Personnel

Interestingly, laboratory employees are more enthusiastic about AI than some lab owners: specifically, 62% of employees feel it’s beneficial to the lab, compared to only 37% of owners, according to LMT’s 2024 Employee Satisfaction Survey. Employees say AI technology will free them up to work on more complex cases and present an opportunity for advancement.

This level of employee enthusiasm mirrors findings in a 2025 survey by Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company: 65% of employees said they are excited about using AI at work.

• They’re boosting beginners’ wages: Laboratory-owner respondents to LMT’s last two Wage Surveys (in 2022 and 2024) say they’ve raised starting salaries; the average increase is 16%.
• They’re creating compelling help wanted ads: “Our ads often include photos of our staff members, use punctuation to add energy, talk about our brand and convey what it feels like to be part of our company—like the fact that we work in small teams and often hold fun company events,” says Megan Nakanishi, Co-Owner, Nakanishi Dental Laboratory, Inc., Bellevue, WA.
• They’re promoting dental technology as a career. Chris Roman, Owner, Oak View Dental Laboratory, Washington, PA, has made presentations at local high schools about dental technology as a career and offers tours to all interested students. “Most of the interested students come from the school’s technology departments and have been exposed to things like CAD and 3D printing,” says Roman, who has hired four technicians with this approach. “We find these candidates are able to adapt to the technology much more quickly than someone with traditional dental technology experience.”