Takeover Tracker
21%low risk
Dental Laboratory Technicians
vs

45 shared · 18 different

core competencies

40%medium risk
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

Side-by-Side Comparison

MetricDental Laboratory TechniciansOphthalmic Laboratory Technicians
Risk Score21.1%39.7%
Risk TierLow RiskMedium Risk
Risk Percentile9th80th
Tasks at Risk (>50%)2 / 156 / 15
Median Salary$48,310$38,420
Employment34K19K

Skill Comparison

|

Sorted by largest difference

Design
Medicine and Dentistry
Thinking Creatively
Engineering and Technology
Customer and Personal Service
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
Scheduling Work and Activities
Interacting With Computers
Administration and Management
Production and Processing
Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information
Controlling Machines and Processes

Protective Factors

Higher values indicate stronger protection against AI displacement

Dental Laboratory Technicians

29%

total discount

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

25%

total discount

Task Risk Comparison

Tasks sorted by AI automation risk — higher means more automatable

Dental Laboratory Technicians

2 of 15 at risk
61%Read prescriptions or specifications and examine models or impressions to determine the design of dental products to be constructed.
51%Load newly constructed teeth into porcelain furnaces to bake the porcelain onto the metal framework.
49%Melt metals or mix plaster, porcelain, or acrylic pastes and pour materials into molds or over frameworks to form dental prostheses or apparatus.
49%Create a model of patient's mouth by pouring plaster into a dental impression and allowing plaster to set.
47%Test appliances for conformance to specifications and accuracy of occlusion, using articulators and micrometers.

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

6 of 15 at risk
86%Select lens blanks, molds, tools, and polishing or grinding wheels, according to production specifications.
85%Inspect, weigh, and measure mounted or unmounted lenses after completion to verify alignment and conformance to specifications, using precision instruments.
85%Examine prescriptions, work orders, or broken or used eyeglasses to determine specifications for lenses, contact lenses, or other optical elements.
67%Inspect lens blanks to detect flaws, verify smoothness of surface, and ensure thickness of coating on lenses.
53%Position and adjust cutting tools to specified curvature, dimensions, and depth of cut.

Wage Comparison

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians earns -$9,890(-20%) vs Dental Laboratory Technicians
Dental Laboratory TechniciansOphthalmic Laboratory Technicians
10th
$36,100$31,250
25th
$39,250$35,580
Median
$48,310$38,420
75th
$62,320$45,410
90th
$78,680$55,480

Premium Head-to-Head Analysis

Displacement Timeline Comparison

Dental Laboratory Technicians2028–2035
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians2028–2035
20242030203520402045

Dental Laboratory Technicians has a longer runway before significant displacement, projected 0 years later than Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians.

Risk-Adjusted Salary

Salary weighted by displacement risk: salary × (1 − risk%)

Dental Laboratory Technicians

$38,117

from $48,310

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

$23,152

from $38,420

After adjusting for AI risk, Dental Laboratory Technicians offers $14,965 more in risk-adjusted pay.

Transition Feasibility

1%

Skill Overlap

Low overlap — significant retraining needed for transition

0

Unique to Dental

0

Unique to Ophthalmic

Combined Protection Strategy

Regardless of which path you choose, focus on these protective factors

Creativity
Regulatory Barriers
Decision Complexity
Fine Manipulation
Dental Laboratory TechniciansOphthalmic Laboratory Technicians
Find transitions from Dental Laboratory TechniciansFind transitions from Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians