What does a Dental Technician do?

If you’re fascinated by the world of dentistry but the thought of delving into someone’s mouth and finding bits of food doesn’t appeal to you, then becoming a Dental Technician could be your ideal career move.

A Dental Technician’s role is to be the branch of dentistry that manufactures dental prosthetics. This can range from implants, bridges, crowns, dentures and even veneers. When a dentist or dental hygienist takes an impression of your teeth, the results will be sent to a dental technician who will then follow the instructions and create whatever device the patient requires.

In this role, there is the opportunity to specialise in a particular area, for example, ceramics. Still, the majority of technicians enjoy the variety of work that comes into the laboratories each day.

Some of the daily tasks you can expect to do as a Dental Technician include pouring dental models, fabricate models from dentist impressions, implant restorations and fabricate veneers for crowns. As with every job role, there are also housekeeping tasks such as maintaining dental lab records and preparing reports.

One of the most attractive parts about being a Dental Technician is that there is little customer interaction. In this role, you can work from a laboratory, far away from the dental practice and communicate via email and post; you will never be tasked with the challenge of fitting any of the devices you make.

How to become a Dental Technician?

You will need a qualification to stand out from other candidates in the field, at the University of Bolton, a range of Dental Technology courses are available. All these courses are provided in a state-of-the-art £4.8 million facility which houses industry-standard equipment, preparing all the students for a successful career.

Working hard in the laboratories is one thing, but you will also require some soft-skills to charge up the dental career ladder. You’ll need a steady hand as you’ll be required to work on prosthetics for extended periods, and a good eye for detail when it comes to understanding a dentist’s prescription.

Fortunately, these soft-skills, alongside time management, critical thinking, listening, reading comprehension and interpersonal skills, which are all essential to a successful career as a Dental Technician, can be taught by the incredible lecturers at the University. If you’re interested in this type of career, check out a full list of our courses here.