Dental Laboratory Technicians

Tasks

Core Tasks Include:

• 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.

Supplemental Tasks Include:

• Prepare metal surfaces for bonding with porcelain to create artificial teeth, using small hand tools.
• Create a model of patient's mouth by pouring plaster into a dental impression and allowing plaster to set.
• Load newly constructed teeth into porcelain furnaces to bake the porcelain onto the metal framework.
• Build and shape wax teeth, using small hand instruments and information from observations or dentists' specifications.
• Apply porcelain paste or wax over prosthesis frameworks or setups, using brushes and spatulas.
• Fill chipped or low spots in surfaces of devices, using acrylic resins.
• Prepare wax bite blocks and impression trays for use.
• Mold wax over denture setups to form the full contours of artificial gums.
• Rebuild or replace linings, wire sections, or missing teeth to repair dentures.
• Shape and solder wire and metal frames or bands for dental products, using soldering irons and hand tools.

The data sources for the information displayed here include: O*NET™. (Using onet291)