Dental Technician Hourly Rate

Dental technicians primarily do less complicated forms of dentistry in a dental office, whether it be repairing chipped teeth or reline work for dentures, and occasionally crown and implant work. Dental technicians constantly work with surgical implements, including drills, electric grinders, and polishers, so proper safety knowledge and procedure is a must. Also, mistakes on teeth are expensive to fix and ruin customer satisfaction, so hand-eye coordination, reliability, and attention to detail are imperative to the job. In addition, dental technicians serve customers daily and therefore must have good communication and people skills in order to best serve customers. Not all work as a dentist technician is just fixing teeth though. At some offices, dental technicians are expected to have a managerial background, and computer skills, especially with handling 3shape dental software, are another plus. Also, a background in X-ray operation or X-ray technology in general is near necessary, as dental X-ray imaging is often performed by dental technicians in most dental offices. This X-ray imaging usually requires an X-ray certification in most states. Dental technicians also often work in the fabrication process in a dental office, including the creation of custom trays and base plates for surgery. Dental technicians typically work under a dentist at a dental office, freeing time in their schedule by doing the more routine dental work, including verifying prescription specs through an articulator, making oral constructs, and adjusting/verifying the accuracy of teeth molds. Dental technicians work alongside secretaries and other workers in a dental office, and are required to have a dental degree. Dental technicians typically have similar hours as the rest of the dental office, nine to five, five days a week, and only indoor work.

Dental Technician Tasks