I am a DS3 at San Antonio.
You will be doing labwork during years 2, 3, and 4 at San Antonio. Second year is largely spent on preclinical courses learning how to do the labwork on ideal casts/models, so when you get to clinic you can do the labwork on real patient casts/models. Third and fourth year, you do all your labwork up to a point. For fixed pros, you will take all your impressions, pour up your casts/models, pindex, and cut/trim your dies. After this point, you submit the cast/models to the lab with the trimmed die, and the lab on campus fabricates the crown/bridge. So, you will not cast any gold crowns or make/color characterize your all porcelain or PFM crowns. For removable pros (i.e. complete dentures and RPD) you will do all the necessary prep work. For dentures, you will make all the impressions, pour up the master casts, fabricate record bases and occlusion rims, and after this point, you send it all to the lab, and lab on campus sets all the teeth for the wax try-in, and then after the try-in appt, the lab will process the dentures for delivery. Same thing goes for RPD, only you have a framework try-in appt as well. The lab will actually set the denture teeth for you, but if for whatever reason, the lab does not set them as they should be, or something changes at the try-in appt, you end up re-setting the teeth on your own. And it does happen, which is why they teach you everything during second year. You will also make all your own custom impression trays when indicated. You will also make bleach trays when the patient's tx plan calls for it. The lab will make mouthguards, and and they will make occlusal splints as well after you have done the impression, centric relation record, protrusive bite record, etc. So, we still do a lot of labwork, but not as much as some other schools across the country, but more than others as well.
