Construct and repair full or partial dentures or dental appliances.
U.S. Workers
33,920
Median Salary
$48,310
10-Year Growth
-4.7%
Annual Openings
3,900
Typical entry: High school diploma or equivalent
17 of 17 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Read prescriptions or specifications and examine models or impressions to determine the design of dental products to be constructed.
AI: Fully automatable - AI systems can reliably read prescriptions/specifications and analyze digital impressions or scanned models to determine dental appliance designs, though clinicians normally provide oversight.
Test appliances for conformance to specifications and accuracy of occlusion, using articulators and micrometers.
AI: Fully automatable - Metrology and occlusion checks using articulators and micrometers can be automated via digital articulators, imaging and robotic metrology systems to test conformance precisely.
Melt metals or mix plaster, porcelain, or acrylic pastes and pour materials into molds or over frameworks to form dental prostheses or apparatus.
AI: Fully automatable - Mixing and melting materials and dispensing them into molds or onto frameworks is widely automatable with dedicated dispensing, heating and robotic pouring equipment in dental labs.
Create a model of patient's mouth by pouring plaster into a dental impression and allowing plaster to set.
AI: Fully automatable - Automatic plaster mixing and dispensing machines can pour impressions to create dental models, and many labs already use automated equipment for this routine task.
Load newly constructed teeth into porcelain furnaces to bake the porcelain onto the metal framework.
AI: Fully automatable - Loading and running furnaces is a repetitive, predictable task that can be fully automated with existing industrial/robotic systems and programmatic controls.
Apply porcelain paste or wax over prosthesis frameworks or setups, using brushes and spatulas.
AI: Partial - Porcelain and wax layering is a skilled, artistic manual task; robotic deposition systems can assist in controlled cases but cannot yet match human versatility across all cases.
Prepare metal surfaces for bonding with porcelain to create artificial teeth, using small hand tools.
AI: Partial - Surface preparation (e.g., sandblasting, cleaning) can be automated, but the small‑scale, hand‑tool fine work and adaptation to variable cases limit full automation.
Place tooth models on apparatus that mimics bite and movement of patient's jaw to evaluate functionality of model.
AI: Partial - Placing models on an articulator requires fine physical manipulation and subjective adjustment — robotics and AI can assist but full reliable autonomy is limited in practice by 2025.
Fabricate, alter, or repair dental devices, such as dentures, crowns, bridges, inlays, or appliances for straightening teeth.
AI: Partial - CAD/CAM, milling and 3D printing automate large parts of fabrication, but many alterations and repairs still require human judgment and manual finishing.
Build and shape wax teeth, using small hand instruments and information from observations or dentists' specifications.
AI: Partial - Wax tooth modeling can be partly replaced by digital design and 3D printing or CNC milling, but bespoke shaping from observations/specs still often needs human skill.
Remove excess metal or porcelain and polish surfaces of prostheses or frameworks, using polishing machines.
AI: Partial - Automated polishing equipment exists and can be AI‑controlled for repetitive work, but delicate finishing and quality inspection commonly still need human oversight.
Mold wax over denture setups to form the full contours of artificial gums.
AI: Partial - Molding wax for gingival contours can be assisted or replaced by additive manufacturing and automated molding in some workflows, yet manual adjustments remain common.
Rebuild or replace linings, wire sections, or missing teeth to repair dentures.
AI: Partial - Many denture repairs involve variable, tactile tasks (relines, wire adjustments) that are challenging to fully automate though some steps can be mechanized.
Prepare wax bite blocks and impression trays for use.
AI: Partial - Impression trays and bite blocks can be digitally designed and printed, but preparation and fit‑adjustment of wax bite blocks frequently require manual work.
Train or supervise other dental technicians or dental laboratory bench workers.
AI: Partial - AI can produce training materials, simulate tasks, and monitor performance, but cannot fully replace human leadership, mentorship, and nuanced supervisory judgments in 2025.
Shape and solder wire and metal frames or bands for dental products, using soldering irons and hand tools.
AI: Partial - CNC bending and robotic soldering systems can handle many repeatable wire/metal tasks, but fine, custom adjustments and tactile judgment needed for dental frames limit full automation.
Fill chipped or low spots in surfaces of devices, using acrylic resins.
AI: Partial - Automated dispensing and curing of acrylic resins and AI-guided surface evaluation exist, yet precise finishing of small, irregular dental surfaces still requires human dexterity.