DENTAL LABORATORY TECHNICIAN

Job Definition:

Job Description:

• Construct and repair full or partial dentures or dental appliances.

Duties and Tasks:

• 1) Read prescriptions or specifications, and examine models and impressions, in order to determine the design of dental products to be constructed.
• 2) Fabricate, alter, and repair dental devices such as dentures, crowns, bridges, inlays, and appliances for straightening teeth.
• 3) Test appliances for conformance to specifications and accuracy of occlusion, using articulators and micrometers.
• 4) Place tooth models on apparatus that mimics bite and movement of patient’s jaw to evaluate functionality of model.
• 5) Melt metals or mix plaster, porcelain, or acrylic pastes; and pour materials into molds or over frameworks in order to form dental prostheses or apparatus.
• 6) Prepare metal surfaces for bonding with porcelain to create artificial teeth, using small hand tools.
• 7) Remove excess metal or porcelain, and polish surfaces of prostheses or frameworks, using polishing machines.
• 8) Create a model of patient’s mouth by pouring plaster into a dental impression and allowing plaster to set.
• 9) Load newly constructed teeth into porcelain furnaces in order to bake the porcelain onto the metal framework.
• 10) Build and shape wax teeth, using small hand instruments and information from observations or dentists’ specifications.
• 11) Apply porcelain paste or wax over prosthesis frameworks or setups, using brushes and spatulas.
• 12) Fill chipped or low spots in surfaces of devices, using acrylic resins.
• 13) Prepare wax bite-blocks and impression trays for use.
• 14) Mold wax over denture set-ups in order to form the full contours of artificial gums.
• 15) Train and supervise other dental technicians or dental laboratory bench workers.
• 16) Rebuild or replace linings, wire sections, and missing teeth in order to repair dentures.
• 17) Shape and solder wire and metal frames or bands for dental products, using soldering irons and hand tools.

Activities:

• 1) Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• 2) Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• 3) Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• 4) Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• 5) Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
• 6) Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• 7) Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• 8) Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• 9) Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• 10) Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• 11) Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• 12) Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
• 13) Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
• 14) Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
• 15) Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
• 16) Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
• 17) Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
• 18) Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
• 19) Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
• 20) Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.

Abilities:

• 1) Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand
• 2) Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• 3) Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• 4) Arm-Hand Steadiness — The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
• 5) Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• 6) Manual Dexterity — The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
• 7) Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• 8) Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• 9) Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• 10) Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 11) Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• 12) Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• 13) Control Precision — The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
• 14) Finger Dexterity — The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
• 15) Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

Knowledge

• Medicine and Dentistry — Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.