Dental Technician Interview Questions and Answers

Looking to start a career as a professional dental technician?

To prepare for your job interview, you should be ready to answer dental technician interview questions about:

the kinds of dental devices you’ve worked with,
how you adapt to technological changes,
your detail-oriented skills,
or past dental technician mistakes and how you dealt with them.

As a dental technician, this job doesn’t actually require one-on-one work with patients, so questions will be more geared toward the manufacturing and design processes.

The questions are designed to gauge candidates’ specific lab tech-related credentials.

Your answers to the questions are opportunities to show off your hands-on experience.

In the following article, we’ll be covering the most common questions asked in dental technician interviews.

Pay attention as we explain the top reasons these questions are asked and share example answers to inspire you.

In the end, we’ll even share some tips to help you prepare for your dental tech interview.

Be sure to consider these example questions and answers as a starting point, rather than answers you should use on the day of your interview.

Dental Lab Tech Interview Questions and Answers

From explaining your methods of designing dental prosthetics to discussing new changes in the field of dental lab work, your interview will be specific to this specialized role.

You’re likely to be asked the following dental technician interview questions – or variations of them – in your dental tech interview.

When you answer, draw on the past job experience, anecdotes, and examples of how you’ve handled challenging work in the past.

1. Which three of your skills make you the best candidate to be a dental technician?

Having close attention to detail, the ability to quickly adapt to new knowledge and technology, being methodical with procedures, and having consistency are each important in this role.

Thus, being able to elaborate on how you possess these skills in your interview is key.

If asked to pick which skills make you good for the job, you’ll want to use the opportunity to speak on these job-specific skills.

Doing so also shows the interviewer that you know what specific qualities are required to do the job well.

Example answer:

I pride myself on being a deeply methodical worker in the lab.

I am also highly detail-oriented and patient when it comes to following through with all procedures and standards.

2. If given the chance, would you be open to learning in departments other than your primary one?

If you land a job as a dental tech, the lab you work for will likely have different departments.

Employers may ask this question to see how curious and open-minded you are, which is a quality of a good lab tech.

They want to see that you aren’t ready to settle but rather that you are entering the workforce with a passion to learn and excel within the field.

Example answer:

Yes, I am interested in working in multiple departments within the dental lab, so that I can learn as much as possible as the field expands.

3. Can you give an example of a time when you had to adapt to technological changes?

Dental technician jobs require an understanding that there will always be new knowledge put forth in the medical world.

Within dental laboratories, specifically, new technology will arrive, and techs will be expected to learn and become proficient quickly.

Employers ask this question in interviews to find out if you are the kind of candidate who is willing to grow and become an even more valuable team member.

Example answer:

In my most recent job, I worked in a laboratory where a new method of designing dental prosthetics was implemented.

We had to scrap the old guidelines and learn the new ones within a 2-month period.

It was challenging, but with extra focus, I made it work and even familiarized myself before the deadline.

4. Talk about the most recent dental equipment repair that you completed.

Dental technicians have to know how to repair, replace, and mold dental devices.

This involves tasks such as mixing pastes, melting metals, and designing different apparatuses.

By answering this question thoroughly, you are showing off your expertise when it comes to working with these materials and that you’ve had the real-world experience that will lend to the job you’re applying for.

Example answer:

The latest dental device repair project I worked on was a repair of a set of dentures.

The job was to carefully remove the remaining bits of plaster that had been missed during the manufacturing process by using a sodium hydroxide-free plaster removal solution.

5. Talk about a laboratory mistake you’ve made in the past and how you fixed it.

The goal of an interview is not to appear perfect.

However, when asked about your weaknesses or mistakes, you should be able to talk about how you learned or grew from those mistakes.

This question is asked in interviews so that the employer can learn how you might potentially react if you made a lab mistake.

Would you panic and try to cover it up, creating more problems?

Or would you assess all possible solutions before landing on the best one?

Example answer:

Once, I failed to follow each step of a lengthy procedural list when it came to repairing a set of dentures.

Once I realized my mistake, I went back to the drawing board after studying the procedure list more thoroughly.

Since then, I have not made the mistake again.

See also: Orthodontist Interview Questions

How to Prepare for Dental Laboratory Technician Interview Questions?

To prepare for your dental technician interview questions, you may want to:

Research the laboratory that you’re applying to.
Brush up on your dental tech terminology, procedures, and other industry knowledge.
Practice your answers and alternate answers out loud at home.
Write down a few anecdotes from past job experiences that could benefit your interview.