Dental Laboratory Technology Health Article

Definition

Dental laboratory technology is the science and craft of creating dental prostheses. It involves artistic talent, aptitude for precision work, good eyesight, and a high degree of manual dexterity. Knowledge of CAD/CAM computer programs, digital cameras, and digital imaging systems is also required.

Description

Preventive education has decreased the incidence of dental caries. Better dental health means that the demand for dentures has declined, while the need for dental prostheses and cosmetic procedures has increased.

Dental laboratory technicians are sought by dental laboratories, private dental practices, and medical institutions. These skilled craftspeople are part scientist, part artist, and part engineer. They must have manual dexterity, good eyesight, and a penchant for detailed, precision work.

Dental laboratory technicians create a variety of dental prostheses including crowns, bridges, artificial teeth, partial dentures, and complete dentures. They also prepare inlays—ceramic or resin structures that are cemented into a prepared tooth. Technicians also create onlays from those same materials which fit over the tooth but do not cover the tooth completely like a crown. In large laboratories, dental technicians may specialize in a single type of restoration, such as crowns or partial dentures. Some laboratories have ceramists who specialize in creating ceramic restorations of every type.

In order to design and craft these prostheses, a dental technician prepares wax diagnostic models from patients' mouth impressions. These wax models are finely detailed sculptures of the mouth, showing how the restoration will look and how it will work. From these, the prostheses are cast in investment molds through an ancient bronze casting and jewelry method, called the lost wax technique.

The investment mold is poured around the wax model of the prosthesis and is fired. The wax melts and drains out of the investment mold, leaving behind a durable mold into which the technician can pour a casting material. Restorative casting materials can be metals (gold, silver, amalgam), resins, or ceramics. These are poured into the investment mold to craft individual teeth, crowns, and other dental prostheses.

New computer applications are making the restoration process faster, more accurate, and more comfortable. Implant and crown design is often time consuming, requiring several appointments to ensure a proper fit. Duplication technology (e.g. Geomagic Studio from Raindrop Geomagic of Morrisville, NC) uses 3-D scanners to scan a patient's mouth. This duplicates the shape, thickness, and color of the natural teeth. This information is processed through CAD software and used to generate a digital prosthesis that is virtually inserted into the digital image of the patient's mouth to check for an accurate fit. The dental prosthesis is then crafted in real materials and fitted into the patient's mouth.

Work settings

Dental laboratory technicians work mainly in dental laboratories. These are usually independent businesses, with one technician out of five owning his or her own laboratory. Some laboratories may also be connected with a dentist or a team of dentists, to create a one-stop service for patients. Some technicians work in hospitals or institutions which provide dental services to in-house patients, e.g. VA hospitals.

Laboratory facilities are clean, well lit, and carefully ventilated. Workstations may be equipped with computers, grinding equipment, polishing machines, and a variety of tools for fine detailed work. Most dental laboratory owners keep their facilities equipped with state-of-the-art tools, equipment (including a dental kiln), and materials. They also provide continuing training for their technicians in current procedures, techniques, and material use.

Education and training

Though most dental laboratory technicians learn while working on the job in the laboratory, many are now seeking professional training at junior colleges, dental schools, and vocational/technical institutions before seeking employment. Some dental schools offer course work in dental laboratory technology. In any event, technicians will still need to train on the job in order to learn the techniques and styles of a particular dental laboratory.

Early tasks on the job may be relatively menial in contrast to the skills the technicians will display later for the laboratory. They may prepare dental impressions or fire already prepared crowns or dentures. After three or four years of training, technicians are then able to design and craft dental prostheses for patients.

The ADA Commission on Dental Accreditation has accredited 34 programs in dental laboratory technology. Classroom instruction includes oral anatomy, dental materials science, fabrication procedures, computer software applications, digital imaging, and ethics. Students complete course work in two years and receive an associate's degree.

Certification is available in some states through the National Board. This is voluntary and not necessary to work in the profession. Five areas of certification are available; crowns and bridges, ceramics, partial dentures, complete dentures, and orthodontic appliances.