Major: Dental Laboratory Technology
Back in 1887, a
As a dental laboratory technology student, you’ll learn all the technical skills necessary to work with molds, metals, and other materials to create customized fixtures for the perfect fit. Though you may never see the patients who wear your creations, they'll be grinning ear to ear thanks to your efforts.
Dental laboratory technology students learn how to make and repair crowns, dentures, bridges, and other dental appliances.
Did You Know?
- As a dental laboratory technician, you might specialize in orthodontic appliances, crowns and bridges, complete dentures, partial dentures, or ceramics.
Are You Ready To...?
- Learn to interpret dental lab prescriptions
- Work with metals, porcelains, and other materials
- Construct dentures, bridges and crowns until you get them right
- Spend long hours in the lab
- Prepare for the national certification exam
It Helps to Be...
Good with your hands: dental technology is a very exacting science. And, since dental fixtures must be shaped and colored, it helps to have an artistic eye.
College Checklist
- Is the program accredited by the American Dental Association?
- Will the program prepare you for the national certification exam?
- Tour the labs. Do they feature state-of-the-art equipment?
- Will you have an opportunity to gain real-world experience in hospitals, dental clinics, or commercial labs?
- Will the school help you find work after graduation?
Did You Know?
- A forensic anthropologist has recently determined that George Washington's dentures were made of ivory, gold, lead, and even human and animal teeth -- not wood.
Course Spotlight
Think ceramics, and you probably think of throwing pots. However, your work will be much smaller (tiny, in fact) in Ceramic Techniques, a course typically required for dental lab technology majors. This is where you’ll learn the craft of crown-making, from fabricating and finishing the metal crown to fusing porcelain to the metal. You’ll also have a chance to be artistic when you create just the right color -- with just the right shadings -- for the finished product.
