Dental Assistant Career
Dental assistants perform various duties related to the dental office, patient care, and the dental laboratory. They gather and update dental records and disinfect, sterilize, lay out, and prepare materials and instruments used for treatment.
During a dental procedure, the assistant helps the dentist, handing over materials and instruments and using suction to keep the patient’s mouth dry. As directed, the assistant may process x-rays, use impressions to make casts of the mouth and teeth, schedule appointments, handle billing, and order dental supplies.
Dental Assistant Career Assessment
Take our Dental Assistant career assessment. This 30 question quiz let’s you know if you’re cut out for a career in dental assisting by analyzing your abilities, skills, and interests.
Dental Assistant Snapshot
A dental assistant works exclusively in a dentist’s office. Much of the day will be spent standing and interacting with patients, dentists, and other dental office employees. Dental assistants may work part-time to full-time and the hours are generally during the day, with little evening, weekend, and holiday work.
The following outlines more details on a career in dental assisting (statistics from Bureau of Labor Statistics and Onet Online):
is the average earnings for dental assistants per year.
increase in employment between 2014 and 2024.
have some college, but no formal degree.
Dental Assistant Education
A wide variety of certifications, diplomas and associate degrees exist in the dental assistanting field. A full 4-year college degree is not necessary. You can get certified within 2 years or possibly even much less.
Duties of a Dental Assistant
A dental assistant interacts with patients. As a dental assistant, your responsibilities will be to take and develop x-rays, make patients feel at ease, teach patient’s oral hygiene, and perform office management.
Dental Assistant Salary
Median salaries for dental assistants is $35,980 a year. The salary range is from $24,950 up to $50,660 a year. Salaries are according to the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey program – May 2015. Learn more about dental assistant salaries.
Dental Assistant Job Outlook
Dental assistants are expected to grow 18% between 2014 and 2014 which is higher than the average occupation so there is a bright job outlook for this field.
Dental Assistant Career
The following table lists a few required abilities and skills for dental assistants.
Dental Assistant Skill Set: | Required Abilities: | Tools Used by Dental Assistants: | Typical Work Activities: |
---|---|---|---|
•Speaking •Active Listening •Reading Comprehension •Service Orientation •Critical Thinking •Coordination | •Oral Comprehension •Oral Expression •Speech Recognition •Near Vision •Arm-Hand Steadiness •Speech Clarity •Finger Dexterity | •Dental Dam Supplies •Dental Forceps •Dental Hand Pieces or Accessories •Orthodontic Pliers •Steam Autoclaves or Sterilizers | •Assisting and Caring for Others •Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards •Getting Information •Using Relevant Knowledge |
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Some College, No Degree