Finishing technician vs dental ceramist

The differences between finishing technicians and dental ceramists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a finishing technician and a dental ceramist. Additionally, a dental ceramist has an average salary of $74,175, which is higher than the $35,050 average annual salary of a finishing technician.

The top three skills for a finishing technician include hand tools, grinders and pallets. The most important skills for a dental ceramist are cad cam, CAD/CAM, and PFM.

Finishing technician vs dental ceramist overview

	Finishing Technician	Dental Ceramist
Yearly salary	$35,050	$74,175
Hourly rate	$16.85	$35.66
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	43,972	21,711
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 39%	Associate Degree, 39%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	2	2

Finishing technician vs dental ceramist salary

Finishing technicians and dental ceramists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Finishing Technician	Dental Ceramist
Average salary	$35,050	$74,175
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $43,000	Between $38,000 And $142,000
Highest paying City	Baton Rouge, LA	Andover, MA
Highest paying state	Montana	New Jersey
Best paying company	Promega	DCS
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between finishing technician and dental ceramist education

There are a few differences between a finishing technician and a dental ceramist in terms of educational background:

	Finishing Technician	Dental Ceramist
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 39%	Associate Degree, 39%
Most common major	Business	Dental Assisting
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Finishing technician vs dental ceramist demographics

Here are the differences between finishing technicians' and dental ceramists' demographics:

	Finishing Technician	Dental Ceramist
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 68.4% Female, 31.6%	Male, 51.7% Female, 48.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 8.4% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 22.3% Asian, 9.3% White, 56.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between finishing technician and dental ceramist duties and responsibilities

Finishing technician example responsibilities.

Manage the receipt and tracking of control substances as well as the DEA biennial inspection.
Know methods and types of chemical evaporation: reactive sputtering, e-beam coating, coating for longer wavelengths.
De-Package lenses using proper usage of manual dexterity and safety precautions.
Touch up the pcb after tape and mask are removed from the pcb.
Operate and maintain RF/DC MRC sputtering equipment.
Label all parts for tracking per ISO requirements.

Dental ceramist example responsibilities.

Manage operations of dental laboratory as lead technician, working directly with patients and dentists in an in-house dental laboratory.
Fabricate, repair, or alter dental devices like crowns, inlays, dentures, bridge.
Fabricate, alter, and repair dental devices such as dentures, crowns, bridges, inlays.
Apply porcelain paste or wax over prosthesis frameworks or setups, using brushes and spatulas.
Perform duties as a ceramist producing porcelain fuse to metal crowns, e.max and full contour zirconia restorations.
Experience with a wide variety of high-tech materials, such as zirconia, ceramics and metal alloys (i.e.

Finishing technician vs dental ceramist skills

Common finishing technician skills

Hand Tools, 22%
Grinders, 10%
Pallets, 7%
Dexterity, 6%
Safety Procedures, 6%
ISO, 4%

Common dental ceramist skills

Cad Cam, 30%
CAD/CAM, 30%
PFM, 21%
Dentures, 15%
Dental Lab, 4%