Dental Lab Technician Careers

A dental laboratory technician career offers excellent opportunities for nontraditional students, individuals seeking a career change or reentry into the workforce and individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Due to the different needs of each dental patient, the duties of a dental laboratory technician are comprehensive and varied. Although they seldom work directly with patients, except under the direction of a licensed dentist, they are valuable members of the dental care team. They work directly with dentists by following detailed written instructions and using impressions (molds) of the patient's teeth or oral soft tissues to create such items as dentures, fixed bridges, crowns, veneers, orthodontic appliances and splints to help straighten and protect teeth.

Because an important aspect of a technician’s responsibility is to fabricate dental restorations and tooth replacements that are both esthetic and functional for everyday living, they work with a variety of materials, such as waxes, plastics, precious and non-precious alloys, stainless steel, a variety of porcelains and composites or polymer glass combinations. They also use sophisticated instruments and equipment to help them create the many dental prostheses that patients use. Experienced technicians can find well paid positions in commercial laboratories, become department heads in larger laboratories, or potentially own their own laboratory. In addition, dental technicians may teach dental technology courses in educational programs, as well as apply their knowledge to research, sales and/or marketing of prosthetic materials, instruments and equipment.

Median hourly earnings of technicians were $14.93 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $11.18 and $19.71 an hour. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $8.86, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $25.48 an hour. Median hourly earnings of technicians in May 2004 were $15.95 in offices of dentists and $14.40 in medical equipment and supplies manufacturing. Click here for more detailed information on a career in dentistry as a Dental Laboratory Technician. If you are an international student who wants to train in the US to become a dental technician, click here to get information on studying in the US.
 

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