3214-Medical and Dental Prosthetic Technicians

Tasks include:

• examining, interviewing and measuring patients in order to determine their appliance needs and to identify factors that could affect appliance fit
• conferring with medical and dental practitioners in order to formulate specifications and prescriptions for devices and appliances
• interpreting prescriptions or specifications to determine the type of product or device to be fabricated and the materials and tools that will be required
• making or receiving casts or impressions of patients' torsos, limbs, mouths or teeth for use as fabrication patterns
• designing and making orthotic and prosthetic devices using materials such as thermoplastic and thermosetting materials, metal alloys and leather, and hand and power tools
• fitting appliances and devices onto patients, testing and evaluating them, and making adjustments for proper fit, function, and comfort
• repairing, modifying and maintaining medical and dental prosthetic and supportive devices, according to specifications
• bending, forming and shaping fabric or material so that it conforms to prescribed contours needed to fabricate structural components
• fabricating full and partial dentures and constructing mouth guards, crowns, metal clasps, inlays, bridgework and other aids
• instructing patients in the use and care of prosthetic or orthotic devices