Dental Lab Technician Education
Dental lab technicians are artists whose creations make people smile. Dental lab technicians, also called dental technicians, use plaster, wax, metal, and porcelain to create crowns, bridges, dentures, and other dental prosthetics. If you are an artist with a strong practical side, dental lab technician education can help you start a fulfilling career.
Dental Lab Technician Education
You can begin your dental lab technician education at a community or junior college, vocational-technical school, or a 4-year college institution. Your training should include both classroom studies and hands-on laboratory work. Your initial lab work will involve pouring plaster into impressions; eventually you will learn to make porcelain crowns and bridges. Your classes should include:- Dental materials science
- Oral anatomy
- Fabrication procedures
- Ethics
If eventually you would like to open your own dental technology lab, you should include courses in business and bookkeeping.
Dental Lab Technician Job Prospects
According to the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), job opportunities for dental lab technicians are favorable, largely because so few people complete dental lab technician education programs. The small numbers entering the field partly reflect a limited public awareness of the job. To increase your opportunities and potentially your pay, consider becoming certified through the National Association of Dental Laboratories' National Board for Certification.
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