Health associate professionals

How to become a medical and dental technician

Official title: Medical and dental technicians

Also called: Technician, Dental fitter, Ecg technician, Eeg technician, Dental ceramist, Dental engineer, Dental mechanic, Medical engineer, Dental hygienist, Dental technician, Trauma technician, Cardiac technician

Medical and dental technicians operate, calibrate and maintain cardiographic and encephalographic testing equipment, assist in the conduct of post mortems, give simple dental treatments, fit artificial limbs and hearing aids, and undertake a wide range of related medical and dental tasks.

Main tasks

Operates equipment to diagnose and record or treat hearing, heart, brain, lung and kidney ailments
Undertakes scaling and polishing of teeth, applies medicaments, carries out post-operative hygiene work and advises on preventative dentistry
Makes dentures, crowns, bridges, orthodontic and other dental appliances according to individual patient requirements
Measures patients for, and fits them with, surgical appliances, hearing aids and artificial limbs
Performs related medical tasks including treating hair and scalp disorders and conducting tests on glaucoma patients
Takes samples for clinical examination

How to become one

Entrants usually possess GCSEs/S grades, BTEC/SQA awards, an Intermediate GNVQ/GSVQ level II or A levels/H grades. Training may last up to five years depending upon the field and method of study. Professional qualifications and NVQs/SVQs at level 3 are available in some areas.

Ways in

Apprenticeship (England): Hearing aid dispenser (level 5). England. Typically 24 months. Skills England standard ST0600.
Apprenticeship (England): Mammography associate (level 4). England. Typically 12 months. Skills England standard ST0583.
Apprenticeship (England): Oral health practitioner (level 4). England. Typically 14 months. Skills England standard ST0542.
Apprenticeship (England): Prosthetic and orthotic technician (level 3). England. Typically 18 months. Skills England standard ST0632.
University: Medicine & Dentistry degrees, Offered by 21 universities in the UK
University: Nursing & Midwifery degrees, Offered by 16 universities in the UK

Pay · Outlook

Median full-time pay: £29,931 a year The middle half earn £26,955 to £36,120.
About 33,300 people work in this job now, and about 36,600 are projected by 2035. (+10%)

Questions people ask

How do I become a medical and dental technician?

How much does a medical and dental technician earn in the UK?

Median full-time pay is £29,931 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £26,955 to £36,120.

Is a medical and dental technician a growing career in the UK?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 10% by 2035, from about 33,300 to about 36,600 people (Department for Education).

Do you need a degree to become a medical and dental technician?

Not always. 52% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Medicine & Dentistry degrees; Nursing & Midwifery degrees; Hearing aid dispenser (level 5).

Sources

Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.