Dental Technician

   Dental Technician

Duties and Responsibilities:

They are also referred as dental laboratory technicians, fill orders for dental prosthetics. These prosthetics include dentures, bridges, crowns, veneers and inlays. Dental technicians fill prescriptions by creating models of patients' mouths from physical and sometimes computerized molds. Models are created with plaster, wax, porcelain, metal and hand tools. The model is then placed into a porcelain oven to seal it to the metal framework that holds it together. Dental technicians match the color and shape of the model to the patient's teeth. Porcelain is added to the final product to give the model a finished look.

Salary:

$62,288

Education:

Although some community colleges and technical schools offer formal instructional programs, most people who want to work in this occupation receive only on-the-job training. In an entry level job one will learn how to do simple tasks like pouring plaster into an impression a dentist has made of a patient's teeth. As one progresses, he or she will learn how to make crowns and dentures.