Dental laboratory technician vs orthodontic technician

The differences between dental laboratory technicians and orthodontic technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a dental laboratory technician and an orthodontic technician. Additionally, an orthodontic technician has an average salary of $73,370, which is higher than the $55,271 average annual salary of a dental laboratory technician.

The top three skills for a dental laboratory technician include dentures, patients and prosthetics. The most important skills for an orthodontic technician are patients, scheduling appointments, and patient care.

Dental laboratory technician vs orthodontic technician overview

	Dental Laboratory Technician	Orthodontic Technician
Yearly salary	$55,271	$73,370
Hourly rate	$26.57	$35.27
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	60,024	31,940
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 39%	High School Diploma, 34%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

Dental laboratory technician vs orthodontic technician salary

Dental laboratory technicians and orthodontic technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dental Laboratory Technician	Orthodontic Technician
Average salary	$55,271	$73,370
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $86,000	Between $44,000 And $120,000
Highest paying City	Trenton, NJ	-
Highest paying state	Vermont	-
Best paying company	DCS	-
Best paying industry	Professional	-

Differences between dental laboratory technician and orthodontic technician education

There are a few differences between a dental laboratory technician and an orthodontic technician in terms of educational background:

	Dental Laboratory Technician	Orthodontic Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 39%	High School Diploma, 34%
Most common major	Dental Assisting	Dental Assisting
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Dental laboratory technician vs orthodontic technician demographics

Here are the differences between dental laboratory technicians' and orthodontic technicians' demographics:

	Dental Laboratory Technician	Orthodontic Technician
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0%	Male, 14.0% Female, 86.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 9.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 9.5% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between dental laboratory technician and orthodontic technician duties and responsibilities

Dental laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Manage CAD/CAM system for the fabrication of all-ceramic dental restorations.
Manage operations of dental laboratory as lead technician, working directly with patients and dentists in an in-house dental laboratory.
Experience with articulators, grinders, and polishers.
Used wax, plastic models, plaster models, articulators, grinders and polishers.
Perform basic nursing care, emergency and CPR procedures, take and record vital signs; collect specimens.
Used professional customize creativity, and excellent manual dexterity.

Orthodontic technician example responsibilities.

Discuss orthodontic procedures with patients and/or parents.
Fix old splints that are send back in for repairs (i.e.
Sterilize instruments using autoclaves, ultrasonic's and chemical disinfectants to maintain accept standards.
Compose written reports of data collect from patient evaluation and present to department chief for thorough analysis of patient diagnosis.
Make models of the mouth and teeth from impressions.
Keep lab orderly, make models of teeth and create retainers, sterilize orthodontic equipment and file teeth models.

Dental laboratory technician vs orthodontic technician skills

Common dental laboratory technician skills

Dentures, 23%
Patients, 17%
Prosthetics, 12%
Dexterity, 9%
Cad Cam, 5%
Infection Control, 4%

Common orthodontic technician skills

Patients, 45%
Scheduling Appointments, 7%
Patient Care, 6%
Oral Hygiene, 4%
Front Desk, 4%
Examination Rooms, 3%

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Dental Laboratory Technician
Dental Laboratory Technician vs Orthodontic Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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