Dental Technology Current Students

Welcome Dental Technology Students

You have chosen an exciting and challenging career with great employment potential. The next two years will be demanding and require you to adjust your family, work, school and free time schedules. The program is set up on a block schedule, meaning you will focus on 2-3 classes at a time for 4 or 6 weeks. The Dental Technology program classes move quickly and will require a lot of your time (in and out of class). We want you to be successful in your new Dental Technology Career, so we have setup an orientation day August 26, 2021, starting 8:00am in Linn Hall, room 2114 (the first day of classes)  to help with this transition.

The topics covered in the orientation are very beneficial to incoming students for their readiness in the program. We require your participation in this informative orientation session. The orientation will cover the Dental Technology Handbook, your books, tool kits, day and evening lab schedules, scrubs and lab jackets. Scrubs are required to be solid colors with no design. Lab jackets must be blue, with front pockets and long sleeves with cuffs. Both can be bought at places like Wal-Mart, uniform shops, online, etc. You will need to pick up your books and tool kits at the Kirkwood Bookstore on the Cedar Rapids campus before Orientation. We will be going through the tool kits to make sure everything is there.

Participation is a good step toward successfully completing your goals of becoming a Dental Technician. Work hard and listen to your instructors and the next two years will fly by.

If you have any questions, please call me at 319-398-7125 or email me at sandra.kotowske@kirkwood.edu.

PLEASE BRING THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WITH YOU:

1. Wear scrubs. They can be purchased anywhere, but need to be a solid color. One set should be navy blue as you will need these for Clinic I.
2. Lab coat – light blue. This will need to be purchased. K Jean’s Uniforms at 3631 1^st Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids, IA is familiar with our uniform requirements and offer a 20% discount to Kirkwood students.
3. Safety glasses.
4. Fishing tackle box with the following items inside:

• Tool kit (required from book store)
• Bur kit (block)
• Bur kit (tube)
• And the following items: soft child's toothbrush, stiff denture brush, 2 permanent markers (one fine point, one medium point), needle nose pliers with wire cutter, large putty knife, small container to child grinding stones, 2 fingernail polish bottles, super glue (not gel).

5. Textbooks, purchased at the Kirkwood Bookstore.

A note from our program director:

Welcome to the Dental Technology program! You have chosen a dynamic and challenging career that will bring very rewarding experiences.

The faculty and I congratulate you for choosing what we feel is a great profession. The next two years will be very busy and challenging. We realize that attending college may have already required some changes in your life. We understand that being a student is only part of your life.

To assist you in making some of the adjustments we have prepared a student handbook as a special resource of information and expectations. As you progress through the program you will probably refer back to this resource. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding the material presented in this handbook.

Our goal is your success, so as questions arise, please let us know. Our best advice to new students is:

• Take advantage of the learning experiences and support services available to you.
• Think positively during the stressful times. YOU CAN DO IT! We know you can.
• Become as knowledgeable and skilled as you can in your new career. Learn to grow as a person, professionally and ethically, as you work with others.
• Be open to new ideas.
• Be patient as you learn.
• The faculty and I look forward to working with each of you during the next few years.
  
  

Leah Coleman
Director of Dental Technology