Dental Laboratory Technicians

Also Called:

Dental Ceramist,

Dental Laboratory Technician (Dental Lab Tech),

Dental Technician (Dental Tech),

Denture Technician (Denture Tech)

What they do: Construct and repair full or partial dentures or dental appliances.

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Manufacturing

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • 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.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Initiative

Integrity

Achievement/Effort

Persistence

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Realistic

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Investigative

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Conventional

Knowledge

People who want to pursue this career have knowledge in these areas.

Business

  • Management

  • Customer service

Engineering and Technology

  • Design

  • Mechanical

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Health

  • Medicine and dentistry

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Hand and Finger Use

  • Put together small parts with your fingers

  • Keep your arm or hand steady

Ideas and Logic

  • Notice when problems happen

  • Order or arrange things

Verbal

  • Read and understand what is written

  • Listen and understand what people say

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Reading work related information

  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Work Values

Work values describe how your core beliefs align with those commonly needed for this career.

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.

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.

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research
  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop