Occupation Details
Dental Laboratory Technicians
Construct and repair full or partial dentures or dental appliances.
Quick Navigation
Interests
Realistic
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Investigative
Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Conventional
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Work Values
Working Conditions
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Support
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Independence
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Salary & Job Outlook
Starting Salary
$36,190.00
New York StateMedian Salary
$50,120.00
New York StateExperienced Salary
$75,020.00
New York StateNational Average for Comparison
New York State Job Market Outlook
Jobs Right Now (2018)
1,590
professionals in NYFuture Job Growth (2030)
2,120
+53 jobs/yearNew Jobs Every Year
288
new opportunities yearlyGrowth Rate
0.3%
projected increasePreparation: Experience, Training, and Education
The list below outlines the prior educational experience required to perform in this occupation.
Some Training - Certificate or hands-on training
Experience Requirements
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Education Requirements
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Training Details
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Transferrable Skills and Experience
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.
School Programs
The following lists school programs which are applicable to this occupation.
Licensing & Certification
State License and Certifications Requirements are not currently associated with this occupation.
Apprenticeship
Contact your regional representative to learn more about apprenticeships available in your area by visiting Apprenticeship Contacts.
Skills
The list below includes the skills required by workers in this occupation; skills are what allow you to learn more quickly and improve your performance.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Skill level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Knowledge
The list below includes knowledge items, the principles and facts required by this occupation.
Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Design
Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Medicine and Dentistry
Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Mechanical
Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Knowledge level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Work Environment
The list below includes the physical and social factors that influence the nature of work in this occupation.
Hover over or tap each factor to see its description.
Work Styles
Included in the list below are the personal work style characteristics that can affect how well a worker is likely to perform in this occupation.
Achievement/Effort
Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Analytical Thinking
Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Attention to Detail
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Cooperation
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Dependability
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Initiative
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Integrity
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Persistence
Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Self-Control
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Stress Tolerance
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Tools & Technology
This list below describes the machines, equipment, tools, software, and information technology that workers in this occupation will use.
Tools
- Acrylic cutters
- Adjustable articulators
- Air compressors
- Air scribes
- Amalgam instruments
- Articulators
- Auto chucks
- Build-up brushes
- Bunsen burners
- Casting torches
- Clinical scales
- Conventional lathes
- Crown holders
- Crucible formers
- Crucibles
- Culture plates
- Culture tubes
- Curette scalers
- Dental amalgamators
- Dental buffing wheels
- Dental burs
- Dental finishing stones
- Dental finishing wheels
- Dental handpieces
- Dental lab microscopes
- Dental laboratory alcohol torches
- Dental laboratory bench lathes
- Dental laboratory centrifugal casting units
- Dental laboratory curing lights
- Dental laboratory die mold fabrication systems
Technology
- Bookkeeping software
- Computer aided design and drafting CADD software
- Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
- Computer imaging software
- Database management software
- Dental product design software
- Dental product manufacturing software
- Easy Solutions Easy Lab
- Email software
- Graphics software
- Intuit QuickBooks
- Inventory management software
- Mainstreet Systems & Software DentaLab/PC II
- Mainstreet Systems & Software DentaRX
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office
Duties
Duties are job behaviors describing activities that occur on multiple jobs. The generalized and detailed work activities described in the list below apply to this occupation.
- interpret prescriptions
- mix paint, ingredients, or chemicals, according to specifications
- cast metal objects
- fabricate, assemble, or disassemble manufactured products by hand
- test manufactured products or materials
- examine products or work to verify conformance to specifications
- use precision measuring tools or equipment
- use hand or power tools
- solder metal parts or components together
- use soldering equipment
- understand technical operating, service or repair manuals
- make independent judgment in assembly procedures
- read specifications
Tasks
The list below outlines specific tasks that a worker in this occupation is called upon to do regularly.
- Read prescriptions or specifications and examine models or impressions to determine the design of dental products to be constructed.
- Test appliances for conformance to specifications and accuracy of occlusion, using articulators and micrometers.
- Fabricate, alter, or repair dental devices, such as dentures, crowns, bridges, inlays, or appliances for straightening teeth.
- Prepare metal surfaces for bonding with porcelain to create artificial teeth, using small hand tools.
- Rebuild or replace linings, wire sections, or missing teeth to repair dentures.
- Place tooth models on an apparatus that mimics bite and movement of patient's jaw to evaluate functionality of model.
- Apply porcelain paste or wax over prosthesis frameworks or setups, using brushes and spatulas.
- Remove excess metal or porcelain and polish surfaces of prostheses or frameworks, using polishing machines.
- Build and shape wax teeth, using small hand instruments and information from observations or dentists' specifications.
- Load newly constructed teeth into porcelain furnaces to bake the porcelain onto the metal framework.
- Mold wax over denture setups to form the full contours of artificial gums.
- Train or supervise other dental technicians or dental laboratory bench workers.
- Melt metals or mix plaster, porcelain, or acrylic pastes and pour materials into molds or over frameworks to form dental prostheses or apparatuses.
- Create a model of patient's mouth by pouring plaster into a dental impression and allowing plaster to set.
- Prepare wax bite blocks and impression trays for use.
- Shape and solder wire and metal frames or bands for dental products, using soldering irons and hand tools.
- Fill chipped or low spots in surfaces of devices, using acrylic resins.
Learning Resources
More information on this occupation may be found in the links provided below.
Dental and Optical Laboratory Technicians
Visit this link for information on this career in the military.
Learn MoreDental laboratory technicians
Visit this link for additional information on this career from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; a publication produced and maintained by the United States Department of Labor.
Learn More