Call for 2025 Foundation Board of Trustees Candidates
The Foundation for Dental Laboratory Technology (Foundation) is seeking individuals to fill open seats on the 2025 Foundation Board of Trustees.New trustees will be elected, or appointed, in the fall of 2024 and will take office on January 1, 2025.
The boards guide the organization through proven leadership, a shared vision and support for the missions of the association. If you enjoy collaborating with other professionals and have a desire to give back to your profession, we want you!
Qualities of an Effective Board of Trustees Member:
- Serving as an association leader is both an honor and a reward. It requires a proven commitment to the organization and its missions and goals.
- Participating fully in association activities requires extra time and expense for attending meetings.
- Well-developed interpersonal skills and ability to communicate are essential to effective teamwork.
- An effective board member brings their expertise and experience to provide value, but such experience and expertise should not drive the policy-making process.
- Intuitive and interpretive skills enable leaders to understand the people around them, internalize the data they receive, recognize the relationships that exist between systems within their world and integrate all these elements into a coherent whole.
- Focusing on policy-making, not the day-to-day operations of the organization is what makes an effective board.
To view eligibility requirements for board service, or to complete an application please click here. Candidates interested in serving will be required to read and sign a board application in order to be considered for board service.
CLICK HERE for the 2025 Foundation Board of Trustees Information and Application - Printable Application
All applications must be submitted along with a short candidate biography and digital headshot. Please return the completed application, signed and initialed, to the Foundation office at lrowan@dentallabfoundation.org by 5:00pm EST on Friday, March 29, 2024.
NBC Launches New Digital Workflow CDT Specialty Written Examination October 2023
NBC Launches New Digital Workflow CDT Specialty Written Examination October 2023NBC is evolving the certification program to better integrate digital technologies into the CDT examination process and will soon be launching a new CDT specialty, Digital Workflow. The Written Specialty Examination for Digital Workflow is launching October 2023!! If you are ready to start the certification process, visit https://nbccert.org/digital-workflow-cdt-specialty.cfm to learn more and register for the New Digital Workflow CDT Specialty Written Examination.
Interested in the new Digital Workflow Specialty? Read through the Digital Workflow CDT Specialty FAQs for answers to our most frequently asked questions. The application deadline to take the Written Specialty Examination in the October Testing Window is September 20, 2023. The Digital Workflow Practical Examination is expected to launch in January 2024.
NOTE: Candidates who test in this initial window can expect a delay in scoring due to the standard setting process.
Contact NBC at certification@nbccert.org or by phone at (800) 684-5310 if you have any questions.
NADL Launches New Occupational Awareness Video
NADL is excited to share the launch of a new video that aims to inform and drive interested people into the dental laboratory profession in ongoing efforts to ensure that dental laboratories can meet growing demand for services from their customers.This new video titled, Becoming a Dental Laboratory Technician, was posted on the NADL YouTube page at the end of October, and as of the end of November, already has 14,000 views. This video is also being shared across multiple social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.
As part of NADL’s new strategic plan, the organization is committed to increasing occupational awareness in an effort to help the industry better fill its hiring needs. In addition to this video, NADL has revamped the dental laboratory technician career information page at https://nadl.org/career/.
Hiring new employees continues to be a major challenge for dental laboratories. This challenge, however, is not unique to the dental laboratory industry. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, October 2022 data shows that there are over 10 million job openings in the U.S.—but only around six million unemployed workers.1
NADL is working to help our members by creating a vibrant dental laboratory profession through increasing industry awareness, building community and delivering critical resources. Occupational awareness will continue to be a priority in 2023 and NADL is dedicating considerable time and resources to these efforts.
More information will be shared regarding the NADL efforts related to occupational awareness across NADL’s communication mediums.
Source: 1. https://www.uschamber.com/workforce/understanding-americas-labor-shortage
NBC Launches Remote Testing Option for the Practical Examinations
You Voiced, They Listened. NBC is elated to announce that they are piloting a new pathway for the Practical examinations, whereby the Practical examinations can be taken remotely at a dental laboratory of the candidate’s choosing under the constant supervision of a third party remote proctor. Interested candidates will be able to utilize the remote Practical examination testing (RPT) option beginning September 1, 2020. Yes, you read that right – you may be able to take the NBC Practical examination at your OWN DENTAL LABORATORY!Exams will be offered in alternating monthly testing windows six times a year, during the months of January, March, May, July, September, and November, running from the first day of the month through the last day of the month. Application deadlines are the 20th of the month prior to the desired testing window. For example, if a candidate wants to take their Practical examination through the remote testing option in November, they must submit a completed application to NBC by October 20th.
“The NBC Board of Trustees has been researching remotely proctored practical testing options for some time now,” said NBC Chair, Dennis Urban, CDT. “Our goal was to increase accessibility for dental technicians interested in pursuing the CDT examinations, without sacrificing examination quality and security. The COVID-19 global pandemic created the urgency to pursue this option to ensure candidates interested in pursuing their CDT could continue to do so without concerns over their safety.” Like the written examinations, which switched to computer-based testing (CBT) in early 2018, NBC will partner with the proctoring service MonitorEDU for the Practical examinations. NBC has developed a number of security protocols before, during and after the Practical examinations to protect the integrity of the examination process. For example, NBC will be using a dual camera process, using both the camera on the candidate’s laptop computer and the camera on the candidate’s cell phone. Candidates will be required to be on camera throughout the entire duration of the examination. Candidates will also be provided with specific instructions on packaging their work and shipping it back to NBC for grading.
“This option for the Practical examinations is game changing, as it eliminates massive barriers to testing such as travel costs, exam accessibility, reduction of test anxiety and borrowing and transportation of equipment,” said NBC Vice Chair, Mark Stueck, CDT. “It is the final piece to the puzzle of allowing candidates to complete ALL CDT examinations remotely at a location, date and time of their choosing.”
Candidates will be required to have access to the specific dental laboratory materials and equipment necessary to complete the Practical examination work in the specialty of their choosing. Additionally, candidates will need the following general equipment to utilize the remote testing option for the Practical examination:
- Private workbench where the candidate can perform the majority of work without interference.
- Laptop computer with built-in or external webcam, speakers, and microphone (tablets not supported).
o Laptop operating system of Windows 7 and higher or Mac OS 9 and higher. Most Linux are also supported.
o Web browser must be recent version of Google Chrome (50+). - Cellular smart phone with camera with Android 4.1 or higher or iOS 8.0 or higher operating system.
- Internet connection with at least 2 Mbps download and 2 Mbps upload speeds. Both the computer and cell phone will need to be connected to the internet.
- Power cords for laptop computer and cellular smart phone.
- Materials for articulating, packaging and shipping their completed work back to NBC for grading.
For additional information on the new option to take the Practical examination remotely through a third party proctor, including an extended list of FAQs, please visit www.nbccert.org/become-a-cdt or contact NBC by email at certification@nbccert.org or by phone at (800) 684-5310.
Foundation for Dental Laboratory Technology Makes All Online Courses Free
The Foundation for Dental Laboratory Technology, a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit educational foundation, dedicated to furthering dental laboratory technology education, is announcing that it is making all of its Foundation Learning Library courses available to the dental laboratory community at no charge through on an ongoing basis.“We know that CDTs and RGs are seeking virtual continuing education right now, more than ever, with meetings such as DLAT, MDLA and WSDLA being rescheduled and LMT West being cancelled,” said Sean Siegel, Foundation Chair. “We also know that educational institutions are being asked to go virtual and are looking for high-quality online education to supplement their curriculum.”
The Foundation Learning Library at www.dentallabfoundation.org/courses, offers almost 100 on-demand courses, available 24/7/365, covering topics such as occlusion, esthetics, implants, sleep apnea, digital dentures, CAD/CAM, 3D printing and much more. “Many of these courses have been generously underwritten or donated by our wonderful supporters and we felt this was a great way to give back to the community that has given so much to helping dental laboratory technology education,” said Gary Iocco, Foundation Vice Chair.
Most courses are approved through the National Board for Certification in Dental Laboratory Technology for CDT/RG credits and courses are available to stream for 90 days once purchased. “As of now, we have opened the entire platform on an ongoing basis,” said Shawn Nowak, Foundation Fiscal Officer. “We will continue to monitor new developments, however, and pivot where (or when?) we need to.”
Use coupon code DLTFoundation at checkout to access all online courses for free through the Foundation Learning Library at www.dentallabfoundation.org/courses. “We hope that this will help our community in need right now,” said Siegel. “It is critical that we all come together to make it through these challenging times.”
The Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, whose purpose is to advance the profession of dental laboratory technology by addressing industry driven needs and providing solutions that are relevant and accessible to dental technicians and other members of the dental team. For additional information about the Foundation and its programs, visit www.dentallabfoundation.org.
The Foundation’s ability to offer programs to support education and workforce training are based solely on contributions from individuals and companies. Thank you to all our donors and supporters www.dentallabfoundation.org/donors.
