Dental lab technician

Duties and responsibilities: Dental technicians fill orders for dental prosthetics, including dentures, bridges, crowns, veneers and inlays. They create models of patients' mouths from physical and sometimes computerized molds. Models are created with plaster, wax, porcelain, metal and hand tools. The model is then placed into a porcelain oven to seal it to the metal framework that holds it together. Dental technicians match the color and shape of the model to the patient's teeth. Porcelain is added to the final product to give the model a finished look.

Dental technicians in large laboratories may specialize in one or two aspects of dental prosthetics. Those with several years of experience or advanced training may take on a supervisory role. Some dental technicians work in sales, marketing, product development or education.

Salary:

Required Education	High school diploma or GED certificate
Projected Job Growth	3% from 2012-2022*
Median Salary	$36,440 (2013)*

Education:  dental laboratory technicians may receive their education and training through a two-year program at a community college, vocational school, technical college, university or dental school. Graduates of these programs receive either an associate degree or a certificate. There also are a few programs that offer a four-year baccalaureate program in dental technology.

Reflection: I would not like to be a dental lab technician because  that’s not what I want to be when I grow up LLL.