Save the Dates! The Gerety Orthodontic Training For Dental Assistants is Coming to Dallas!

We are very excited to announce that Dr Damon Huffman will be our new instructor for the assistant program!  Dr Huffman has been part of our teaching team for the doctor's Comprehensive Orthodontic Course in both Tulsa and Dallas since 2014 and has participated in the assistant training along with Kay during that time.  He is looking forward to seeing you in Dallas!  The curriculum will continue to be the program that Kay Gerety originated and fine-tuned to fit the needs of todays practice. 

Enroll now while seats are still available because these courses will sell out quickly.  The Gerety orthodontic assistant courses are highly respected and only offered once a year. Our 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, we also offer 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 so ask for details at the time of registration.
 

Register 4 Assistants and the 5th is FREE!

All classes are held at the Marriott Quorum Addison in Dallas, TX

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. Dr Huffman 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.

Kay has listened to your requests and has 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. While we will have cameras on hand to complete this exercise we do encourage each office that is represented 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. 

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

About the Advanced Course

Dr Huffman will be presenting our Advanced Orthodontic Training for Assistants in Dallas May 13-14  in conjunction with the Gerety Comprehensive Orthodontic course, and we are looking forward to another great course! Damon is a highly enthusiastic presenter, motivating, as well as knowledgeable, and enables his 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 the Gerety 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:

• Anchorage & Space Maintenance Using Closing Springs 
• Step In/Out Bends 
• Molar Distalizing Arch (MDA) 
• Cuspid Retraction – Pletcher Springs 
• Individual Root Torque 
• Anterior Retraction-Posted Archwire/Pletcher Springs 
• Bonded Lingual Retainer 

About the Instructor

Damon is an Associate Instructor in our Comprehensive Orthodontic Education program in Dallas. Damon began his orthodontic studies with Gerety Orthodontic Seminars in 1995, which allowed him to incorporate orthodontics into his busy family practice. Over the last 20 years Dr Huffman has completed over 700 orthodontic cases following Dr Gerety’s non-extraction straight wire techniques.

Graduating from Channelview High School in 1987 with a goal of becoming a heart surgeon, Damon began working in his father’s dental office at 17 years old. While working as a dental assistant and repairing dentures, he found his ultimate calling. Damon attended San Jacinto College and the University of Houston. He was accepted into dental school at the University of Texas in Houston, where he graduated in 1994. After passing the state board licensing exam with a perfect score, he immediately joined his father’s family practice. In 1999, he purchased that practice where he continues to enjoy all disciplines of dentistry. On any given day at the office, you may find him doing fillings, implants, braces, and root canals.

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!