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Dental Laboratory Technician

Healthcare

Construct and repair full or partial dentures or dental appliances.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Allied Health

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Read prescriptions or specifications and examine models or impressions to determine the design of dental products to be constructed.
  2. 2Test appliances for conformance to specifications and accuracy of occlusion, using articulators and micrometers.
  3. 3Fabricate, alter, or repair dental devices, such as dentures, crowns, bridges, inlays, or appliances for straightening teeth.
  4. 4Prepare metal surfaces for bonding with porcelain to create artificial teeth, using small hand tools.
  5. 5Rebuild or replace linings, wire sections, or missing teeth to repair dentures.
  6. 6Place tooth models on an apparatus that mimics bite and movement of patient's jaw to evaluate functionality of model.
  7. 7Apply porcelain paste or wax over prosthesis frameworks or setups, using brushes and spatulas.
  8. 8Remove excess metal or porcelain and polish surfaces of prostheses or frameworks, using polishing machines.
  9. 9Build and shape wax teeth, using small hand instruments and information from observations or dentists' specifications.
  10. 10Load newly constructed teeth into porcelain furnaces to bake the porcelain onto the metal framework.
  11. 11Mold wax over denture setups to form the full contours of artificial gums.
  12. 12Train or supervise other dental technicians or dental laboratory bench workers.
  13. 13Melt metals or mix plaster, porcelain, or acrylic pastes and pour materials into molds or over frameworks to form dental prostheses or apparatuses.
  14. 14Create a model of patient's mouth by pouring plaster into a dental impression and allowing plaster to set.
  15. 15Prepare wax bite blocks and impression trays for use.
  16. 16Shape and solder wire and metal frames or bands for dental products, using soldering irons and hand tools.
  17. 17Fill chipped or low spots in surfaces of devices, using acrylic resins.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • CDT
  • Waxer
  • CAD Tech
  • CAM Tech
  • Ceramist
  • Lab Tech
  • Model Tech
  • Ortho Tech
  • Dental Tech
  • Denture Tech

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. Typical entry

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationHigh school diploma

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

BusinessDraws directly on Administration and Management — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EconomicsDraws directly on Administration and Management — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Visual Art (PSV)Draws directly on Design — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Technical Comm. GraphicsDraws directly on Design — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Engineering DrawingDraws directly on Design — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Administration and Management76%

    BusinessEconomics

  • Design76%

    Visual Art (PSV)Technical Comm. GraphicsEngineering Drawing

  • English Language73%

    English

  • Medicine and Dentistry72%

    BiologyChemistry

  • Production and Processing70%

    Design & Technology (RBT)Mechanical Engineering Studies

  • Education and Training69%

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicNot at all
  • Handling conflict situationsRarely
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentEvery day
  • Time spent sittingAlmost all the time

Where this job is heading

Newer tasks O*NET has flagged for this occupation, a hint at how the role is changing.

  • 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.

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

0%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Welder

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

Diploma

Skill-first qualification. Work after, or enter degree Year 2. Polytechnics keep it affordable.

2.5–3 years

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Dental Laboratory Technicians

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Public universities (UPU)

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue