Oswestry dental technician becomes youngest in UK to qualify

Sheena Lakhanpal is aged 27 years old and is from Bupa Dental Care’s Oswestry laboratory. She has become the nation’s youngest qualified clinical dental technician (CDT) after completing an intensive two-year course at the University of Central Lancashire.

Ms Lakhanpal was one of a handful of students in her class to certify this year. Her success comes with only three-and-a-half-years’ experience under her belt at the Oswestry Laboratory, after gaining a BSc (Hons) degree at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2014.

This most recent CDT achievement allows Ms Lakhanpal to provide a range of denture services direct to her patients and it also recognises her advanced technical and clinical skills, which are needed to carefully design and hand-craft all dentures to meet the individual requirements of each client.

Celebrating her qualification, Ms Lakhanpal said: “The work of a clinical dental technician can make a real difference to someone’s life, health and wellbeing. That’s why I was so motivated to study part-time to take my career to the next level, in order to benefit my patients.

“There’s no denying that it was a tough qualification to attain, and that’s why I’m incredibly grateful for receiving such overwhelming support from the team at the Oswestry lab – they backed me all the way.”

Praising Ms Lakhanpal on her success, Nicholas Richards, Bupa Oswestry Dental Laboratory manager, added: “We’re tremendously proud of Sheena’s achievement of becoming the youngest CDT in the country. Prosthetic dental technology, which is one of the services offered at the lab in Oswestry, is where science meets art, and Sheena certainly has a flair for both. She’s a real asset to the laboratory and I’m sure everyone will join me in congratulating her.”