Skills
Dental Lab Technician Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in dental lab technicians, and how to build and show them.
What skills do dental lab technicians need?
Dental Lab Technicians need technical skills such as cad/cam design, model work, and porcelain layering, plus people skills like patience and artistic eye. They also use tools such as CAD/CAM software and Milling machines.
Technical (hard) skills
- CAD/CAM design
- Model work
- Porcelain layering
- Denture setup
- Milling and printing
- Shade matching
People (soft) skills
- Patience
- Artistic eye
- Precision
- Focus
Tools, equipment and technology
- CAD/CAM software
- Milling machines
- 3D printers
- Porcelain furnaces
- Articulators
- Dental instruments
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how dental lab technicians put their skills to work:
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “CAD/CAM design” and “Model work.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “patience,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as Certified Dental Technician (CDT) near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our dental lab technician glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Dental Lab Technician training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.