Education evolution: Jensen Dental

Over the past 35 years, Jensen Dental has grown from an alloy company into a comprehensive provider of quality products, systems, education and services across the entire spectrum of the dental lab industry, including a digital solution. Jensen has a reputation for providing world-class education including Jensen Education Day during the Chicago Midwinter meeting, tradeshows, hands-on courses and online webinars.

What made you decide that entering the realm of digital education was an important step?

In talking with customers, we discovered that they were looking for alternative means to access education in light of the economic climate, and the inability to justify the travel and the expenses associated with education. Education in this industry has traditionally been ‘expensive,’ ‘time-consuming,’ and ‘advanced.’

We saw a need to provide our customers with relevant education aimed at helping them grow their capability and the efficiency of their lab, delivered in a convenient cost effective manner.

In creating your digital offering, what were some of the primary needs you hoped to achieve?

Over the years, Jensen has built a core competency around educating and helping customers be successful with ceramics, so we translated that capability to include Alloy, Refining, Occlusion and Investment, and delivered it through Live and Recorded Webinars. We’re doing things that are untraditional as it relates to education. It’s not just about technique, it’s about identifying the right solution and bringing it to the customer in a way that can have the most direct and immediate impact on their laboratory.

Jensen Webinars are all real-time and allow participants to address questions that are important to them. Each webinar is registered with the NBC and CE Broker, and eligible participants receive one CE credit per webinar.

What do you feel sets your online CE apart from others in the field?

Typically, we provide several Webinars over the course of a month, and have a library of over 40 Recorded Webinars that are available on-demand and cover a variety of topics. 

We also have a more structured e-curriculum through our Virtual Study Club (VSC) Program. The VSC consists of a series of Webinars hosted over several weeks, all focused on helping customers become more successful. If the customer doesn’t benefit then the Webinar is irrelevant. The Webinar is simply a medium to exchange information and ideas to trigger new ways of thinking.

In your opinion, what are some of the benefits of online education versus traditional live courses?

The entire lab staff can learn first-hand without the prohibitive costs associated with taking the entire team offsite. You’ve got everybody in the room, so there’s immediate gratification. Many of the participants in the Jensen Webinars project the course to their entire lab team to maximize the learning in an efficient and effective manner.

What do you see as the next step in advancing the popularity of online CE?

We plan on developing our platform with video to make our Webinars even more interactive and dynamic.

Where can our readers go to find more information about the education archived or upcoming on your site?

Visit jensendental.com/webinar to view our library of Recorded Webinars as well as to view our calendar of upcoming Live Webinars

How long have you been hosting and/or organizing your own live CE courses independent of tradeshows?

Jensen has always relied heavily on educating our customers. In 1993, when we added Willi Geller Creation Porcelain to our product portfolio, we recognized the need for organized hands-on courses.

How would you describe your company's signature event?

The annual Jensen Dental Education Day during the Midwinter Meetings in Chicago is often quoted by customers as a must attend educational event for dental technicians and laboratory owners. The knowledge attendees gain can be used to hone their technical skills, grow their capabilities and grow their laboratories.

What do you hope this experience provides for the dental laboratory professional?

By investing in education, our customers will have the tools and knowledge they need to take advantage of today’s opportunities to position their laboratories for continued success.

What are dates of the next event (or events) and how can our readers go about getting more information for registration?

Jensen Dental’s commitment to education and training continues beyond Jensen Dental Education Day. Visit Jensen Dental online at jensendental.com/education to sign up for Webinars as well as to download educational tip sheets, find out where the next hands-on courses are or to enroll in one of Jensen’s virtual study clubs.