Dental Assistant

Dental Assistant Occupation Information

See each topic below for more information about the potential of being a Dental Assistant.

• Nature of the Work

  Dental Assistants have many tasks, ranging from patient care to record keeping, in a dental office. Their duties vary by state and by the dentists’ offices where they work.

  Duties: Dental Assistants typically do the following:

  • Work with patients to make them comfortable in the dental chair and to prepare them for treatments and procedures.
  • Sterilize dental instruments
  • Prepare the work area for patient treatment by setting out instruments and materials.
  • Help dentists by handing them instruments during procedures.
  • Keep patients’ mouths dry by using suction hoses or other equipment
  • Instruct patients in proper dental hygiene
  • Process X-Rays and do lab tasks under direction of a dentist
  • Keep records of dental treatments
  • Schedule patient appointments
  • Work with patients on billing and payment
• Job Outlook

  Employment of dental assistants is expected to grow by 31 percent from 2010 to 2020, much faster than average for all occupations.

  Information taken from the Occupational Outlook Handbook 2013-2014

• Earnings

  The median annual wage of dental assistants was $34,140 in May 2011. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupations earned more than  the amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $23,080, and the top 10 percent earned more than $47,420.

  *Information taken from the Occupational Outlook Handbook 2013-2014