Embracing a New Era

Kay's Newly Updated Orthodontic Training For Dental Auxiliaries - It's What YOU Asked For!

Modified: June 6, 2016 - 05:13 AM by Robert Gerety

We are very excited to present a completely restructured Basic Orthodontic course for the dental auxiliary! Due to the increased usage of third party ceph tracing services and digital tracing software, we have removed the clinical portion of ceph tracing from the two day program.  This will allow more time to focus on the clinical procedures that will better serve the doctor in their day to day delivery of patient care.  We listened to your requests and have introduced a clinical photography module to the basic program.  Our goal is to teach proper techniques and procedures for producing consistent high quality images for orthodontic documentation. Each office that is represented is encouraged to bring their camera in order for us to customize their procedures and settings.  Multiple stations are set-up in the classroom so that each assistant can produce a complete set of images that meet the standard of care guidelines.

For those doctors that would like their staff to take advantage of cephalometric tracing, an optional Sunday morning session is available immediately following the 2 day Basic course.   All materials and equipment, including tracing lights and kits, will be furnished for the Cephalometric Tracing Course, and the cost is only $199.

We are also adding a Sunday morning session during the advanced course. The hands-on photography portion of the Basic Assistant training was so popular last year that we have been asked to present it as a stand-alone and optional morning session on Sunday following the Advanced Assistant's course to allow the more advanced assistant to benefit from this module.

Enroll now while seats are still available because these courses will sell out!  Kay Gerety's orthodontic assistant courses are highly respected and only offered once a year. Kay's Basic Ortho Training course is the perfect opportunity for you to begin the process of providing your staff with the knowledge and confidence they need to successfully perform the duties you choose to delegate. If your staff members are more experienced and are looking for more of a challenge and want to further expand their knowledge, Kay also offers an Advanced course that will meet their needs.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to train new staff members or update your entire staff!  Discounts are available for multiple registrations!  Ask for details at the time of registration.
 

Basic Orthodontics for Dental Auxiliaries March 4-5, 2016 $495
Cephalometric Tracing for Dental Auxiliaries March 6, 2016 $199
Advanced Orthodontics for Dental Auxiliaries May 13-14, 2016 $495
Clinical Orthodontic Photography for Dental Auxiliaries May 15, 2016 $199


All classes are held at the Crowne Plaza Tulsa Southern Hills in Tulsa, OK


Click here for the Kay's Complete Assistant Training Brochure


About the Basic Course

The success of a dental practice, and the successful incorporation of orthodontics into a practice, can hinge on the education and training of its staff. This hands-on course is designed to meet the needs of doctors and assistants who are currently utilizing Straight-Wire mechanics and would like to expand the duties that may be delegated to, and performed by, the assistant. You can’t afford to miss out on the opportunity to train your staff to accept these responsibilities and to encourage their professional growth.

This is a beginning course specifically designed to teach the fundamentals of orthodontics to
chair-side auxiliaries. No experience is necessary to succeed in this course and there are no
orthodontic prerequisites. This is a two-day course featuring lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on exercises. Kay Gerety will provide your staff with a clear understanding of orthodontics beginning with patient records, and building on each lesson to conclude with bracket and archwire placement.

Course Outline

  • Patient records, standard of care, radiographs, impressions and models, photography, clinical exam and evaluation
  • Insurance procedures, patient management forms, informed consent, financial options
  • Orthodontic Photography - Hands On
  • Principles and mechanics of the straight-wire bracket
  • Understanding proper bracket placement and the principles of movement
  • Direct bond bracketing of anatomical teeth – Hands On
  • Placement of separators, sizing and cementing molar bands, bracket placement aids, cements and materials, patient management, and post operative procedures
  • Archwire Sequence to include .0175, .016 Thermal Activated Nitanium, .016 SS and .018 SS archwires.  Using these archwires we will complete three projects to learn ligation methods, placement of rotation wedges, placement of chain elastic, archwire coordination, placement of stops and open coil spring – Hands On
  • Scheduling and practice management, ordering orthodontic supplies, operatory armamentarium, and set-up

Click Here to Register for Kay's Basic Assistant Course


 

About the Advanced Course

Kay will be presenting her Advanced Orthodontic Training for Assistants in Tulsa May 13 - 14 in conjunction with the Gerety Comprehensive Orthodontic course, and we are looking forward to another great course! Kay is a highly enthusiastic presenter, motivating, as well as knowledgeable, and enables her students to return to your practice with a renewed excitement and enthusiasm for dentistry and the ability to contribute to your office.

This 2 day, hands-on course for experienced Orthodontic Assistants is designed to meet the needs of doctors and assistants who are currently utilizing Straight-Wire mechanics, and would like to expand the delegable duties to be performed by the assistant. Although it is not mandatory to have participated in "Kay Gerety’s Basic Assistant Course," this advanced course is specifically structured to enhance and develop the principles and techniques taught in the basic course. Additionally, it will provide an excellent follow-up for assistants who have previously participated in the Basic Assistant Course or who have extensive experience in orthodontic assisting. It is recommended that participants be familiar with taking basic orthodontic records, bracket and molar band placement, ligation methods and basic wire changing techniques. Each assistant needs to be comfortable with basic orthodontic procedures.

Course Outline

  • Establishing objectives for treatment
  • Understanding skeletal and dental classifications and discrepancies
  • Treatment options
  • The Straight-Wire philosophy and how it pertains to bracket placement; tip and torque; level, align and rotate; and forces
  • Archwire sequence and auxiliary forces

 

Hands-On Participation exercises include:

  • Wax bite registration and archwire coordination
  • Accentuating curve
  • Reverse curve
  • Omega cinch backs
  • Open coil spring and power chain
  • Correction of single tooth cross bite
  • Step in and out bends
  • Ligation methods for activation
  • Multi-Distalizing Arch™ Appliance - Adaptation to wax bite, placement, and activation
  • Cuspid retraction
  • Individual root torque
  • Pletcher springs to posted wire (de-torquing rectangular archwire)
  • Bonded lower lingual retainer

Click Here to Register for Kay's Advanced Assistant Course


About the Cephalometric Course

Well-taken and properly analyzed cephalometric x-rays and tracings will provide you with a valuable addition to your diagnosis and treatment planning. Kay will present a systematic procedure for establishing the values used to predict the effect of various treatment procedures. Your staff will learn the definition and location of the cephalometric landmarks and the guidelines for establishing the values needed for diagnosis and treatment planning. Kay will show the procedures for establishing and measuring the planes, lines and angles using protractors and templates and help to properly record the values in a consistent manner.

This four hour session will be held on Sunday March 6, all materials including tracing lights and kits will be furnished for this program.


Click Here to Register for Kay's Cephalometric Tracing Course


About the Clinical Orthodontic Photography Course

Clinical photographs taken before, during, and after orthodontic treatment form an essential part of the patients’ records. If taken correctly, they offer useful information about the malocclusion and treatment options. There are, however, many potential sources of errors that can occur in the process of obtaining these images. Inadequate quality photographs may misrepresent the patients starting malocclusion, which may reflect dental anomalies and defects incorrectly, or misrepresent progress during treatment.

Errors can be grouped into various categories resulting in inadequate or inappropriate images. The first group comprises errors due to inappropriate choice or use of equipment including the camera, lens, flash, lip and cheek retractors, occlusal contrastors, mirrors, or a lack of understanding of digital technology. The second group of errors relates to the recording medium, ie; memory cards, image storage and lastly, patient positioning.  

The objective of this program is to highlight the most common challenges encountered in taking clinical photographs, and to advise and instruct on how to minimize these errors to achieve the highest possible quality of photographic records. Each participant will receive their own memory card and will be challenged to produce a complete set of images that meets the standard-of-care requirements as outlined. Good quality, accurate clinical photographs can easily be obtained using the correct equipment and appropriately trained staff. An awareness of the possible errors in extra and intraoral clinical photography will increase the chances of obtaining high quality images.

During the hands-on portion of this course, multiple stations will be set-up so that each assistant can produce a complete set of images that meet the standard-of-care guidelines.  Instructors at each station will provide individual feedback and will have several dental cameras on hand to demonstrate. Each participant is required to bring the camera they are using for their orthodontic photography so that the instructions can be personalized for each office.  One of the keys to optimal case finishing starts at the beginning, and continues throughout the treatment with good quality records. The hands-on portion of this course has proven to be a rewarding and beneficial opportunity for staff to learn the techniques that will help them to achieve excellent clinical photography for optimal record taking. 


Click Here to Register for Kay's Clinical Orthodontic Photography Course


About the Instructor

Kay Gerety received her Certified Dental Assistant Certificate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1975. As a practicing Dental Assistant for more than 35 years, she assisted Dr. Bob Gerety in his Straight-Wire Orthodontic courses for over 30 years and has been an immeasurable asset to the Comprehensive Orthodontic program. During this same time period, she has taught her own assistant’s clinical program in conjunction with Dr. Gerety’s courses. In addition to the clinical programs, she has lectured extensively on Orthodontic Integration and Profitability, Practice Management and Marketing, and Effective Staff Utilization. In North Carolina, Kay developed and instructed an in-office program for training Dental Assistants for general dentistry practices. Kay is an associate member of the American Orthodontic Society and is an honored recipient of the George R. Roland Award for Outstanding Service to the organization. A highly enthusiastic presenter, Kay is motivating, as well as knowledgeable, enabling her students to return to your practice with a renewed excitement and enthusiasm for dentistry and the ability to contribute.

Hear What Kay's Students Are Saying

"Kay is great. I feel like I have learned a great deal more from taking her classes." – Megan

"Thanks for the wonderful time. Kay is a very good instructor and all of you are amazing, thanks for everything" - Helen

"Kay is an amazing instructor - I really learned a lot and she made it very easy to learn and very fun!" - Crystl

"You are a wonderful teacher Mrs. Kay. This is my 3rd time taking the Advanced course. The 1st time I learned to do the treatment and the 2nd time I learned why. This class has been my favorite. I feel that now that I know how and why I can look for ways to improve and become a better asset to my doctor! Thanks so much!" - Cami

"Y'all are all so great! I love this course. Great instructor, learned so much!" -Simone

"You guys were all awesome! Would not change a thing. Perfection." -Megan

"The course material is truly wonderful and the teacher is just absolutely superb. Thanks Kay for being such a great teacher." -Christy

"I have attended 3 courses from Kay - all fantastic!" -Cheryl

"I love coming to Kay's classes. Always leave motivated!" -Lisa

"Very awesome course! Excellent speaker! I highly recommend this class to all ortho assistants." -Amanda

"Love Kay, she makes the course fun and is a wonderful inspiration" -Paula

"This was a great course and Kay was the best speaker I've listened to - very personable!" -Kelly

"I loved bracketing and taking before and after photos.  Had so much fun!" -Tara

"I am truly very satisfied.  I have been working as an orthodontic assistant for 20 years, dental assistant for 5, ortho is my first love.  Thank you Kay and staff for a very educational weekend." -Dana

"Kay is the best ortho instructor ever!!" -Maria

"Kay was great!  Keeps you involved, full of info in a funny way."  -Kelsey

 

These ortho courses are wonderful opportunities to train your staff to accept new responsibilities and to encourage their professional growth, and will be a benefit to you and your practice for years to come!


TO REGISTER CALL STRAIGHT WIRE SEMINARS AT 877-448-8606