WordNet
n. someone who makes dental appliances (bridges and dentures) [syn: denturist]
Wikipedia
A dental technologist (dental laboratory technician) is a member of the dental team who, upon prescription from a dental clinician, constructs custom made restorative and dental appliances.
There are four major disciplines within dental technology. These are fixed prosthesis including crowns, bridges and implants; removable prosthesis, including dentures and removable partial dentures; maxillofacial prosthesis, including ocular prosthesis and craniofacial prosthesis; and orthodontics and auxiliaries, including orthodontic appliances and mouthguards.
The dentist communicates with the dental technologist with prescriptions, drawings and measurements taken from the patient. The most important aspect of this is a dental impression into which the technologist flows a gypsum dental stone to create a replica of the patients anatomy known as a dental cast. A technologist can then use this cast for the construction of custom appliances.
Usage examples of "dental technician".
Still sniffing after some hint of scandal, a reporter from one of the tabloids tracked down a woman who'd trained with Rachel as a dental technician.
Around him lay dozens of plaster casts of human teeth, for his father was a dental technician.