HISTORY

The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) has a Committee for Veterinary Technician Specialties (CVTS) that governs groups of technicians who excel at their professional discipline of special interest. The CVTS has specific guidelines for these groups of Veterinary Technicians Specialists (VTS). When a new group is interested in forming, they obtain these guidelines from NAVTA/CVTS and begin to work on fulfilling these requirements. The requirements include electing officers, writing a constitution and by-laws, a credentials packet, an exam, a delineation study and other unique documents for their proposed academy. When these documents are approved by CVTS and NAVTA’s Board of Directors, the Board offers provisional approval and so recognizes a new specialty academy. Full recognition for the academy will be given after the first qualifying exam is given and candidates pass the exam. NAVTA currently has given full recognition to the Academy of Emergency and Critical Care Technicians and provisional recognition to The Academy of Veterinary Technician Anesthetists, The Academy of Veterinary Dental Technicians and The Academy of Internal Medicine Veterinary Technicians.

In October 2000, the call went out for technicians, who were qualified and motivated to form a new academy in veterinary dentistry. The first Organizing Committee meeting was held at the Western Veterinary Conference in February 2001. Dr. Edward Eisner spearheaded the group of technicians as an advisor and mentor representing the American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC). An election was held, officers were elected, and the first committees were formed within the Organizing committee. The Organizing Committee for the AVDT has met monthly in electronic meetings in the VetMedTeam chat room. The Organizing Committee has met in person since then at each of the Annual Veterinary Dental Forums. The Academy has been financially supported by Hill's Pet Nutrition and Pfizer Animal Health. The AVDT was granted provisional recognition by CVTS in November of 2002.

The first group of candidates sat for the examination in Baltimore, Maryland, at the Animal Dental Training Center in June 2006. Five of the first group passed all three portions of the examination and were then granted the status of VTS (Dentistry). The next exam will be held in June 2007 at the Animal Dental Training Center in Baltimore.

Applications are available once a year on the website from November 15 with a due date of December 31. Those that are applying need to be a credentialed veterinary technician for a minimum of 6000 hours with approximately 3000 of those hours having been spent in dentistry. The applicants must have a current CV or resume and a copy of their state certification. The applicant must also secure a mentor to help them along their way during the credentialing process. This mentor must be either a member of the AVDT or a Diplomate of the AVDC who is willing to donate their time. If an applicant needs help finding a mentor, they should contact Secretary Sara Sharp at DBLTRBSLS@aol.com.

Once the application is accepted, a CD will be sent to the applicant with the format for case logs, case reports, and CE requirements, along with a required and recommended reading list. The packet will also contain the format and other requirements for the credentials packet to be submitted. The credentialing process takes approximately 2 years. The applicant does not have to work for a dental specialist to be able to attain their VTS (Dentistry) designation, but does need to have access to some advanced dental procedures that will be required. The applicant is also strongly advised to be a member of NAVTA and the American Veterinary Dental Society. This organization is the approved Society of the AVDT and holds an Annual Veterinary Dental Forum where the applicant will have access to most of the CE required for credentialing.

After the credentials packet is accepted, the applicant is then known as a candidate and will be eligible to sit for the exam, which is held yearly. The exam is a three part exam held in Baltimore, Maryland, at the Animal Dental Training Center.

Once the candidate has successfully passed all three parts of the exam, they will be granted the VTS (Dentistry) designation, which will open up their career opportunities exponentially. Opportunities for speaking engagements, teaching opportunities, and publishing will be available. Overall, this program is arduous at times, but highly attainable for the motivated veterinary technician who wants to further their career in veterinary dentistry.