Description
Construct and repair full or partial dentures or dental appliances.
- • Read prescriptions or specifications and examine models or impressions to determine the design of dental products to be constructed.
- • Fabricate, alter, or repair dental devices, such as dentures, crowns, bridges, inlays, or appliances for straightening teeth.
- • Test appliances for conformance to specifications and accuracy of occlusion, using articulators and micrometers.
- • Place tooth models on an apparatus that mimics bite and movement of patient's jaw to evaluate functionality of model.
- • Melt metals or mix plaster, porcelain, or acrylic pastes and pour materials into molds or over frameworks to form dental prostheses or apparatuses.
- • Prepare metal surfaces for bonding with porcelain to create artificial teeth, using small hand tools.
- • Remove excess metal or porcelain and polish surfaces of prostheses or frameworks, using polishing machines.
- • Create a model of patient's mouth by pouring plaster into a dental impression and allowing plaster to set.
- • Load newly constructed teeth into porcelain furnaces to bake the porcelain onto the metal framework.
- • Build and shape wax teeth, using small hand instruments and information from observations or dentists' specifications.
- • Apply porcelain paste or wax over prosthesis frameworks or setups, using brushes and spatulas.
- • Fill chipped or low spots in surfaces of devices, using acrylic resins.
- • Prepare wax bite blocks and impression trays for use.
- • Mold wax over denture setups to form the full contours of artificial gums.
- • Train or supervise other dental technicians or dental laboratory bench workers.
- • Rebuild or replace linings, wire sections, or missing teeth to repair dentures.
- • Shape and solder wire and metal frames or bands for dental products, using soldering irons and hand tools.
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Healthcare & Human Services
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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
