A professional who performs any combination of following tasks to fabricate and repair dental appliances, according to dentist's prescription, using handtools, molding equipment, and bench fabricating machines. Responsibilities include:

• Reads prescription and examines dental models and impressions to determine type of denture to be made or repaired applying knowledge of dental laboratory techniques.
• Fabricates full or partial dentures, using wax, plastic and plaster models, articulators, grinders, and polishers.
• Casts plastic or plaster models of dentures to be repaired.
• Selects and mounts replacement teeth in model to match color and shape of natural or adjacent teeth, using tooth color scales and tooth illustrations.
• Molds wax over denture setup to form contours of gums, using knives and spatula.
• Removes excess plastic and polishes surfaces of cast dentures, using grinding and polishing tools and ultrasonic equipment.
• Rebuilds denture linings to duplicate original thickness, contour, and color according to specifications.
• Tests repaired dentures for accuracy of occlusion, using articulator.
• Bends and solders gold and platinum wire to construct wire frames for dentures, using soldering gun and handtools.
• May confer with dentist to resolve problems in design and setup of dentures.
• May be designated according to type of denture fabricated as crown and bridge dental technician; metal dental technician.