Work as a Dental Lab Tech

[dds]

Hello all.....This is my first post here. I will be entering dental school next year and I was wondering if anyone can shed some light on how to get a job as a dental lab tech. I needed some way to spend my time the rest of the year and I thought this would be a good way to get some hands-on experience as well as prepare for dental school.

However, I am a bit skeptical about working for a dental lab for a couple reasons: 1) I think I might need training to do lab work/not qualified. 2) I also think that the type of dental work I'll be doing won't be the same as the what I will be taught in dental school.

I was wondering if some of you who did work for a dental lab could please shed your wisdom and answer a few of my questions:
1) How did you go about finding work as a dental lab tech (did you know someone who got you the job? did you apply for it?)?
2) What are the tasks that a dental lab tech performs?
3) Did those dental lab tasks help prepare you for the hands on work you do in dental school and in what way did they help?
4) Did you need to be certified? (I have heard, in passing, that one doesn't neccessarily need certification and can still be trained as a lab tech. Is this true?)

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[Dr.SpongeBobDDS]

If the job pays reasonably well compared to other jobs you might get I would go for it. I interviewed for a position as a tech; they made me do a bunch of carving tests and then after evaluating my projects they offered to train me. I turned it down because it was too far of a commute, but wish now that I had done it. You do a lot of your own lab work in dental school and being fast will save you many hours of precious time during school.

There is a kid in my class who was a denture tech for several years before dental school and he is just smoking through removable prosth right now. He never stays late. :jealous:

 

[toofache32]

CDTs actually have a school and licensing process of their own. I'm not sure how you could work as a lab tech without going to their school. Of course dentists are qualified for the majority of the work, but I was well into my 3rd year before I felt comfortable doing that stuff for real patients.

 

[ehop24]

I worked as a lab tech assistant for 3-4 months prior to starting dental school The stuff you learn there will but you well ahead of your classmates, and I highly recommend it.

Dental tech is a trade, meaning you do not need a formal education to do it. However, this all depends on the lab. Many lab techs were just educated by a parent or mentor. However, lab techs are only as succesful as their work is good. So it is not really worth a labs time to let some new kid learn how to wax a tooth up.

My duties were essentially everything up until it was time to wax. I poured up models from impressions, trimmed dies, etc. But the lab tech did the important stuff. He was nice enough to allow me to practice waxing in my spare time for fun. Nonetheless, my time there payed huge dividends.

A dentist I had worked for in the past hooked me up with the lab tech. There are smaller labs, usually manned by one or two people. Maybe they are looking for someone to do the dirty work so they can increase their volume. At the same time, there are huge national labs with hundreds of employees. If have one of these near you, give them a call and tell them your situation. They work like well-oiled assembly lines. Good luck! I highly recommend getting some lab experience, even if it requires volunteering a few weeks.

 

[dds]

If the job pays reasonably well compared to other jobs you might get I would go for it. I interviewed for a position as a tech; they made me do a bunch of carving tests and then after evaluating my projects they offered to train me. I turned it down because it was too far of a commute, but wish now that I had done it. You do a lot of your own lab work in dental school and being fast will save you many hours of precious time during school.

There is a kid in my class who was a denture tech for several years before dental school and he is just smoking through removable prosth right now. He never stays late. :jealous:

Hey SpongeBob,

Thanks for all the info. Sounds like taking up a job as a lab tech can help in dental school. How did you get the job, though? You mentioned that you had to interview. Did you just call up these dental labs and asked if they needed anybody or were you hooked up by a contact?

 

[kerrydds06]

Hey dds you have a great idea getting experience b4 school starts. I was a DT in the Navy for 5 years and all the experience has enabled me to concentrate on the "book work" and spend more time with my family.
Work cheap if you have to, mastering wax will serve you well.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Lab techs...bless their souls. Seriously.

 

[Dr.SpongeBobDDS]

dds, I knew a guy who worked there and he told me about the open positions. So I did have an "in". I suppose cold-calling is as good as anything in your case.

 

[north2southOMFS]

Hey, I was a lab tech for 2 years in undergrad, and then all through dental school. Besides having a nice on the side job, the better reason to be one is that you gain enormous ground in the hand skills department. You will be much more confident when you cut teeth. Oh and you will blow through your preclinical lab courses. But if you do want to be a lab tech try and be one who does full process crown and bridge so your not just stuck doing model work all day, make sure you get to wax/burnout/cast/fit/polish as well. Actually one of the directors of an OMFS program I interviewed with told me he liked that on my resume very much.

 

[coodoo]

would have been nice to have that kind of experience coming into d-school. Sometimes I am just so damn clueless in the lab 🙁

 

[dds]

Hey, I was a lab tech for 2 years in undergrad, and then all through dental school. Besides having a nice on the side job, the better reason to be one is that you gain enormous ground in the hand skills department. You will be much more confident when you cut teeth. Oh and you will blow through your preclinical lab courses. But if you do want to be a lab tech try and be one who does full process crown and bridge so your not just stuck doing model work all day, make sure you get to wax/burnout/cast/fit/polish as well. Actually one of the directors of an OMFS program I interviewed with told me he liked that on my resume very much.

Hey north2southOMFS,

Thanks for the info. I've been doing some cold-calls to these dental labs and all I got was the run-around. So far, the ones I've called have told me that they need a person with experience or certification. I even went as far as letting them know I would work as a volunteer. I guess they have better things to do with their time than train me.

Do you have any other suggestions on how to go about getting a job as a lab tech because it seems like cold-calling may not work? What did you do to get your job?

 

[north2southOMFS]

Mine was a little different, my father is a general dentist and has a lab attached to his office. Ever since he has practiced he has had dental students work his lab for the experience, and the tradition is that the graduating dental student teaches the new dental student who will work the lab how do all the lab stuff. Then I just pulled out the linec (spellin?) manual and waxed teeth and got everyone to critique them.. Go to the dental school and ask around, there are always dentists hiring dental students to do that......hey dental students are cheap labor.🙂