Dental Laboratory Technicians
On the Job
Dental Laboratory Technicians use impressions, or molds, of a patient's teeth to create crowns, bridges, or other dental appliances. They work closely with dentists but have limited contact with patients.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements.
- Apply parting agents or other solutions to molds.
- Cast molds of patient anatomies to create medical or dental devices.
- Construct customized assistive medical or dental devices.
- Fill cracks, imperfections, or holes in products or workpieces.
- Melt metal, plastic, or other materials to prepare for production.
- Polish materials, workpieces, or finished products.
- Shape metal workpieces with hammers or other small hand tools.
- Solder parts or workpieces.
- Trim excess material from workpieces.
Typical Working Conditions
- Exposure to contaminants (like gases or odors).
- Working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions.
- Meeting strict deadlines.
- Using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools, or controls.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats, or life jackets.
- Having face-to-face discussions.
- Freedom to make decisions without supervision.
- Exposure to disease or infections.
- Working with a group or team.
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.