Description
Design, build, stain, and glaze ceramic dental restorations—such as crowns, veneers, inlays/onlays, and bridge facings—ensuring fit, function, and esthetics, and performing repairs as needed.
- • Read prescriptions, scans, and examine dies or models to determine restoration design, shade, and material.
- • Fabricate, alter, and repair ceramic restorations including crowns, veneers, inlays/onlays, and bridge facings.
- • Test restorations for conformance, marginal integrity, contacts, and occlusion using articulators, microscopes, and gauges.
- • Mount casts or printed models on articulators to evaluate function and esthetics.
- • Mix ceramic powders, stains, and glazes; press or mill ceramics; sinter or fire per specifications.
- • Prepare metal or zirconia substructures for porcelain bonding by cleaning, sandblasting, and applying opaques.
- • Contour, texture, and finish restorations; remove excess ceramic and refine anatomy with rotary instruments.
- • Create working models or dies from impressions or printed files as needed.
- • Load restorations into vacuum furnaces and control firing cycles for layering, crystallization, and glazing.
- • Build and layer porcelain to achieve proper morphology, translucency, and shade.
- • Apply stains, glazes, and effects to characterize and finalize esthetics.
- • Add porcelain to correct low spots or chips and refire as required.
- • Verify and adjust proximal contacts and occlusion; polish with diamond and ceramic systems.
- • Fabricate custom shade tabs and perform shade verification under standardized lighting.
- • Document case details and communicate with dentists regarding design, shade, and fit requirements.
- • Maintain equipment, materials, and furnace calibration to ensure consistent results.
- • Train or supervise junior ceramists or dental laboratory technicians.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
