Various vocational and technical schools in the United States offer training at a certificate level. Such dental lab programs can last up to one year. The Stamford-Brown Institute, for instance, offers a certificate in dental assisting at several campuses across the nation. The Fine Arts Dental Academy in Provo and the AmeriTech College in Draper, both in Utah, offer certificate programs in dental technology. Certificate programs are designed to provide a student specific skills and knowledge necessary to gain a position at a dental lab. The curriculum typically involves dental sciences, radiography, anatomy and physiology. At the end of the course, you will have learned how to create dentures, ceramics and bridges. Most schools offer state and federal aid.
Many dental lab schools offer their training at an associate level. Out of 20 largest dental lab schools listed by Education-Portal.com as of February 2011, only five were offering dental technology courses at a four-year bachelor's level. An associate degree typically lasts two years, or five semesters. Such schools' dental lab programs are intended to make sure a student understands orthodontics, dental prescriptions and oral impressions, and how the mouth and jaw function. Curriculum in most cases varies from one dental lab school to another. City University of New York, for instance, offers a comprehensive program that even covers the legal and commercial side of a dental lab.
Dental lab schools offering courses at the bachelor's level offer intensive training in removable prosthodontics, orthodontics, fixed prosthodontics and implant restoration. A student has to attain a total of 120 credits to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in dental laboratory sciences. To graduate, you must be able to work independently with various materials such as porcelain and acrylics to provide the restorations the patient needs. Institutions with schools offering dental lab courses at the bachelor's level include Indian River State College, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and Idaho State University.
The American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation accredits dental lab schools. The National Board for Certification in Dental Laboratory Technology (NBC) accredits students. When you complete your studies in a dental lab school, you are allowed to take recognized graduate examination, administered by the NBC. Kentucky, South Carolina and Texas require a dental laboratory to employ at least one certified dental technician to operate. This certification is administered by the NBC. In Florida, a laboratory must register with the state and at least one dental technician in each dental laboratory must complete 18 hours of continuing education every two years.