Respiratory therapy technician to dental technician
A respiratory therapy technician already meets 28% of what the dental technician role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.
73.1/ 100
1 How much of what a dental technician is expected to do is already part of a respiratory therapy technician’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 7 of its required skills as things a respiratory therapy technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communicate in healthcare
- comply with legislation related to health care
- contribute to continuity of health care
- ensure safety of healthcare users
- respond to changing situations in health care
- use e-health and mobile health technologies
What stands in the way is 16 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 7 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 respiratory therapy technician background worth leading with.
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies working with computers
- already held respond to changing situations in health care management skills
- already held contribute to continuity of health care 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 7 carried skills, including the 7 the dental technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 21 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 accept own accountability required
- still to learn follow dentists' instructions required
- still to learn listen actively 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 follow clinical guidelines required
- 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 apply organisational techniques 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 7 skills that carry over
- 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 respond to changing situations in health care 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
24 held skills the dental technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply context specific clinical competences skill
- not needed by the target role carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures skill
- not needed by the target role clinical imaging techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role clinical perfusion knowledge
- not needed by the target role comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- not needed by the target role conduct polysomnography skill
- not needed by the target role develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- not needed by the target role emergency surgery knowledge
- not needed by the target role first aid knowledge
- not needed by the target role health care legislation 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 interpret medical images skill
- not needed by the target role manage healthcare users' data skill
- not needed by the target role medical informatics knowledge
- not needed by the target role medical terminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate breathing equipment skill
- not needed by the target role operate heart-lung machines skill
- not needed by the target role promote health and safety skill
- not needed by the target role provide pre-treatment information skill
- not needed by the target role rehabilitation of all organ systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role respiratory medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role respiratory therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role surgery knowledge
Other moves recorded from respiratory therapy technician
Common questions about this move
Can a respiratory therapy technician become a dental technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A respiratory therapy technician already covers 28% of what a dental technician is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 7 of which the dental technician role treats as required.
What skills does a respiratory therapy technician need to become a dental technician?
16 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 respiratory therapy technician to dental technician?
Its learning distance is 73.1 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.