Zirconia & Metal Finishing Technician in Brookfield, Wisconsin at Frontier Dental Laboratories, Inc.

We are seeking a skilled and detail-oriented Zirconia & Metal Finisher to join our dental laboratory team. This role is responsible for finishing, contouring, adjusting, polishing, and quality-checking zirconia and metal restorations to ensure proper fit, function, and esthetic standards prior to final delivery.

The ideal candidate has experience in crown and bridge laboratory procedures, strong hand skills, and a thorough understanding of dental anatomy, occlusion, restorative materials, and laboratory quality standards.

Key Responsibilities

Zirconia Finishing

• Contour, adjust, and finish zirconia crowns, bridges, implant restorations, and custom prosthetic components.

• Refine anatomy, occlusal surfaces, contacts, margins, and emergence profiles according to prescription and design specifications.

• Smooth and pre-polish restorations prior to staining, glazing, layering, or final delivery.

• Inspect restorations for surface defects, microfractures, fit issues, and material integrity.

• Make minor adjustments while preserving restoration strength and design accuracy.

Metal Finishing

• Finish and polish cast metal restorations including crowns, bridges, copings, implant bars, and custom metal components.

• Remove investment residue, sprues, nodules, and casting imperfections.

• Refine margins, contacts, occlusion, and internal fit surfaces.

• Polish restorations to laboratory standards while maintaining design integrity.

• Inspect for porosity, incomplete casting, distortion, or structural defects.

Quality Control

• Verify fit, anatomy, occlusion, contacts, and margins prior to release to the next department or final QC.

• Identify and communicate issues with milling, casting, sintering, design, or production workflows.

• Ensure restorations meet prescription requirements, material specifications, and client expectations.

• Minimize remakes through consistent quality checks and attention to detail.

Workflow & Production

• Prioritize cases based on due dates and production schedules.

• Maintain accurate case identification and workflow tracking.

• Work closely with CAD/CAM, porcelain, implant, and QC departments to ensure efficient production flow.

• Assist with troubleshooting production issues and process improvements.

Equipment & Maintenance

• Operate handpieces, polishing units, sandblasters, rotary instruments, and finishing equipment safely.

• Maintain finishing tools, burs, polishers, and workstations.

• Follow all laboratory safety protocols, dust control procedures, and equipment maintenance standards.

• High school diploma or equivalent; dental laboratory training preferred.

• 2+ years of dental laboratory experience in crown & bridge, zirconia finishing, metal finishing, or related restorative work.

• Knowledge of dental anatomy, occlusion, margin design, and restorative principles.

• Experience with zirconia, cobalt chrome, precious/non-precious alloys, or other restorative materials.

• Strong manual dexterity and fine motor skills.

• Ability to work efficiently in a fast-paced production environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with implant restorations and custom abutments.

• Familiarity with CAD/CAM workflows and digital restorative design.

• CDT certification or progress toward certification.

• Experience with multilayer zirconia, monolithic restorations, and esthetic contouring.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to sit or stand for extended periods

• Ability to perform repetitive fine motor tasks

• Ability to work with magnification, small instruments, and detailed restorations