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Medical

Dental technician

Dental technicians make and repair dental appliances used to improve patients' appearance, speech or ability to eat.

Annual Salary

£28,000 to £43,000

Average UK salary in 2022 was £33,200
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

39 to 41 a week

You could work: between 8am and 6pm;

4%
Future employment

There will be 4% more Dental technician jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

As a dental technician, you could:

  • design, make, modify and repair custom dental devices
  • use precision equipment and tools
  • shape materials like gold, porcelain and plastic

You might specialise in orthodontic, crown and bridge work or prosthetics. Depending on your speciality you could:

  • create plastic or metal devices, like braces to straighten teeth
  • make items like crowns or bridges to cement in place
  • produce plastic dentures or implants

Working environment

You may need to wear protective clothing.

You could work in a laboratory.

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
University

You could do a foundation degree or degree in dental technology approved by the General Dental Council.

It's likely you'll need a degree to do advanced dental technology work.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • at least 1 A level, or equivalent, for a foundation degree
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
For more information
College

You could do a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Dental Technology approved by the General Dental Council.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science
For more information
Apprenticeship

You could do the Dental Technician Level  5 Higher Apprenticeship.

If you want to make dental appliances and have direct contact with patients, you could do the Clinical Dental Technician Level 5 Higher Apprenticeship.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
For more information
Work

You could start as a trainee dental technician with a practice and study part time.

This could take up to 5 years depending on which qualification you do.

More information

Professional and industry bodies

You can join the Dental Technologists Association (DTA) for professional development and training opportunities.

Further information

You can find out more about how to become a dental technician from Health Careers.

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With experience you could:train to become a clinical dental technician if you want more direct contact with patients; do further training to become a healthcare scientist through the NHS Scientist Training Programme (STP) and specialise in reconstructive sciences; set up your own laboratory or work abroad; become a senior or chief dental technician; move into quality control, sales, management, teaching or research

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • the ability to work well with your hands
  • knowledge of medicine and dentistry
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • knowledge of manufacturing production and processes
  • design skills and knowledge
  • the ability to analyse quality or performance
  • the ability to work well with others
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
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