What does a dental laboratory manager do?
Dental laboratory manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real dental laboratory manager resumes:
- Manage pneumatic resistance rehabilitation lab.
- Team with best AHT in dental call center.
- Implement rapid result microbiology testing in collaboration with infection control practitioners to identify hospital acquire infections and reduce length of stay.
- Ensure accurate, precise and timely laboratory testing in the areas of hematology, urinalysis, clinical chemistry and immunology.
Dental laboratory manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 49% of Dental Laboratory Managers are proficient in Dentures, Prosthetics, and Lab Equipment. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Dental Laboratory Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Dentures, 49%
Fabricated custom trays, bite blocks, set up teeth, invest, process and finish dentures and partials.
- Prosthetics, 38%
Utilized preventative measures in prosthetic devices by working with non-precious metals, acrylic pastes and resins.
- Lab Equipment, 7%
Presented written justifications for lab equipment and materials while remaining within prescribed budget allocations.
- CAD/CAM, 2%
Trained and implemented use of Cerec3D CAD/CAM system for the clinic.
- Lab Operations, 2%
Maintained P&L responsibility for profitability to manage lab operations, manpower, equipment and instrumentation of laboratory network.
- Chair Side, 1%
Wax diagnostic cases and perform chair side consults and custom shades.
Most dental laboratory managers use their skills in "dentures," "prosthetics," and "lab equipment" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential dental laboratory manager responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a dental laboratory manager to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "medical and health services managers review and evaluate healthcare metrics for ways to improve efficiency and meet goals." Dental laboratory managers often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "managed the corporate demos lab and its recourses including work space, network, data storage, and lab inventory. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform dental laboratory manager duties is communication skills. Dental laboratory managers responsibilities require that "medical and health services managers must convey information to their staff, other healthcare workers, and, sometimes, patients and insurance agents." Dental laboratory managers also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "established professional communication with doctors and patients. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of dental laboratory managers is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday dental laboratory manager duties, as "medical and health services managers must pay attention to detail." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "maintain detailed, quality records for all validations, qcs, equipment maintenance and testing under an iso 17025 program. "
Technical skills. dental laboratory manager responsibilities often require "technical skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "medical and health services managers must stay up to date with advances in healthcare technology, such as the coding and electronic health record (ehr) systems their facility adopts." This resume example shows what dental laboratory managers do with technical skills on a typical day: "provided technical guidance regarding analytical testing, instrumentation and chemistry issues to multiple field laboratories as well as other corporate entities. "
Leadership skills. Another skill commonly found on dental laboratory manager job descriptions is "leadership skills." It can come up quite often in dental laboratory manager duties, since "medical and health services managers hire, train, and direct staff." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day dental laboratory manager responsibilities: "led the training committee, member of the quality committee and leadership sponsor of the customer service committee. "
The three companies that hire the most dental laboratory managers are:
- Clear Choice Health Care3 dental laboratory managers jobs
- Affordable Care2 dental laboratory managers jobs
- DCS2 dental laboratory managers jobs
Compare different dental laboratory managers
Dental laboratory manager vs. Nursing director
A nursing director's role is to oversee and evaluate all nurse staff in a hospital or organization, ensuring their efficiency at providing care towards patients. A nursing director's responsibilities mainly revolve around administrative tasks such as coordinating with physicians and other consultants, producing reports, conducting assessments, managing the budget and expenditures, and resolving issues. Furthermore, a nursing director must keep and maintain accurate records, ensuring all procedures adhere to the highest health standards and aligns with the hospital's policies and regulations.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a dental laboratory manager are more likely to require skills like "dentures," "prosthetics," "lab equipment," and "cad cam." On the other hand, a job as a nursing director requires skills like "patients," "term care," "home health," and "resident care." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Nursing directors really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $83,602. Comparatively, dental laboratory managers tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $84,803.nursing directors tend to reach higher levels of education than dental laboratory managers. In fact, nursing directors are 7.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Dental laboratory manager vs. Service director
A service director is responsible for managing and implementing customer service policies and ensuring that all staff strictly adhere to reach the highest customer satisfaction. Service directors' duties include identifying business opportunities to improve customers' experience, monitoring the performance of the customer service team, developing strategic procedures on service delivery, creating new promotional offers and services, and coaching the team to increase business productivity. A service director must have excellent leadership and communication skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the customer service industry to lead the team and boost company sales.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, dental laboratory manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "dentures," "prosthetics," "lab equipment," and "cad cam." Meanwhile, a service director has duties that require skills in areas such as "patients," "healthcare," "patient care," and "customer service." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, service directors earn a higher salary than dental laboratory managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, service directors earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $137,415. Whereas dental laboratory managers have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $84,803.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Service directors tend to reach higher levels of education than dental laboratory managers. In fact, they're 14.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Dental laboratory manager vs. Managed care coordinator
Managed care coordinators handle various operational and medical issues for a health care facility or insurance company. Their duties include ensuring effective communication between medical facilities, patients, and insurance companies, handling medical files and documentation requests, and communicating with physicians and other health care professionals to process referrals and authorize services. In addition, they are responsible for maintaining managed care contracts and preparing reports, and working closely with care management members to assess health needs and facilitate services.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a dental laboratory manager is likely to be skilled in "dentures," "prosthetics," "lab equipment," and "cad cam," while a typical managed care coordinator is skilled in "patients," "social work," "home health," and "customer service."
Managed care coordinators make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $42,132. On the other hand, dental laboratory managers are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $84,803.managed care coordinators typically earn higher educational levels compared to dental laboratory managers. Specifically, they're 7.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 5.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Dental laboratory manager vs. Medical officer
A Medical Officer delivers health and first-aid provisions for patients as well as prepares and maintains the paper and electronic health care records of clients. They ensure that all related equipment and supplies are suitably maintained at all times.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between dental laboratory managers and medical officers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a dental laboratory manager might have more use for skills like "dentures," "prosthetics," "lab equipment," and "cad cam." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of medical officers require skills like "patients," "public health," "infectious disease," and "diagnosis. "
Medical officers enjoy the best pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $124,636. For comparison, dental laboratory managers earn the highest salary in the health care industry.medical officers reach higher levels of education compared to dental laboratory managers, in general. The difference is that they're 7.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 12.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of dental laboratory manager
Updated January 8, 2025
