"Denturist" is the everyday word for a Registered Clinical Dental Technician (CDT) — a registered professional who can make and fit removable dentures for adults directly, without going through a dentist first. Éanna Callanan is a Registered CDT working in Galway.
The basics
A Clinical Dental Technician (CDT) is registered with the Dental Council of Ireland and is trained on both the clinical side — taking impressions and fitting in the mouth — and the laboratory side — designing and building the denture by hand. People often call a CDT a "denturist". It is the same role.
The advantage is simple: the person who assesses you is the person who makes and fits your denture. There is no appliance sent off to an unseen lab, and no message passed between two people who never meet.
Direct, without a dentist first
Full upper or lower dentures, made and fitted directly for adults aged 18 and over. No dentist referral is usually needed.
Cracks, a lost tooth, a snapped clasp, or a reline to improve fit — done on the existing removable appliance, often same-day.
Removable partial dentures, where your oral health has been established through recent attendance with a dentist (see below).
Where we refer
A CDT works within a defined scope. Anything involving your natural teeth or living tissue is the work of a registered dentist, and Éanna will refer you on rather than work outside that scope.
Fillings, extractions, treatment of decay, gum disease, or anything on living tissue is done by a dentist, not a CDT.
If something needs to be examined and diagnosed, that is a dentist's role. If Éanna sees something during an assessment that needs a dentist, he will tell you and refer you.
These are dentist-led treatments and are outside CDT scope.
These involve natural teeth or soft tissue and follow a dentist-led pathway. They are not offered directly here.
Important for partial dentures
Because a partial denture sits alongside your natural teeth, a CDT can provide one only where your oral health has already been established through recent attendance with a dentist. This protects the teeth you still have.
Where this comes from
The CDT title and scope are set out by the Dental Council of Ireland and the Dentists Act 1985. If you would like to read the source material:
dentalcouncil.ie/registration/auxiliary-dental-workers ↗ — registration of Clinical Dental Technicians.
dentalcouncil.ie/code-of-practice/clinical-dental-technicians ↗ — the code of ethics and conduct that sets the title and scope.
irishstatutebook.ie — Dentists Act 1985, s.54 ↗ — the statutory basis for direct adult denture work.