This session explores the transition from university training to professional practice through the experience of a qualified dental technician working in an NHS hospital laboratory. Using prosthetic case studies, including obturators, it demonstrates how undergraduate dental technology training is translated into real-world prosthetic fabrication, highlighting the learning curve.

• >Understand the transition from undergraduate dental technology training to professional practice in an NHS hospital laboratory.
• >Recognise how core dental technology skills are applied and adapted when working on complex prosthetic cases, including obturators.
• >Identify common challenges and key learning points encountered during early-career prosthetic fabrication.
• >Appreciate the importance of ongoing learning and case exposure in developing confidence and competence as a newly qualified dental technician.