One Thousand Ways to Make a Living; or, An Encyclopædia of Plans to Make Money

by Harold Morse Dunphy

Hours and Wages

Hours.—The hours are in a sense variable, running from 40 to 50 per week, and may vary from week to week where the dental mechanic is employed by the individual dentist. The hours depend largely upon the amount of work on hand in the office each day and the urgency for its completion. Usually the dentist works about seven hours a day, and he seldom demands more time of his assistants. Under these conditions, overtime is not usually considered. In large laboratories where a number of mechanics are employed the hours are likely to be more uniform and exacting.

Wages.—The wages will range from $15 to $40 or $50 a week, depending entirely on the ability of the mechanic, his speed and careful workmanship being the determining factor. More than $20 a week can not usually be expected at the start, but progress will be rapid according to the ability developed.

There are no unions organized to include this branch of labor as nearly all dentists do their own mechanical work during odd times.

Dental mechanics who possess skill and good business acumen may establish laboratories of their own, and cater to the needs of a number of dentists who do not have enough work to employ a dental mechanic, and yet more than they can accomplish themselves along with their other work. In this way, on a basis of piece work, a dental mechanic may build a lucrative and independent business, employing a number of assistants, and produce a net income of from $3,000 to $7,000 or $8,000 a year. Of course the essentials for success in such a business are the same as may be expected of any man who expects to be successful in other lines of business.

Permanency and Opportunities of the Profession.—There is an ever increasing demand for honest dental service on the part of the general public. Fully 100 per cent of the children and adults in any country need some form of dental service at least once a year. There are not enough dentists now to supply this service except to a limited portion of the population, but many of these have a practice sufficiently large to justify the employment of several assistants, one of whom should be a dental mechanic.

On account of the lack in the past of facilities for training there has arisen widespread and urgent demand for qualified dental mechanics. Well-informed dentists, who have the interest of the profession at heart, appreciate the present necessity for men trained in this particular phase of dentistry.

There are in the United States alone nearly 1,000 cities of more than 5,000 population. The smallest of these would afford employment to one mechanical dentist or more, working on salary or independently. Of the total number of cities, 60 have populations ranging from 40,000 to 100,000; each of these cities will afford employment to a large number of mechanical dentists. Forty of the 60 have populations of 100,000 and over. New York is the largest and it is estimated that it alone affords employment for thousands of mechanical dentists. Each of the other 39 cities gives large opportunities for capable members of this profession.