Dental Technicians work on creating dental appliances for both children and adults and work with a variety of materials such as gold, porcelain and plastic to design the product that will best fit the patients need and help improve their appearance, speech and ability to chew properly.
Working Life
Working as a Dental Technician will mean that you’ll take part in a variety of different tasks during your working day. These can include:
- fine-tuning each dental piece to exact specifications.
- Working with specialised equipment in the laboratory.
Using a wide range of materials to design and construct appliances, Dental Technicians work in four specialist areas:
- prosthodontic technicians design and make dentures.
- conservation technicians specialise in crown and bridge work.
- orthodontic technicians make braces to correct tooth positions.
- maxillofacial technicians’ work is based in hospital oral surgery, ophthalmic, cancer and burns units, helping to reconstruct the faces of patients damaged by accident or disease.
Dental Technicians work in a variety of settings including:
- Community dental settings.
- Acute hospital settings.
- General dental practices.
- Private practice.
Requirements
Becoming a Dental Technician requires you to complete a course approved by the General Dental Council (GDC) and you will then need to register with the General Dental Council before you can practice.
General Dental Council approved programmes include:
- BTEC National Diploma in Dental Technology – entry requires at least four GCSEs at grade 4 to 7 or A to C.
- Foundation degree route where you’ll normally be employed in a trainee dental technician role or apprenticeship before undertaking training.
- BSc (Hons) degree in dental technology programmes – entry requires A-levels or equivalent qualifications.
Apprenticeship Route
For those interested in becoming a Dental Technician through an apprenticeship route, there are a growing number of apprenticeship routes available.
Opportunities to access these apprenticeships are currently limited and you would need to apply for an apprentice post at a healthcare employer willing to support the programme initially.
Personal Characteristics
To work successfully as a Dental Technician, you need to consider your own personal characteristics. You would need to have the following attributes or similar:
- Be resilient and open to new ways of working.
- Be accurate and able to follow instructions.
- Be aware of the properties of different materials and how they can be used.
- Have an interest in science and technology.
- Be able to work with a variety of different people from differing backgrounds and experiences.
Skills Required
To work successfully as a Dental Support Worker, you need to consider the skills that you have. You would need to demonstrate the following:
- Be well organised and able to plan your time.
- Be able to communicate with a variety of people using different methods.
- Artistic and able to interpret designs.
- Have an excellent understanding of dental and facial anatomy.
Training and Development Opportunities
When you begin to work as a Dental Technician, you will receive training you require to be able to undertake the role successfully. You will receive an induction which will introduce you to the department you will be working in, will support you to access the IT systems and will ensure you are aware of the policies and procedures you will be required to following in the undertaking of your role. You will also have to complete any statutory and mandatory training that your employer requires such as fire training, data security training and customer service.
Development opportunities for Dental Technicians include undertaking specific clinical training to become a clinical dental technician where you can create removable dental appliances for patients directly. There are also opportunities to develop your career and become an orthodontic therapist or to apply for a role in healthcare science specialising in reconstructive sciences.
Pay and Benefits
Dental Technicians in the NHS usually work 37.5 hours a week and you could be required to work flexibly over 7 days depending on the setting you work in. You could also be required to work evenings and weekends on occasion.
Dental Technicians working in NHS settings are paid using the Agenda for Change (AfC) system and will typically start their career on AfC band 5 but with experience, further training and additional qualifications, can progress further up the pay scale.
Dental Technicians working in other settings will have alternative working hours and pay and will be paid according to the employer they work for.
Other benefits of working as a Dental Technician in the NHS include access to a pension scheme, health service discounts such as Blue Light Card and 27 days of annual leave in addition to bank holidays.