Medical and dental technicians: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time medical and dental technicians in the UK earned a median £29,931 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): 23% less than the £39,039 median for all full-time jobs.
What the figures show
It is in the lowest-paid third of the 382 occupations (103rd from the bottom).
The middle half of full-time jobs paid between £26,955 and £36,120.
Median full-time pay: women £29,115 a year, men £32,725 a year.
About 70% of the roughly 37,000 employee jobs are full-time.
From £24,212 in 2021, the median is up 23.6%, close to the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 40,000 people in this line of work across the UK.
Pay distribution, 2025 provisional
| Gross pay | Full-time, annual | Full-time, weekly | Full-time, hourly | All, annual | All, weekly | All, hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £24,167 | £480.70 | £12.74 | – | £343.00* | £12.83 |
| 20th percentile | £26,376 | £508.40 | £13.56 | £23,196 | £461.70 | £13.57 |
| 25th percentile | £26,955 | £517.50 | £13.75 | £24,168 | £477.00 | £13.89 |
| 30th percentile | £27,581 | £538.00 | £14.06 | £26,057 | £495.90 | £14.27 |
| 40th percentile | £29,114 | £568.70 | £14.89 | £27,290 | £518.60 | £15.12 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £29,931 | £590.90 | £15.54 | £29,119 | £566.90 | £15.95 |
| 60th percentile | £31,268 | £631.30 | £16.40 | £30,350 | £600.90 | £17.45 |
| 70th percentile | £33,443 | £692.50 | £18.01 | £32,664 | £663.40 | £19.11 |
| 75th percentile | £36,120* | £752.70 | £19.06 | £34,475 | £713.10 | £20.58* |
| 80th percentile | £37,050* | £800.90* | £20.38* | £36,338* | £762.60 | £22.00* |
| Mean | £31,971 | £649.40 | £16.94 | £29,546 | £592.20 | £17.63 |
Pay since 2021
| ASHE year | Full-time, annual median | Full-time, weekly median | Full-time, hourly median | All, annual median | All, weekly median | Jobs (thousands, indicative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 revised | £24,212 | £469.50 | £12.69 | £22,856 | £444.40 | 25* |
| 2022 revised | £25,122 | £487.80 | £12.71 | £23,738 | £464.80 | 24* |
| 2023 revised | £27,575 | £518.30 | £13.98 | £25,855 | £499.90 | 29 |
| 2024 revised | £27,825 | £548.10 | £14.53 | £26,472 | £519.60 | 32 |
| 2025 provisional | £29,931 | £590.90 | £15.54 | £29,119 | £566.90 | 37 |
Medical and dental technicians by region
UK: 40,000 (± 7,800), April 2025 to March 2026.
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What medical and dental technicians do
Medical and dental technicians operate, calibrate and maintain cardiographic and encephalographic testing equipment, assist in the conduct of post mortems, give simple dental treatments, fit artificial limbs and hearing aids, and undertake a wide range of related medical and dental tasks. (ONS SOC 2020, 3213)
Also covers: cardiographer, dental hygienist, dental technician, medical technical officer, ocularist, orthopaedic technician, radiography assistant practitioner, appliance officer, audiologist technician, cardiac technician, cardiological technician, cephalographic technician, clinical technician, dental ceramist, dental engineer, dental fitter, dental mechanic and dental radiographer (74 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Operates equipment to diagnose and record or treat hearing, heart, brain, lung and kidney ailments
- Undertakes scaling and polishing of teeth, applies medicaments, carries out post-operative hygiene work and advises on preventative dentistry
- Makes dentures, crowns, bridges, orthodontic and other dental appliances according to individual patient requirements
- Measures patients for, and fits them with, surgical appliances, hearing aids and artificial limbs
- Performs related medical tasks including treating hair and scalp disorders and conducting tests on glaucoma patients
- Takes samples for clinical examination
Entrants usually possess GCSEs/S grades, BTEC/SQA awards, an Intermediate GNVQ/GSVQ level II or A levels/H grades. Training may last up to five years depending upon the field and method of study. Professional qualifications and NVQs/SVQs at level 3 are available in some areas.
Related
Health associate professionals (median £30,052) · Pharmaceutical technicians · Complementary health associate professionals · salary percentile · UK average weekly earnings growth · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026