Careers and Employment

Dental technicians construct and repair dentures (false teeth) and other dental appliances, including crowns and bridges.

Dental technicians may perform the following tasks:

• make models of the mouth and teeth from impressions of the patient’s mouth (taken by the dental prosthetist or dentist)
• build up wax replicas of part or all of the mouth and/or teeth using the model
• encase the wax in a mould material and melt away the wax
• replace the wax with plastic, metal or ceramic materials to make the replacement appliance
• polish and finish the appliance prior to being placed in the patient’s mouth
• make appliances for patients with cleft palates, braces and plates for correcting irregular teeth and mouth guards.

Specialisations:

Dental technology may be divided into the following categories:

• General prostheses: the largest field in dental technology, in which partial or full dentures (metal and non-metal) are constructed to replace the partial or total loss of natural teeth
• Crown and bridge: used in the restoration of teeth and fixtures in the patient’s mouth
• Maxillo-facial: prostheses are made to replace missing facial and body tissues due to injury, disease or developmental abnormality
• Orthodontics: the manufacture of fixed or removable appliances for the correction of dental irregularities in the mouths of patients.

Dental Prosthetist:

A dental prosthetist works independently and in public clinics, to provide complete and partial dentures and mouthguards to the public, consulting directly with patients about their removable dental prosthetic needs.

Dental technicians work in dental laboratories on their own or in small groups. They use a wide range of materials and techniques in their work, including plaster casting, electro-spot welding, metal casting, metal polishing, wax modelling, ceramics, wire bending, electroplating and sandblasting. The use of small CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/manufacturing) units is increasing in the design and manufacture of some dental products.

Dental technicians work closely with dentists and dental prosthetists and usually have no direct contact with patients unless they undertake further study.

Personal Requirements:

• good communication skills
• good hand-eye coordination
• able to do precise and detailed work
• an eye for form and design
• able to concentrate.

Employment Opportunities:

Dental technicians may work independently in hospitals, in dental laboratories or for dental group practices.

It is a small occupation with good employment opportunities. Demand is growing for dental technicians working in specialised areas, such as crown and bridge, and work associated with the increasing occurrence of cosmetic dental surgery

TAFE SA – Adelaide

HOLMESGLEN INSTITUTE OF TAFE – Melbourne

TAFE NSW – Sydney

SOUTHBANK INSTITUTE – Brisbane

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