An Introduction to Dentistry By Alan Budgen

In 1994 the Council of the British Trade Association agreed to fund a training manual for people new to the dental industry. The original document was written by John Davis and Peter DeTrey and provided a basis for an Introduction to Dentistry.

The training committee was invited to take on the task, but it was soon obvious that because this committee had many different skills, not always concerned with their knowledge of dentistry, someone would have to take on the responsibility of compiling and editing an Introduction to Dentistry

Because of my background, 5 years of apprenticeship as a dental technician, 2 years as a dental surgery assistant/radiographer in the Royal Army Dental Corps and 30 years in the industry, I was invited to take on this task. The committee was able to agree the format of 9 sections covering the varied aspects of dental surgery and the work of the dental technicians.

The nine modules ( later extended to ten) were entitled:

Welcome to Dentistry Dental Anatomy and Function Restorative Dentistry
Prosthetics and Orthodontics Cross infection control Equipment and handpieces
Radiography Oral surgery and anaesthetics Laboratory procedures and techniques

A designer was selected, Stuart Tennant, who had worked with me previously. Because of the fact that most of my working life was spent ‘on the road’ and that I was computer illiterate, the whole manual was written by hand ,faxed to Stuart’s company where it was transcribed and the layout began.

It was also necessary to illustrate the manual with diagrams and pictures, in this respect the committee and the trade were most helpful in obtaining the necessary illustrations for me. One of the co-chairman, Jennifer Rush who did not have a dental background but was excellent at pointing out where I had made something difficult to understand and suggesting ways to correct this. Jennifer, Stuart and I would meet regularly to assess each module before presenting the text to the committee. Gradually we progressed, but it became obvious that we would have to get each module checked for accuracy. This was almost as difficult as producing the manual itself as few people were prepared to verify the text. Eventually ‘An Introduction to Dentistry’ was published and launched. It is pleasing to know that over 1200 Certificates have been awarded and that a second edition has been published.