Download Dental technician/dental technologist

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Dental technician/dental technologist
Dental technicians (or dental technologists as they are often referred to) make the dentures,
crowns, bridges and dental braces that improve patients’ appearance, speech and ability to
chew.
Working life
Working to dentists [1]’ or doctors’ prescriptions, technicians/technologists use a wide range of
materials such as gold, porcelain and plastic to design and construct appliances to meet each
patient’s needs.
As a technician/technologist, much of your work will be done by hand to fine-tune each piece
to exact specifications, but you will also work with specialised equipment in the laboratory.
Since each patient is unique, no two pieces are the same and absolute precision is essential
to make sure the device is comfortable and effective for the patient.
Technicians and technologists use a wide range of materials to design and construct
appliances and work in four specialist areas:
Technicians/technologists use a wide range of materials to design and construct
appliances.
prosthodontic technicians design and make dentures
conservation technicians specialise in crown and bridge work
orthodontic technicians make braces to correct tooth positions
maxillofacial technicians' work is based in hospital oral surgery, ophthalmic, cancer and
burns units, helping to reconstruct the faces of patients damaged by accident or disease
Dental technicians may also work directly with patients in a clinic alongside a dentist or clinical
dental technician.
Clinical dental technicians
Clinical dental technicians are dental technicians who have undertaken specific clinical
training to enable them to design, create, construct, modify and fit removeable dental
appliances for patients. In this role, you would be able to provide dentures direct to patients
with no natural teeth, or work with and to the prescription of a dentist to provide partial
dentures for patients with some teeth. This is an interesting option for dental technicians who
would like to have direct contact with patients.
An important part of the role is to check on the patient's general dental welfare.
Entry requirements, skills and interests
To work as a dental technician/dental technologist, you must be registered with the General
Dental Council [2] (GDC). To register, you will need to have successfully completed a GDCapproved course.
As well as knowing about the properties of the necessary materials to construct dental
appliances, you will need an excellent understanding of dental and facial anatomy. This is a
highly skilled job and you might also have some artistic ability.
Training and development
GDC-recognised courses lead to qualifications such as the BTEC National Diploma in Dental
Technology, (for entry to which you will normally be required to have at least four GCSEs at
grade C [3] or above or the equivalent), a foundation degree (in which case you'll normally
need to be employed in a trainee dental technician role) or a BSc (Hons) degree in dental
technology (for which A-levels or equivalent qualifications are usually required).
You can take the BTEC National Diploma or foundation degree course on a full-time basis or
by obtaining a post as a trainee dental technician and taking the course part time. BSc (Hons)
degrees are usually full-time at a university/dental school.
Use our course finder [4] to find out which organisations provide courses in dental technology.
Pay and conditions Expand / Collapse
See our Pay for the dental team in the NHS [5] page.
Where the role can lead Expand / Collapse
With further qualifications and experience, dental technicians can progress into clinical
dental technician roles or management roles such as senior or chief technician posts,
quality control, teaching or sales.
Promotion prospects can be greater in larger laboratories and it may be necessary to
move between employers to progress.
There are also opportunities to specialise as clinical dental technicians or as orthodontic
therapists
Dental technicians can apply for training as healthcare scientists specialising in
reconstructive sciences through the NHS Scientist Training Programme [6](STP [7]).
Job market and vacancies Expand / Collapse
Vacancies for NHS dental technicians are advertised on NHS Jobs [8] and trade
magazines are a valuable source of information about opportunities in commercial
laboratories. Sometimes approaching laboratories directly about vacancies may also be
a viable option.
If you're applying for a role either directly in the NHS or in an organisation that provides
NHS services, you'll be asked to show how you think the NHS values apply in your
everyday work
Find out more about NHS values. [9]
Further information Expand / Collapse
British Association of Clinical Dental Technology (BACDT) [10]
The Dental Technologists Association [11]
Dental Laboratories Association Ltd [12]
General Dental Council [13]
Other roles that may interest you
Emergency care assistant [14]
Clinical informatics [15]
Dentist [1]
Dental hygienist [16]
Source URL: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/dental-team/dental-techniciandentaltechnologist
Links
[1] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/dental-team/dentist
[2] http://www.gdc-uk.org/
[3] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/glossary#Grades_A-C
[4] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/i-am/looking-course
[5] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/dental-team/pay-dental-team-nhs
[6] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/i-am/considering-or-university/not-studying-health-relateddegree/nhs-scientist-training-programme
[7] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/glossary#STP
[8] http://www.jobs.nhs.uk/
[9] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/about/working-health/nhs-constitution
[10] http://bacdt.org.uk/
[11] http://www.dta-uk.org
[12] http://dla.org.uk
[13] http://www.gdc-uk.org
[14] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/ambulance-service-team/emergency-care-assistant
[15] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/health-informatics/clinical-informatics
[16] https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/dental-team/dental-hygienist