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College draws clear distinction between supervision of an in-office laboratory and a commercial operation

Originally published in the November/December 2013 issue of Dispatch.  Updated July 2024. 

In today’s market, many dental offices offer patients full service with many aspects of dental care at a single location, including on-site dental laboratory for the construction and repair of some dental prostheses and appliances.

In this scenario, dental laboratory services are provided exclusively for the patients of the office. The treating dentist oversees the dental laboratory operation and assumes responsibility for the quality of the finished products.

It is natural that questions arise about the supervision of an in-office dental laboratory like this by a dentist and about the operation of a commercial dental laboratory offering services to the professional community at large.

The College draws a clear distinction between an in-office dental laboratory and a commercial operation.

In Ontario, only a registered dental technologist or a dentist may supervise a commercial dental laboratory. It is the College’s position that any dentist who proposes to supervise a commercial dental laboratory must be able to fulfill the same role as the RDT.

Need To Know

The College of Dental Technologists of Ontario has published standards about dental laboratory supervision for its members that stipulate that the supervising RDT must:

  • Assume full responsibility and accountability at all times for the technical aspects of dental technology practice, as well as for the administration of the laboratory.
  • Be responsible for overseeing the design, construction, repair and alteration of each dental prosthetic, restorative or orthodontic device that is processed in the laboratory.
  • Ensure that no case can be released, other than on an interim basis, without his or her authorization. Such authorization means that the supervisor has:
    • Examined all records supplied by the prescribing dentist and any other records, such as impressions, intraoral records, models, diagrams, and written and verbal instructions that are necessary to the design, fabrication, repair or alteration in question.
    • Certified that the records reviewed are adequate to design, construct, repair or alter the case.
    • Examined the case for conformity to the prescription.
    • Certified that the case was designed, constructed, repaired or altered in accordance with the CDTO’s standards.
    • Confirmed that the invoice accurately reflects the processes, materials and charges for the case.
  • Only supervise a single laboratory on a given day and be available within the suite of offices housing the laboratory when prescriptions are processed.

RCDSO will use this same CDTO document to determine whether a member of this College has performed according to acceptable standards and is maintaining his or her responsibilities as a health-care professional.

The complete CDTO document is available online at www.cdto.ca under the label “Standards of Practice.”

In addition, all invoices, design consultations and any document authorizing the release of the case must clearly identify the supervising RDT or dentist.

Verification process 

Effective June 21, 2024, the CDTO will no longer be issuing a stamp to Registered Dental Technologists (RDTs) to impress on documents. Instead, RDTs must include the following information on any documents that previously required a stamp:  

  • Their full name as it appears on the CDTO’s Public Register. 
  • Their registration number as it appears on the CDTO’s Public Register. 
  • The full text indicating their title as “Registered Dental Technologist.”

What does this mean for dentists? 

Before sending a prescription to a dental laboratory, dentists must verify that the laboratory employs an RDT registered with the CDTO in the General Class of Registration. You can verify this by checking the CDTO’s Public Register for the dental laboratory’s name and address and the RDT name(s)/registration number(s) listed under that place of business.  

After receiving a case or any document from the dental laboratory, dentists must verify the RDT’s name and registration number and the dental laboratory address on received documents (e.g., invoices, design consultations) against the CDTO’s Public Register. 

Dentists should contact the CDTO if:

  • the dental laboratory is not listed on the CDTO’s Public Register. 
  • no RDT(s) in the General Class of Registration are listed under the place of business. 
  • the documents received lack the required RDT identifiers, or the information provided (e.g., business address) does not match the information on the CDTO’s Public Register. 

Transition Period  

From June 21, 2024, until September 1, 2024, RDTs have the option to use either the CDTO-issued stamp or the identifiers noted above.  Effective September 2, 2024, RDTs must only use the identifiers on the specified documents manually or digitally.

If you require assistance with inquiries related to RDT registration, please contact CDTO at info@cdto.ca.