Pharmacist to dental technician
A pharmacist already meets 40% of what the dental technician role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
63.6/ 100
1 How much of what a dental technician is expected to do is already part of a pharmacist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the dental technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A dental technician role treats 10 of its required skills as things a pharmacist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- apply organisational techniques
- communicate in healthcare
- comply with legislation related to health care
- contribute to continuity of health care
- ensure safety of healthcare users
What stands in the way is 13 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A dental technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a pharmacist background worth leading with.
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies working with computers
- already held contribute to continuity of health care assisting and caring
- already held follow clinical guidelines assisting and caring
- already held communicate in healthcare communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users assisting and caring
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams communication, collaboration and creativity
All 10 carried skills, including the 10 the dental technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 18 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn manufacture dental prostheses required
- still to learn polish dental prostheses required
- still to learn repair denture prostheses required
- still to learn select materials for orthodontic appliances required
- still to learn manipulate dental material required
- still to learn follow dentists' instructions required
- still to learn work in a multicultural environment in health care required
- optional, not held train dental technician staff optional
- optional, not held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers optional
- optional, not held inform policy makers on health-related challenges optional
- still to learn manage infection control in the facility required
- still to learn promote inclusion required
- still to learn examine dental models and impressions required
- still to learn test dental appliances for compliance required
- still to learn respond to changing situations in health care required
- optional, not held supervise dental technician staff optional
- optional, not held handle payments in dentistry optional
- still to learn maintain laboratory dental tools required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a dental technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 examine dental models and impressions practise this
- 02 manufacture dental prostheses practise this
- 03 polish dental prostheses practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 10 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held supervise dental technician staff optional
- optional, not held train dental technician staff optional
- optional, not held handle payments in dentistry optional
- optional, not held communicate in foreign languages with health service providers optional
- optional, not held inform policy makers on health-related challenges optional
76 held skills the dental technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- not needed by the target role advise on poisoning incidents skill
- not needed by the target role analytical chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role applied therapeutics related to medicines knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply blended learning skill
- not needed by the target role biological chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role botany knowledge
- not needed by the target role check information on prescriptions skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- not needed by the target role conduct health related research skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to public health campaigns skill
- not needed by the target role counsel healthcare users on medicines skill
- not needed by the target role deal with emergency care situations skill
- not needed by the target role dispense medicines skill
- not needed by the target role empathise with the healthcare user skill
- not needed by the target role ensure client orientation skill
- not needed by the target role ensure pharmacovigilance skill
- not needed by the target role ensure the appropriate supply in pharmacy skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate scientific data concerning medicines skill
- not needed by the target role handle the logistics of medicinal products skill
- not needed by the target role homeopathy knowledge
- not needed by the target role human anatomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role hygiene in a health care setting knowledge
- not needed by the target role improve safety of medicines skill
- not needed by the target role inorganic chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role interact with healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role maintain adequate medication storage conditions skill
- not needed by the target role maintain medical devices skill
- not needed by the target role maintain pharmacy records skill
- not needed by the target role manage adverse reactions to drugs skill
- not needed by the target role manage healthcare users' data skill
- not needed by the target role manage medical supply chains skill
- not needed by the target role manage medication safety issues skill
- not needed by the target role manage personal professional development skill
- not needed by the target role manufacture medicines skill
- not needed by the target role medical devices knowledge
- not needed by the target role medical statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role medicines knowledge
36 further entries not listed here
Other moves recorded from pharmacist
- hospital pharmacist 82% covered · adjacent
- specialist pharmacist 69% covered · moderate
- industrial pharmacist 68% covered · moderate
- pharmacy technician 63% covered · moderate
- pharmacy assistant 63% covered · moderate
- homeopath 46% covered · substantial
- healthcare assistant 45% covered · substantial
- dental hygienist 43% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a pharmacist become a dental technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A pharmacist already covers 40% of what a dental technician is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 10 of which the dental technician role treats as required.
What skills does a pharmacist need to become a dental technician?
13 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by handling and moving. The single most important is examine dental models and impressions.
How hard is the move from pharmacist to dental technician?
Its learning distance is 63.6 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.