How to hire dental laboratory technicians

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Fabricate, alter, or repair dental devices, such as dentures, crowns, bridges, inlays, or appliances for straightening teeth.
• Melt metals or mix plaster, porcelain, or acrylic pastes and pour materials into molds or over frameworks to form dental prostheses or apparatuses.
• Place tooth models on an apparatus that mimics bite and movement of patient's jaw to evaluate functionality of model.
• Read prescriptions or specifications and examine models or impressions to determine the design of dental products to be constructed.
• Remove excess metal or porcelain and polish surfaces of prostheses or frameworks, using polishing machines.
• Test appliances for conformance to specifications and accuracy of occlusion, using articulators and micrometers.
• Train or supervise other dental technicians or dental laboratory bench workers.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: High school diploma or equivalent]
• Strong reading comprehension, critical thinking, active learning, active listening, monitoring and speaking skills
• Working knowledge of administration and management, design, English Language and medicine and dentistry
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $23.85 an hour ($49,610 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for dental laboratory technicians

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to fabricate, alter, or repair dental devices, such as dentures, crowns, bridges, inlays, or appliances for straightening teeth. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to melt metals or mix plaster, porcelain, or acrylic pastes and pour materials into molds or over frameworks to form dental prostheses or apparatuses. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to place tooth models on an apparatus that mimics bite and movement of patient's jaw to evaluate functionality of model. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to read prescriptions or specifications and examine models or impressions to determine the design of dental products to be constructed. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
6. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
7. Tell me about something new you had to learn quickly for work. How did you learn it?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What dental laboratory technicians do

• Fabricate, alter, or repair dental devices, such as dentures, crowns, bridges, inlays, or appliances for straightening teeth.
• Melt metals or mix plaster, porcelain, or acrylic pastes and pour materials into molds or over frameworks to form dental prostheses or apparatuses.
• Place tooth models on an apparatus that mimics bite and movement of patient's jaw to evaluate functionality of model.
• Read prescriptions or specifications and examine models or impressions to determine the design of dental products to be constructed.
• Remove excess metal or porcelain and polish surfaces of prostheses or frameworks, using polishing machines.
• Test appliances for conformance to specifications and accuracy of occlusion, using articulators and micrometers.
• Train or supervise other dental technicians or dental laboratory bench workers.

Skills that matter most

Reading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingActive LearningActive ListeningMonitoringSpeakingAdministration and ManagementDesignEnglish LanguageMedicine and Dentistry

Education, experience and outlook for dental laboratory technicians

• Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 1 to 2 years (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Moderate-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: -5.9% over ten years, declining · about 3,600 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay dental laboratory technicians

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See dental laboratory technicians pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Medical Appliance Technicians
• Dental Assistants
• Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians
• Medical Equipment Repairers
• Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
• Calibration Technologists and Technicians
• Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers
• Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
• Furniture Finishers
• Dental Hygienists

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.