Employment

• Of the approximately 40,480 dental technicians employed in the United States in 2009, roughly 850 were in Alabama, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That state had the fifth-highest concentration of dental technicians by state in 2009. Only Delaware, Utah, Oregon and North Dakota had more dental lab techs per capita. By metropolitan area, Dothan, with an estimated 90 dental technicians, and Huntsville, with 310, ranked in second and third place respectively for the number of dental technicians per capita, Gainesville, Georgia, ranked first. About 40 dental technicians worked in Montgomery in 2009.
  
  

Salary Range

• The average salary for dental technicians in Alabama was $16.59 as of May 2009, or $34,510 per year, finds the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average salary in Montgomery was about 4 percent higher, at $17.21 per hour, or $35,800 per year. The middle 50 percent of Montgomery dental technicians were earning $12.16 to $22.01 per hour, or $25,290 to $45,780 per year. The bottom 10 percent had pay rates of $9.38 per hour and less, and the top 10 percent were earning $26.75 per hour and more, or $55,640 and higher.
  
  

Comparisons

• The bureau provides salary data on dental technicians in seven regions of Alabama. Montgomery ranked second, behind the Birmingham-Hoover area, where the average pay rate for these workers was $22.91 per hour. The lowest-paying area for dental technicians in the state was Mobile, at an average wage of $13.63 per hour.
  
  

Outlook

• The occupation of dental technician should experience fast employment growth, according to the bureau. An aging population needs bridges, crowns and partial or full sets of dentures. Demand is rising for cosmetic prostheses, as older people are keeping their own teeth longer than ever before.