Marithe Baclagon CDT, Te, M.Ed.

Marithe has always been extremely passionate about the field of Dentistry. This is what coined her IG name: RVAToothFairy. The passion for the art and science of dentistry. She has been a dental lab technician for 13+ years. Her main focuses have been digital dentistry and ceramic work, but also been taught in various aspects of conventional lab techniques.

She attended ODU for pre-dental hygiene in 2004, but transferred to VCU and graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Psychology in 2009. Shortly after, she was accepted into J Sargeant Reynolds Dental Lab Technology Program for her Dental Lab Technology degree as well as her Specialization Certificate. She graduated as a Recognized Graduate and Magna Cum Laude in the Dental Lab Program. She then decided in 2019 to go back to get her Master’s Degree in Instructional Design and Technology. She applied to the program at VCU School of Education where she was accepted. She graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2021, and her dream was to launch a Digital Dental and Art Integration Program at the VCU School of Dentistry where she could teach a handful of pre-doctoral students or lab technicians about what she loved so much- The Art and Science of Dentistry. COVID stunted her plans of launching the program, but she decided that maybe her plan was to obtain her PhD. She was accepted into her PhD program at VCU in 2021, but decided that her path was about to take a sharp turn.

Of course you can’t tell the best part before you hear the beginning. She started in a private family owned dental laboratory in Richmond, VA where she worked in every department for 8 years developing her skills in digital and conventional techniques. A position was offered to her by her former Program Head to transfer her skills at VCU School of Dentistry. There she was the first dental lab technician for the Digital Dentistry Department. She worked alongside Dr. Sompop Bencharit as his personal lab technician. There she was able to teach and collaborate with experienced dental professionals as well as pre-doctoral 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year students. She conducted research with dental faculty from UNC, VCU, and other dental schools from across the world. The calibration of minds included beta testing new dental materials and dental machinery to innovate new strategies and strengths of various prosthetics. She was mentored by many influential and talented Prosthodontists, Orthodontists, Oral Surgeons, and General Dentists.. As a CDT, this was an absolute dream to be exposed to so many various fields of dentistry.

Her experience with digital dentistry spans from the very first CEREC inLab technology, Nobel Procera Piccolo , Romexis Planmeca E4D, 3Shape, Stoneglass Prosthetic Design Studio as well as ExoCAD. She has utilized CEREC MCXL, E4D Planmill, VHF Z4, Ivoclar’s PM1, PM7,and Zirkonzahn’s M4 milling units. She was nominated for the Smart Integration Award for Women in Digital Dentistry in 2021 for her advances in Digital Technology. She continues to collaborate with amazing technicians and dental professionals from all over the world. Her courses for her upcoming years will hopefully expand to other parts of the US, so stay tuned!

For the last year and half she has worked at a private in-house dental implant reconstruction office in Virginia Beach, VA. working closely with her dentist. The focus of this practice has been on full mouth rehabilitation spanning from single crowns, implants crowns, to All-On-X “Teeth in a Day” surgeries. She has expanded her digital knowledge with the use of iMetric’s iCam Photogrammetry, as well as Instarisa Facial recognition scanning to better align occlusion and facial markers to establish better VDO and accuracy with planning and execution of prosthetic work in accordance with occlusion.

2023 has much in store for her, she is planning to expand her knowledge by applying to finally getting her PhD, as well as her 5-year goal of achieving her Master Dental Technician Status. She wants to dedicate her time on studying for testing, as well as putting her artistry skills with ceramics to another level. She’s also hoping to expand her social media presence with more technicians and continue to grow within our community.