Dental technician
Dental technicians make and repair dental appliances used to improve patients' appearance, speech or ability to eat.
Also known as: Dental technologist
- Starter salary£32,000 a year
- Experienced£48,000 a year
- Typical hours39 to 42 a week
What you'll do
As a dental technician, you could:
- design, make, modify and repair custom dental devices
- use precision equipment and tools
- shape materials like gold, porcelain and plastic
You might specialise in orthodontic, crown and bridge work or prosthetics. Depending on your speciality you could:
- create plastic or metal devices, like braces to straighten teeth
- make items like crowns or bridges to cement in place
- produce plastic dentures or implants
Working environment
You could work in a laboratory.
You may need to wear protective clothing.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
You'll need:
- the ability to work well with your hands
- knowledge of medicine and dentistry
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- knowledge of manufacturing production and processes
- design skills and knowledge
- the ability to analyse quality or performance
- the ability to work well with others
- thinking and reasoning skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
How to become a dental technician
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
University
You could do a foundation degree or degree in dental technology approved by the General Dental Council .
It's likely you'll need a degree to do advanced dental technology work.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- at least 1 A level, or equivalent, for a foundation degree
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
College
You could do a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Dental Technology approved by the General Dental Council .
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science
Apprenticeship
You may be able to apply to do a Dental Technician Level 5 Higher Apprenticeship, or Clinical Dental Technician Level 5 Higher Apprenticeship.
These can take between 2 and 3 years to complete and combine on-the-job training with study.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
Work
You could start as a trainee dental technician with a practice and study part time.
This could take up to 5 years depending on which qualification you do.
Career path and progression
With experience you could:
- train to become a clinical dental technician if you want more direct contact with patients
- do further training to become a healthcare scientist through the NHS Scientist Training Programme (STP) and specialise in reconstructive sciences
- set up your own laboratory or work abroad
- become a senior or chief dental technician
- move into quality control, sales, management, teaching or research
Professional and industry bodies
You can join the Dental Technologists Association (DTA) for professional development and training opportunities.
Registration
- you'll need to register with the General Dental Council
Guides for this industry
Related roles
- Job roleProsthetist and orthotist
- Job roleDental therapist
- Job roleDental nurse
- Job roleClinical scientist
- Job roleDental hygienist
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