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The dental laboratory technician’s job can be very rewarding, monetarily and mentally. A dental laboratory technician takes raw materials, creates Mother Nature-like teeth to help people who have lost them for one reason or another. This job involves creating works of art that are functional.
Once trained as a dental laboratory technician one will find the doors are open to go to commercial dental labs, doctor offices, supply companies to sell dental lab supplies, manufacturers of dental appliances, and other dental-related products.
$39,000
The BLS reports overall employment of dental laboratory technicians and medical appliance technicians is projected to grow 12 percent from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all occupations.
About 11,000 openings for dental laboratory technicians and medical appliance technicians are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Dental laboratory technicians receive their education and training with a 1-year course covering dentures, partials, cast partials, crown and bridge, porcelain fused to metal, and all the vocabulary related to the above.
Some dental laboratory technicians learn their craft on the job. Becoming a fully trained technician requires an average of three to four years.
There are currently no educational programs available in Connecticut.
Licensure is not required in the state of Connecticut. Prerequisite: After three to five years in the field a technician can take a national test to become a Certified Dental Technician (CDT).
National Association of Dental Laboratories
325 John Knox Road #L103
Tallahassee, FL 32303
(800) 950-1150
www.nadl.org