Ashley Byrne discusses the salary crisis dental technicians are facing and how to encourage people into the profession.
For many years dental technicians have been poorly paid. There is a ton of evidence to back that up.
With many papers and studies quoting less than £29k (in some, less than £24k) as an average salary, it’s hardly the industry that people are craving to work in.
Sadly, this poor salary situation has been largely dental technician led. In addition, we only have ourselves as an industry to blame due to constant price cutting and poor business management over the years.
Thankfully, attitudes and our industry are both changing, along with our salaries – if a little slowly.
Slow and painful career
With dental technician numbers plummeting and an industry stated to have an average age of around 55-57 years, it’s very top heavy with a somewhat bleak future in terms of the numbers.
Historically, new starters into the industry are minimum wage and it is a slow and painful career path with long hours.
Even degree students are leaving university with a Bsc degree in dental technology, and companies like Tesco and M&S are paying nearly double what most dental labs can afford to pay for graduates.
It’s one of the main reasons that dental technology trained graduates rarely stay in this industry.
A recent survey from FMC of just 11 technicians showed incredibly high salary offerings. But sadly nearly every dental laboratory I spoke to felt these figures were ‘ludicrous’, ‘ill received’ and ‘just a country mile from the truth’.
That is the risk of surveys. Whilst I would love those figures to be true, sadly they are not.
FMC have since removed that data to avoid anyone thinking differently and are working with technicians to help find positive solutions to this salary crisis.
Growth and opportunity
In the last four months, I know of six small one or two-man labs that have all closed or left the industry. This is because they can work less hours, have less stress, and earn more money as lorry drivers and postmen.
These are lab owners at the top of the tree that are leaving. Therefore, this doesn’t bode well for our trainees and new starters.
On the positive side of our industry, dental technology in the UK is looking to grow just under 10% per annum for the next 10 years. This is according to many economic papers.
That’s incredible growth and an incredible opportunity for anyone wanting to be in dental technology.
Charge our worth
So, how do we encourage people into our industry and how do we address these salary issues?
I’d love to wave a magic wand in my lab and increase the salaries for everyone with inflation busting rates. However, you cannot fix an industry that’s been undervalued and underpaid for 40+ years in a matter of months.
As an industry we need to stand strong and charge our worth like never before. We must ensure we encourage these young skilled people to feel valued and ensure we keep what little technicians we have left in the industry.
Digital technology is helping our industry. But as investment in software and hardware increases, we must not forget that highly skilled dental technicians are needed to drive this technology and finish these CAM produced products to look and feel like real teeth.
AI and automation of good quality dental laboratory work is still a long way off. In addition, the true artistry of matching a single central is something a computer cannot simply get close to.
Investment in technology is important, but our investment in people is now more important than any time I can remember in this industry.
Catch up with previous The Lab Expert columns:
- Going digital? Don’t undervalue what you offer
- Company culture isn’t just a buzz word
- Good working partnerships have never been so critical to dental labs
- Looking outside the box when running a lab
- Is casting dead?
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