Prosthodontists
Diagnose, treat, rehabilitate, design, and fit prostheses that maintain oral function, health, and appearance for patients with clinical conditions associated with teeth, oral and maxillofacial tissues, or the jaw.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Reading Comprehension
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
- Writing
Key knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
- English Language
- Biology
- Education and Training
- Psychology
- Personnel and Human Resources
What the work involves
- Fit prostheses to patients, making any necessary adjustments and modifications.
- Design and fabricate dental prostheses, or supervise dental technicians and laboratory bench workers who construct the devices.
- Measure and take impressions of patients' jaws and teeth to determine the shape and size of dental prostheses, using face bows, dental articulators, recording devices, and other materials.
- Collaborate with general dentists, specialists, and other health professionals to develop solutions to dental and oral health concerns.
- Repair, reline, or rebase dentures.
- Restore function and aesthetics to traumatic injury survivors, or to individuals with diseases or congenital disabilities.
- Use bonding technology on the surface of the teeth to change tooth shape or to close gaps.
- Treat facial pain and jaw joint problems.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Investigative, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Post-Doctoral Training (61% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (34.6%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (27.1%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Prosthodontists is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 88% of occupations compared | 95% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 73% of occupations compared | 55% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 88% of occupations compared | 88% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 98% of occupations compared | 95% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Lower on time pressure than 51% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 74% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 73% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 80% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Very serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 5.28%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 0%
- Constant contact with others: 94.72%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 10.8%
- Fairly important: 12.45%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 21.35%
- Extremely important: 55.4%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2024
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 8.53%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 3.92%
- Extremely important: 87.55%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2024
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0%
- Some freedom: 5.13%
- A lot of freedom: 94.87%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2024
Time pressure
- Never: 9.05%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 17.43%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 8.53%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 9.08%
- Every day: 55.91%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2024
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 22.71%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 42.25%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 27.2%
- Every day: 7.84%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2024
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 17.85%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 55.64%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 9.08%
- Every day: 17.43%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2024
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 13.69%
- Fairly serious: 0%
- Serious: 18.89%
- Very serious: 35.66%
- Extremely serious: 31.76%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2024
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O*NET-SOC 29-1024.00 · SOC 29-1024 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8