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Dental Laboratory Technicians

Construct and repair full or partial dentures or dental appliances.

Median pay
$49,610

a year

Doing it now
34,400

across the country

By 2035
Down 5.9%

3,600 openings a year

Usually needs
High school diploma or equivalent

to get in

What the work involves

  • Read prescriptions or specifications and examine models or impressions to determine the design of dental products to be constructed.
  • Fabricate, alter, or repair dental devices, such as dentures, crowns, bridges, inlays, or appliances for straightening teeth.
  • Test appliances for conformance to specifications and accuracy of occlusion, using articulators and micrometers.
  • Place tooth models on an apparatus that mimics bite and movement of patient's jaw to evaluate functionality of model.
  • Melt metals or mix plaster, porcelain, or acrylic pastes and pour materials into molds or over frameworks to form dental prostheses or apparatuses.
  • Remove excess metal or porcelain and polish surfaces of prostheses or frameworks, using polishing machines.
  • Train or supervise other dental technicians or dental laboratory bench workers.

What to study

The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.

Who it suits

O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.

  • Hands-on and practical

  • Analytical and curious

  • Organised and precise

Answer 24 questions and see whether this is a fit for you

Careers like this one

Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $49,610 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.