Dental technicians are competent in producing means of dental appliances, such as fixed and removable dental prosthetics, orthodontic and maxillofacial appliances based on the consumer’s (dentists or dental specialists) order. Being responsible and working in a dental laboratory, dental technicians are challenged to implement their skills gained from formal education to produce appliances in dimensional precision. Dental laboratory can be various in terms of geographical access, types of health facilities, and types of business models.
Indonesian dental technicians are often misrecognized by people as dentists who are competent in providing comprehensive oral health services. According to the facts, some people experienced oral health care by dental professionals (not dentists) at cheaper costs. They admitted that those dental professionals do not use medical safety standards like dentists and provide dental services using limited resources. Hygiene prior to, during, and after dental treatment are sceptically considered which has proven to cause serious and fatal dental to systemic health consequences.
Based on the data mentioned above, the writer is curious to find out in specific about the scope of competence as dental technicians and their distribution in Indonesia. The question is whether dental technicians provide dental health services to patients like dentists do, but with relatively lower tariffs or if those unprofessional dental practices are performed by people who replicates dentists’ procedures without formal education and legal aspects. Interesting points to be also discussed in this paper is regarding the regulation under the dental technician as a profession and kinds of health facilities that possibly need dental technicians based on their management models.
A descriptive review to provide information about the profession of dental technicians and their distribution in Indonesia is not conducted yet. The complex issues of the role between dentists, dental technicians and another dental professional have not been evidently and publicly explained. Therefore, this paper describes dental technician as a profession and its distribution in Indonesia.
Based on the results section, Indonesian dental technicians work basically in health facilities and dental laboratories providing dental appliances ordered by dentists and dental specialists. Their work is regulated by the Minister of Health’s decision Kepmenkes Nomor HK.01.07 / Menkes / 460 / 2020 regarding the professional standards of dental technicians, including their registration license. Although dental appliances, such as fixed and removable dental prosthetics, orthodontic and maxillofacial appliances are used directly by patients, dental technicians are prohibited to have direct contact with the patient.
Support from the Directorate General of Medical Services, Ministry of Health Indonesia in developing standards for dental technicians in health facilities was done through standardization, certification, licensing, and law enforcement together with the profession and the community to achieve the National Health System in the scope of public dental health to be optimal, efficient, quality, and affordable.
Programs in distributing dental technicians to remote areas of Indonesia have not been done yet by the government. In contrast to the dentists, they are provided by the programs by the ministry of health or local governments, such as Nusantara Sehat and PTT Daerah. Wellbeing and access to public goods are issues associated with the choice of dental technicians’ preference to their working environment. Therefore, well-known dental laboratories in big cities of the capital Island are the most favourite places of dental technicians to work.
Due to the development of information and technology in the global as well as in the national scope, the dental world has been shifted its dental service promotion styles into aesthetics and natural restorations. In this case, dental technicians in a dental laboratory play a big role in producing those required dental appliances. In terms of access to dental health facilities in the eastern part of Indonesia, such as Maluku and Papua Island, those sophisticated dental appliances made by dental technicians are left far behind.
The main task of a dental technician is to plan, manufacture, and evaluate dental prostheses, such as full and partial dentures, fixed dentures, as well as to produce removable orthodontic appliances and maxillofacial prostheses. There is a maldistribution of dental technicians in Indonesia. Compared to the total number of public health centres per province in Indonesia, the number of dental technicians per province does not fulfil the total number of public health centres in the provincial level of Indonesia. Only 13 out of 100 public health centres have their own dental technicians.
Author: Nanda Rachmad Putra Gofur
Details of the research can be viewed here:
http://www.jidmr.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/53-D22_1728_Nanda_Rachmad_Putra_Gofur_Indonesia.pdf
Nanda Rachmad Putra Gofur, Sianiwati Goenharto, Eny Inayati, Sri Redjeki Indiani, Okti Setyowati, Endang Kusdarjanti, Sujati, Achmad Zam Zam Aghasy, Mochamad Nur Ramadhani, Zamros Yuzadi Bin Mohd Yusof. Visualisation of Dental Technicians Distribution in Indonesia: A Review Article. JIDMR 2022 15(1):319-322. Journal of International Dental and Medical Research ISSN 1309-100X
