexterity skills required when constructing precision appliances by the use
of specialised instruments and equipment for the manipulation of extremely fine and intricate
components and associated materials.
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Standing for protracted periods of time during various stages of appliance fabrication, e.g.
casting, trimming, flasking, packing and polishing. Chairside assistance at clinic sessions,
e.g. alteration of appliances
Sitting for protracted periods of time fabricating orthodontic\maxillofacial\Restorative
appliances
Lifting requiring sudden short bursts of effort e.g. lifting heavy 25kg bags of plaster,
carrying\lifting material\equipment deliveries into stock cupboard etc.
Sitting for periods of time at computer using keyboard skills for word processing, information
retrieval and internet research.
MENTAL DEMANDS OF THE JOB:
Requirement for frequent prolonged concentration on a daily basis during fabrication of
orthodontic/Restorative/maxillofacial appliances. Due to the extremely broad spectrum of specialised
work undertaken and aspects of that work being of a non-routine nature requiring frequent
communication with clinicians/nurses during appliance fabrication, it is inevitable that frequent
interruptions perpetuate the working day.
EMOTIONAL EFFORT/SKILLS:
Occasional exposure to emotional effort when requested to attend clinic environment where terminally
ill patients with oral facial defects are being treated.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND WORKING CONDITIONS OF THE JOB:
Frequent exposure to controlled harmful substances, e.g. monomeric fumes from acrylic resins
involved in appliance construction. Fine dusts for abrading procedures/polishing procedures.
Vibration of hand when using micromotors. Inhalation of fine plaster dusts when model casting, etc.
Frequent daily contact with body fluids when casting disinfected dental impressions requiring further
cleansing of blood/saliva. Disinfection of appliance removed from mouth requiring repair or alteration.
Exposure to fumes when heating stainless steel/flux during soldering process for aspects of
orthodontic appliance fabrication.
Potential for exposure to verbal/physical aggression by patients during chairside appliance alterations.
Also assisting with Consultant Maxillofacial Prosthetist & Technologist/Head of Service, Restorative
Consultant, Orthodontic Consultant, Maxillofacial clinicians, etc.
13. Knowledge, Training and Experience Required to do the Job
BSc (Hons) Degree in Dental Sciences (4 years) or equivalent.
+
Postgraduate Diploma in Orthodontic Technology (2years) to gain membership of the Orthodontic
Technicians Association plus evidence of continuous professional development
+
Registration with the General Dental Council
Computer proficient requiring a working knowledge of Microsoft Software Packages.
Experience of supervising students and demonstrating aspects of work to students and less experienced
fellow professionals.
Knowledge of intra-oral clinical procedures.
Knowledge and experience of complex restorative dentistry utilising semi and fully adjustable
articulation.
Postgraduate knowledge and experience of constructing a wide range of orthodontic appliances
removable intra-oral maxillofacial appliances.
Fully conversant with legislation covering data protection and patient confidentiality.
Knowledge of current COSHH, health and safety legislation to safely handle and use laboratory
equipment and materials.
Knowledge of legislation relating to Medical Devices Directive 93/42/EEC ensuring all material,
component parts and processes for appliance patient provision meet national guidelines through
knowledge of relevant materials science, use of bio-compatible materials, chemistry, rheology and
toxicology.
Person Specification
Qualifications & Training – Essential Criteria
BSc (Hons) Degree in Dental Sciences or equivalent; Postgraduate Diploma in Orthodontic Technology plus further
experience and training in a range of advanced orthodontic technical procedures
Registration with General Dental Council
Qualifications & Training – Desirable Criteria
Experience – Essential Criteria
Substantial post qualification experience in orthodontic technology
Substantial experience in advanced prosthodontic technology
Experience – Desirable Criteria
Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team
Knowledge – Essential Criteria
Understanding of Windows applications
Understanding of advanced restorative techniques associated with intra-oral osseointegrated implantology
Understanding of advanced orthodontic design and fabrication techniques
Knowledge – Desirable Criteria
Understanding of the processes involved in Orthognathic surgical planning
Understanding of obturator devices
Competencies & Skills – Essential Criteria
Good written and oral communication skills
Good organisational skills
Maintains responsibility for own Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
High level of manual dexterity skills
Understanding of Clinical Governance
Competencies & Skills – Desirable Criteria
Personal Characteristics and Other – Essential Criteria
Constructively respond to knowledgeable assessment of own conduct and proactive ability to self-motivate and work on
own initiative
Ability to work effectively under pressure
Personal Characteristics and Other – Desirable Criteria