Dental Lab Technicians: Average Wages and Hours in a Working Week

Dental laboratory technicians are skilled craftspeople who make and repair dental appliances, such as dentures, inlays, bridges, crowns, and braces, according to dentists' written prescriptions. They work with plastics, ceramics, and metals, using models of a patient's mouth or teeth made  from impressions taken by the dentist.

Dental laboratory trainees earn slightly more than minimum wage. As technicians gain experience, however, their salaries increase. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that in 2000 the median yearly income for dental laboratory technicians was about $26,915. The department also reported that the lowest paid 10 percent of this group earned roughly $16,182 per year, while the highest paid 10 percent earned about $44,657 annually. Median hourly earnings of dental laboratory technicians in 2000 were $12.88 in offices and clinics of dentists and $12.87 in medical and dental laboratories.

According to the National Association of Dental Laboratories, an especially productive or skilled technician may earn as much as $60,000. Self-employed technicians and those who work in smaller laboratories and perform a variety of work exceed the average earnings.

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