How To Become A Dental Laboratory Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a dental laboratory worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a dental laboratory worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $35.09 an hour? That's $72,997 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 1,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreDental Laboratory WorkerUS Average

Salary

5.7

Avg. Salary $72,997

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.54%

Asian 9.41%

Black or African American 8.36%

Hispanic or Latino 19.82%

Unknown 3.84%

White 58.03%

Gender

female 45.45%

male 54.55%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.2

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.1

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a dental laboratory worker

Explore dental laboratory worker education requirements

Most common dental laboratory worker degrees

Bachelor's

30.0 %

Associate

25.0 %

High School Diploma

20.0 %

Start to develop specific dental laboratory worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Dentures	78.73%
Mouth Guards	21.27%

Complete relevant dental laboratory worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New dental laboratory workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a dental laboratory worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real dental laboratory worker resumes.

Research dental laboratory worker duties and responsibilities

Manage operations of dental laboratory as lead technician, working directly with patients and dentists in an in-house dental laboratory.
Assume full accountability in waxing up and fabricating PFM crowns, color match, stain, glaze and finish PFM crowns.
Manage operations of dental laboratory as lead technician, working directly with patients and dentists in an in-house dental laboratory.
Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and operate resuscitation equipment.

Prepare your dental laboratory worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your dental laboratory worker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a dental laboratory worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable dental laboratory worker resume templates

Build a professional dental laboratory worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your dental laboratory worker resume.

Apply for dental laboratory worker jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a dental laboratory worker job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first dental laboratory worker job

Terry Weinberg

Dental Laboratory Worker, Cvck

Starting in 1966 as a student in a vocational program in San Francisco for a year program I was able to get the skills needed to acquire a job starting in the plaster department. During the eight months I worked at the lab I pushed myself to learn everything about the work that was being done,crown and bridge,porcelain. Right away it became obvious to me porcelain was the best paying part of the industry. Going back to school for a year to learn the art and then changing jobs working in a porcelain lab got me started on a career doing porcelain. All the while I was buying equipment to eventually open a porcelain,crown and bridge lab. Again,changing jobs to manage a lab in the Bay Area for six dentists really completed my training. I was at this point only been in the field for three and a half years. At this time I had collected 90% of the machines needed to run a lab. In my bedroom at my parents house was the first of many locations as the lab grew as more space was needed. Two years later after buying a building in a marginal neighborhood renovating the building over a two year period and selling the property for an astonishing price I decided to retire. That lasted for about two weeks. At that point I decided to train people to do exactly what I did. After learning how to train people by taking jobs in community colleges and getting a degree in teaching I founded Cvc in 2002. Training people from all walks of life and experiences four decades later I was able to share my knowledge with 7000 people and many of them went on to start dental labs in many countries including the USA. The reason I am sharing this story was because when I read about the salary for dental technicians I was surprised to learn about their salaries being so low. Imagine a technician who could at their best productively making ten dentures a daily charging ballpark $500 per denture. In a single day producing $5000 thirty days equals $150000. This is the amount that a dental technician is worth in dollars and also satisfaction knowing that the work being done is directly helping people. So if you are looking for a professional career that potentially benefits society in a meaningful way and would like to be compensated for the this highly technical skill. Anything less than what I have described would be undervalued .