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Dental Laboratory Technicians
Production · SOC 51-9081
0.0% AI Exposure — Low
$49,610
Median Annual Salary
Bright ↗
O*NET Outlook
5,100
Proj. Annual Openings
34,410
Employment (OEWS 2025)
0%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
100/100
AI Resiliency Score
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 51-9081 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
- SOC exposure
- 0.0%
- Low · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 48/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $49,610
- H-1B offered wage $64,579; LCAs are filings.
- Projected openings
- 5,100
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change -4.7%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- 4
- FY2025 certified LCAs; 6,977 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
Reading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingTime ManagementOperations MonitoringJudgment and Decision Making
Transition context
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
AI Exposure Analysis
AI Exposure0.0%
AI Resiliency100/100
Exposure BandLow
Sector Avg. Exposure0.7%
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
22.6%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic0%
AI capability · OpenAI4.2%
AI ability · AIOE63.6%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne97%
Top Skills
1.Reading Comprehension
2.Critical Thinking
3.Time Management
4.Operations Monitoring
5.Judgment and Decision Making
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.
33
Decade Total (Certified LCAs)
4
FY2025 Volume
0% of all H-1B filings in FY2025
$64,579
Median Offered Wage (Latest Year)
#394 of 776
Rank by Total Volume
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Construct and repair full or partial dentures or dental appliances.
Common titles: Ceramist, Crown and Bridge Dental Laboratory Technician (Crown and Bridge Dental Lab Tech), Dental Ceramist, Dental Laboratory Technician (Dental Lab Tech), Dental Technician (Dental Tech), Denture Technician (Denture Tech)
Representative Tasks
- •Read prescriptions or specifications and examine models or impressions to determine the design of dental products to be constructed.
- •Test appliances for conformance to specifications and accuracy of occlusion, using articulators and micrometers.
- •Fabricate, alter, or repair dental devices, such as dentures, crowns, bridges, inlays, or appliances for straightening teeth.
- •Place tooth models on an apparatus that mimics bite and movement of patient's jaw to evaluate functionality of model.
- •Remove excess metal or porcelain and polish surfaces of prostheses or frameworks, using polishing machines.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements.
- •Inspect medical or dental assistive devices.
- •Construct customized assistive medical or dental devices.
- •Repair medical or dental assistive devices.
- •Prepare materials for processing.
Tools & Technologies
Intuit QuickBooks · hotMicrosoft Outlook · hotMicrosoft PowerPoint · hotBookkeeping softwareComputer imaging softwareEasy Solutions Easy LabEmail softwareGraphics softwareInventrix LabtracLaboratory Systems Group Lab Manager
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
15
Occupations Shown
0.5%
Avg AI Exposure
1
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Multi-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 51-9081: 2019 — employment: 34,460, median wage: $41,340; 2020 — employment: 30,800, median wage: $42,110; 2021 — employment: 34,150, median wage: $45,770; 2022 — employment: 33,330, median wage: $46,050; 2023 — employment: 34,190, median wage: $47,690; 2025 — employment: 34,410, median wage: $49,610.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 0.0% | 0.7% |
| Outlook | Bright ↗ | 4% Bright |
| Median Salary | $49,610 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 100/100 | N/A |