NZ Dental Technician REX study guide
NZ Dental Technician REX · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The New Zealand Dental Technician Registration Examination (REX) is the assessment route by which dental technicians trained in New Zealand or overseas demonstrate they meet the standards required to practise as registered dental technicians here. It is aimed at people who have completed a recognised qualification and now need to satisfy the Dental Council of New Zealand that their knowledge and clinical laboratory judgement are current and safe. The NZ Dental Technician REX study guide has 10 sections and about 3,547 words.
01Dental Anatomy: Notation, Morphology and Crown Form
Dental Anatomy questions test whether you can name, number and mentally build any tooth in either arch, because every crown, pontic and denture tooth you make depends on that map. FDI two-digit system: the first digit is the quadrant taken from the patient's own upper right - 1 upper right, 2 upper left, 3 lower left, 4 lower right; the second digit is 1–8 from the midline.
391 words, about 2 min02Oral Anatomy and Physiology for Prosthetic Design
Orofacial hard and soft tissue anatomy, plus the physiology that drives impression taking, jaw registration, denture extension and occlusion. Maxilla: crest of the ridge, incisive papilla (resists resorption but must not be compressed), rugae, median palatal raphe (thin mucosa - relieve), fovea palatini, vibrating line, hamular notch, torus palatinus (relieve or refer).
365 words, about 2 min03Dental Materials Science and Biomaterials
Properties, handling and failure modes of the materials used daily - gypsum, impression materials, polymers, ceramics, alloys and cements - and the ISO standards that define them. Type I impression plaster, II plaster, III stone, IV die stone, V high-expansion die stone.
357 words, about 2 min04Removable Prosthodontics: Complete and Partial Dentures
Design, construction sequence and biomechanics of complete and partial dentures - how support, retention and stability are built in, and how frameworks are designed on a surveyable cast. Sequence: primary impression, custom tray, border moulding, wash impression, master cast, record bases and occlusion rims, jaw registration, tooth set-up, try-in, flasking, packing, curing, deflasking, finishing, remount and occlusal adjustment.
337 words, about 2 min05Fixed Prosthodontics: Crowns, Bridges, Veneers and Implants
Design and fabrication of indirect restorations - preparation geometry, die work, material minimum thickness, connectors, pontic design, implant prosthetics and bonding protocols. Axial reduction 0.8–1.5 mm, occlusal reduction 1.5–2.0 mm for metal-ceramic; convergence ideally 6°, acceptable 6–10°.
315 words, about 2 min06Orthodontic Appliances and Techniques
Fabrication and repair of removable and fixed orthodontic appliances, wire and acrylic technique, study model work, and the aligner workflow. The Adams clasp (0.7 mm stainless steel) on first molars or primary second molars is the workhorse retainer; labial bow 0.7 mm; expansion screw 0.9–1.0 mm giving about 0.25 mm per quarter turn.
358 words, about 2 min07Infection Prevention and Control in the Dental Laboratory
How you stop the laboratory becoming a cross-infection link: standard precautions, disinfection of impressions and appliances, sterilisation and the records that prove each cycle worked. Standard precautions apply to every patient and every impression; you do not decide who is low risk.
350 words, about 2 min08Laboratory Safety and Hazardous Substance Control
Hazard identification and control in a working dental laboratory - dusts, vapours, acids, heat, electricity, compressed gas and waste streams. Under the Hazardous Substances Regulations 2017, keep an inventory, hold current safety data sheets, label every decanted container, and store incompatible chemicals apart.
351 words, about 2 min09Professional, Ethical and Legal Responsibilities in New Zealand
Your obligations as a registered or registering dental technician in Aotearoa New Zealand: scope of practice, consent, privacy, record keeping, cultural safety and accountability. The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 governs registration, annual practising certificates, competence review and complaints.
370 words, about 2 min10Laboratory Management, Quality Assurance and Digital Workflows
Running a compliant, consistent laboratory: prescription control, traceability, quality systems, equipment calibration and the digital chain from scan to seated restoration. A valid prescription identifies the patient, the dentist, the teeth involved, material and shade, design requested, and the date and signature.
353 words, about 2 min