OSCA 311232

Dental Technician

Overview

  • Employed persons

    2,700

  • Employment status

    67.3% Full time

    32.6% Part time

  • Median age

    42 years

  • Employment by sex

    38.5% Female

    61.7% Male

    Moderately male dominated

  • Indigenous employment share

    0.4%

  • Main employing industry

    Manufacturing

Indicator Dental Technician Total employment
Employed persons 2,700 12,049,400
Median age 42 years 40 years
Full-time share 67.3% 64.2%
Part-time share 32.6% 35.8%
Female employment share 38.5% 48.5%
Male employment share 61.7% 51.5%
Gender segregation intensity scale Moderately male dominated Gender balanced
Indigenous employment share 0.4% 2.2%
Main employing industry Manufacturing Health Care and Social Assistance
Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

Occupation overview

Dental Technicians construct and repair dentures and other dental appliances.

What the occupation involves

  • Creates models of the mouth and teeth from impressions taken by a dental practitioner
  • Makes replacement braces, retainers or dentures for patients using plastic, metal or ceramic materials
  • Crafts braces, mouthguards and plates for correcting irregular or damaged teeth
  • Designs, constructs and repairs ceramic restorations such as crowns, bridges or dentures
  • Polishes and finishes braces or retainers before they are placed in a patient's mouth

Common occupation titles

No alternative occupation titles are listed for this occupation.

Specialisations

  • Dental Laboratory Assistant

Note: Specialisations are examples of roles in within this occupation and are not separate OSCA occupations.

Skill level (education and experience level)

Skill level 2
equivalent to a Diploma or Advanced Diploma level qualification.

Note: While skill levels are described using formal education levels, some people use a combination of informal learning, on-the-job training and personal experience to achieve an equivalent level.

Licensing or registration requirements

Registration or licensing may be required.

OSCA structure

Employment

On this page

    Industries

    Top 10 most common industries, 2021

    Dental Technician Total employment
    Industry Share of occupation Industry Share of occupation
    Manufacturing 64.8% Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%
    Health Care and Social Assistance 30.0% Retail Trade 9.1%
    Education and Training 1.0% Construction 8.9%
    Other Services 0.9% Education and Training 8.8%
    Wholesale Trade 0.6% Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.8%
    Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 0.5% Public Administration and Safety 6.6%
    Public Administration and Safety 0.4% Accommodation and Food Services 6.5%
    Retail Trade 0.3% Manufacturing 5.9%
    Accommodation and Food Services 0.0% Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.5%
    Administrative and Support Services 0.0% Financial and Insurance Services 3.7%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    States and territories

    Employment distribution by states and territories, 2021

    • New South Wales

      26.7%

    • Victoria

      27.4%

    • Queensland

      21.4%

    • South Australia

      7.1%

    • Tasmania

      1.9%

    • Northern Territory

      0.1%

    • Australian Capital Territory

      1.0%

    Dental Technician Total employment
    State / Territory Employment Share of occupation Employment Share of occupation
    New South Wales 730 26.7% 3,684,200 30.6%
    Victoria 750 27.4% 3,162,900 26.2%
    Queensland 590 21.4% 2,444,100 20.3%
    South Australia 200 7.1% 839,400 7.0%
    Western Australia 390 14.4% 1,306,200 10.8%
    Tasmania 50 1.9% 254,700 2.1%
    Northern Territory 0 0.1% 107,000 0.9%
    Australian Capital Territory 30 1.0% 248,600 2.1%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    Age and sex

    Employment distibution by age group and sex, 2021

    Dental Technician

    Total employment

    Age group Dental Technician Total employment
    15–24 years 8.1% 14.3%
    25–34 years 19.9% 22.7%
    35–44 years 29.4% 22.3%
    45–54 years 20.4% 20.4%
    55–64 years 16.7% 15.3%
    65–74 years 5.1% 4.3%
    75 years and over 0.4% 0.6%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.
    Sex Dental Technician Total employment
    Female 38.5% 48.5%
    Male 61.7% 51.5%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    On this page

      OSCA occupation profiles data

      This file contains data available from the OSCA Occupation Profile page.

      Use of this data must include the relevant attribution text provided.

      OSCA Occupation data - 2021 Census.xlsx

      xlsx 1236447

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      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA)

      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) is the skill-based classification used to categorise occupations across the Australian labour market. OSCA is used to define occupations across all official occupational statistics. OSCA replaces the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).

      Each job is classified to one, and only one, group of jobs at each level of the classification with no overlaps. This prevents the accidental double-counting of roles within the Australian labour market. For more information about OSCA, visit the What is OSCA information page, or the ABS website.

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