Designing, manufacturing, modifying and repairing custom-made dental appliances.
Occupational Profile
Dental Technicians design, manufacture, modify and repair custom-made dental appliances. Typically the work is undertaken in a dental laboratory on a prescription from a dentist. The work can broadly be split into crown & bridge, dentures and orthodontics; most labs specialize in one or two of these areas but during the apprenticeship Dental Technicians will develop competency across all disciplines from start to finish before choosing if/where to specialize once they are qualified.
Dental Technicians tread a fine line between art and science; they manufacture precise custom-made medical appliances but require the attention to detail, color and manual dexterity that is expected of fine artists.
Dental Technicians are registered professionals and work within the standards and scope of practice defined by the General Dental Council (GDC) Scope of Practice document.
Working as part of the Dental Team Dental Technicians will need to comply with professional regulation, collaborate with dental practices and occasionally meet patients. Dental Technicians will be able to work with minimum supervision and are responsible for the quality of their finished work before it is released to the dentist and patient.
Summary of standard
https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/dental-technician-integrated/
Full standard
https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/media/1066/dental_technician.pdf
