Best programs to become a dental laboratory technician
You do not need a college degree to become a dental laboratory technician. BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Dental Laboratory Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions).
1 college program at 21 schools trains dental laboratory technicians, graduating 254 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $49,610 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About dental laboratory technicians
Construct and repair full or partial dentures or dental appliances.
Best programs to study to become a dental laboratory technician
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 51.0603 | 254 | 100.0% | 21 | $28,924 | $10,782 |
Top 21 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
What dental laboratory technicians earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvanialimited | $49,280 | 930 | 0.69× | 1 | 56 |
| Floridalimited | $59,790 | 2,330 | 1.06× | 2 | 44 |
| New Yorklimited | $52,460 | 1,890 | 0.88× | 1 | 32 |
| Californialimited | $47,410 | 4,480 | 1.11× | 2 | 23 |
| Tennesseelimited | $48,880 | 610 | 0.84× | 2 | 22 |
| New Mexicolimited | $45,300 | 130 | 0.65× | 1 | 8 |
| Virginialimited | $51,900 | 1,050 | 1.16× | 1 | 8 |
| Indianalimited | $49,920 | 680 | 0.95× | 1 | 7 |
| North Carolinalimited | $49,700 | 990 | 0.91× | 1 | 7 |
| Wisconsinlimited | $47,170 | 800 | 1.23× | 1 | 6 |
| Louisianalimited | $38,490 | 330 | 0.78× | 1 | 5 |
| Washingtonlimited | $56,400 | 670 | 0.86× | 1 | 5 |
| Texaslimited | $46,330 | 1,770 | 0.57× | 1 | 4 |
| Iowalimited | $47,520 | 380 | 1.11× | 1 | 3 |
| Massachusettslimited | $72,800 | 440 | 0.55× | 1 | 2 |
Skills and knowledge
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Read prescriptions or specifications and examine models or impressions to determine the design of dental products to be constructed.
- Test appliances for conformance to specifications and accuracy of occlusion, using articulators and micrometers.
- Fabricate, alter, or repair dental devices, such as dentures, crowns, bridges, inlays, or appliances for straightening teeth.
- Place tooth models on an apparatus that mimics bite and movement of patient's jaw to evaluate functionality of model.
- Remove excess metal or porcelain and polish surfaces of prostheses or frameworks, using polishing machines.
- Train or supervise other dental technicians or dental laboratory bench workers.
- Melt metals or mix plaster, porcelain, or acrylic pastes and pour materials into molds or over frameworks to form dental prostheses or apparatuses.
- Prepare metal surfaces for bonding with porcelain to create artificial teeth, using small hand tools.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension3.4
- Critical Thinking3.3
- Active Learning3.0
- Active Listening3.0
- Monitoring3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Learning Strategies2.9
- Writing2.9
Knowledge areas
- Design3.8
- Administration and Management3.8
- English Language3.6
- Medicine and Dentistry3.6
- Production and Processing3.5
- Education and Training3.5
Abilities
- Near Vision4.0
- Finger Dexterity4.0
- Control Precision3.9
- Arm-Hand Steadiness3.9
- Visualization3.6
- Information Ordering3.4
Core activities
- Thinking Creatively4.3
- Getting Information4.2
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.1
- Processing Information4.0
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.0
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work4.0
How to get in
How to become a dental laboratory technician
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Dental Laboratory Technicians1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 51.0603Dental Laboratory Technology/Technician
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a dental laboratory technician?+
You do not need a college degree to become a dental laboratory technician. BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Dental Laboratory Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a dental laboratory technician?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Dental Laboratory Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 program to this job, which graduates about 254 people a year.
How much do dental laboratory technicians earn?+
The median is $49,610 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $36,660 at the 10th percentile to $76,940 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for dental laboratory technicians growing?+
BLS projects a -4.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 3,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
21 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 program that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do dental laboratory technicians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Dental Ceramist, Dental Technician (Dental Tech), Denture Technician (Denture Tech), Dental Laboratory Technician (Dental Lab Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 51-9081.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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