Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Dental Laboratory Technicians
Occupation · SOC 51-9081.00
Construct and repair full or partial dentures or dental appliances.
Also called: Dental Ceramist · Dental Laboratory Technician (Dental Lab Tech) · Dental Technician (Dental Tech) · Denture Technician (Denture Tech) · Ceramist · Crown and Bridge Dental Laboratory Technician (Crown and Bridge Dental Lab Tech) · Metal Finisher · Orthodontic Laboratory Technician (Ortho Lab Tech) · Porcelain Technician (Porcelain Tech) · Waxer · Bridge Technician · CAD Tech (Computer-Aided Design Technician)
Job family: Production Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-51-9081-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- Declining employment outlook (-4.7% by 2034)
- 3,900 openings/yr
- Low AI exposure
- Median pay $48,310/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
- 2013 flagged this for computerization (94th); today's AI task-overlap is comparatively low (20th)
20th-percentile task overlap — yet about 3,900 openings a year (-4.7% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate | 48th | 0.0 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Low | 12th | 0.1 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 7th | 0.0 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.0), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.1). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Mixed signals. Today's AI/LLM studies show relatively low exposure for this job, but the older (2013) Frey–Osborne work rated it higher for computerization and robotics. Different eras, different technologies — the AI measures above reflect the current state.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 1.0 · 94th percentile among occupations · High
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | Declining · -4.7% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 3,900 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 35,200 → 33,600 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Dental Laboratory Technicians sits at the 27th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure rose from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
18% mean task exposure (2025)
27th percentile of 427 placed occupations
+2 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Medical and Dental Prosthetic Technicians · 3214 | 18% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 17 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Read prescriptions or specifications and examine models or impressions to determine the design of dental products to be constructed. Core · importance 4.9
- Test appliances for conformance to specifications and accuracy of occlusion, using articulators and micrometers. Core · importance 4.7
- Fabricate, alter, or repair dental devices, such as dentures, crowns, bridges, inlays, or appliances for straightening teeth. Core · importance 4.7
- Prepare metal surfaces for bonding with porcelain to create artificial teeth, using small hand tools. Supplemental · importance 4.6
- Rebuild or replace linings, wire sections, or missing teeth to repair dentures. Supplemental · importance 4.6
- Place tooth models on an apparatus that mimics bite and movement of patient's jaw to evaluate functionality of model. Core · importance 4.6
- Apply porcelain paste or wax over prosthesis frameworks or setups, using brushes and spatulas. Supplemental · importance 4.6
- Build and shape wax teeth, using small hand instruments and information from observations or dentists' specifications. Supplemental · importance 4.5
- Remove excess metal or porcelain and polish surfaces of prostheses or frameworks, using polishing machines. Core · importance 4.5
- Load newly constructed teeth into porcelain furnaces to bake the porcelain onto the metal framework. Supplemental · importance 4.5
- Mold wax over denture setups to form the full contours of artificial gums. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Train or supervise other dental technicians or dental laboratory bench workers. Core · importance 4.3
- Create a model of patient's mouth by pouring plaster into a dental impression and allowing plaster to set. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Melt metals or mix plaster, porcelain, or acrylic pastes and pour materials into molds or over frameworks to form dental prostheses or apparatuses. Core · importance 4.3
- Prepare wax bite blocks and impression trays for use. Supplemental · importance 4.2
- Shape and solder wire and metal frames or bands for dental products, using soldering irons and hand tools. Supplemental · importance 4.2
- Fill chipped or low spots in surfaces of devices, using acrylic resins. Supplemental · importance 3.9
Emerging tasks
Newer responsibilities O*NET has flagged as growing for this occupation.
- Meet with dentists or patients to discuss dental appliances.
- Order parts or materials needed to make dental appliances.
- Scan dental models to create digital files.
- Stain porcelain on dental appliances to match the color of patients' teeth.
Work activities
- Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements.
- Construct customized assistive medical or dental devices.
- Repair medical or dental assistive devices.
- Inspect medical or dental assistive devices.
- Measure clients to ensure proper product fit.
- Mix ingredients to create specific finishes.
- Place materials into molds.
- Melt metal, plastic, or other materials to prepare for production.
- Prepare materials for processing.
- Trim excess material from workpieces.
- Polish materials, workpieces, or finished products.
- Cast molds of patient anatomies to create medical or dental devices.
- Load items into ovens or furnaces.
- Apply parting agents or other solutions to molds.
- Fill cracks, imperfections, or holes in products or workpieces.
- Prepare medical supplies or equipment for use.
- Instruct workers to use equipment or perform technical procedures.
- Direct operational or production activities.
- Shape metal workpieces with hammers or other small hand tools.
- Solder parts or workpieces.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Abilities
| Finger Dexterity | 4.0 | |
| Near Vision | 4.0 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.9 | |
| Control Precision | 3.9 | |
| Visualization | 3.6 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.4 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.4 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.4 | |
| Written Comprehension | 3.3 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.3 | |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.3 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.1 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.1 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.1 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.1 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.0 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.0 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.0 | |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.0 | |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 3.0 |
Knowledge
Essential skills
| Reading Comprehension | 3.4 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.3 | |
| Active Listening | 3.0 | |
| Speaking | 3.0 | |
| Active Learning | 3.0 | |
| Monitoring | 3.0 | |
| Writing | 2.9 |
Transferable skills
| Time Management | 3.3 | |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.1 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.1 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.0 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
- Preparation level
- SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Health Professions and Related Programs . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| High School Diploma | 51.7% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 18.2% | |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 13.2% | |
| Some College Courses | 7.4% | |
| Master's Degree | 5.7% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 1.9% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 1.9% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 6.6 | |
| Investigative | 4.5 | |
| Conventional | 4.1 | |
| Social | 2.7 |
Interest areas
| Engineering | 3.9 | |
| Health Care Service | 3.7 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 2.9 | |
| Physical/Manual Labor | 2.7 | |
| Medical Science | 2.2 | |
| Construction/Woodwork | 2.0 | |
| Life Science | 1.9 | |
| Physical Science | 1.8 | |
| Mathematics/Statistics | 1.6 |
Work styles
| Attention to Detail | 3.0 | |
| Dependability | 3.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 2.0 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $36,100 |
| 25th percentile | $39,250 |
| Median (50th) | $48,310 |
| 75th percentile | $62,320 |
| 90th percentile | $78,680 |
| People employed | 33,920 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing · Sector | 29,060 | $48,120 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 4,160 | $48,880 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 90 | $52,700 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | — | $47,000 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | — | $48,160 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing · Sector | 10.35× | 29,060 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 0.82× | 4,160 |
Related occupations
Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.
- Medical Appliance Technicians · 51-9082.00 Compare →
- Dental Assistants · 31-9091.00 Compare →
- Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians · 51-9083.00 Compare →
- Medical Equipment Repairers · 49-9062.00 Compare →
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic · 51-9195.00 Compare →
- Calibration Technologists and Technicians · 17-3028.00 Compare →
- Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers · 51-9123.00 Compare →
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand · 51-9022.00 Compare →
- Furniture Finishers · 51-7021.00 Compare →
- Dental Hygienists · 29-1292.00 Compare →
- Prosthodontists · 29-1024.00 Compare →
- Dentists, General · 29-1021.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Dental Laboratory Technicians — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- High school diploma or equivalent · typical entry level
- Job zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Health Professions and Related Programs · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 27th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Dental Laboratory Technicians show 20th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 3,900 annual U.S. openings
- Dental Laboratory Technicians rank in the 20th percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 3,900 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be declining (-4.7%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $48,310, across about 33,920 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Dental Laboratory Technicians show 20th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 3,900 annual U.S. openings • Dental Laboratory Technicians rank in the 20th percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 3,900 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be declining (-4.7%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $48,310, across about 33,920 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Dental Laboratory Technicians". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9081-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Dental Laboratory Technicians." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9081-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Dental Laboratory Technicians. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9081-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-51-9081-00,
title = {Dental Laboratory Technicians},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9081-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.