Dental Assistant Job Overview

Dental assistants help dentists do their jobs. States regulate the scope of dental assistant work, but in general, dental assistants schedule appointments, welcome patients to the practice and take them to the examination room. Responsibilities in some dental assistant jobs may also include sterilizing tools, passing tools to the dentist during procedures, educating patients, keeping records, and assisting with billing and insurance matters.

Some states may also allow dental assistants to clean teeth, apply sealants and fluoride treatments, and numb patients’ gums with rub-on anesthetics.

Dental Assistant Job Types

Dental assistants work in a variety of settings, such as:

• Solo dental practices
• Group dental practices
• Specialty practices, where practitioners remove or straighten teeth, treat gum disease, replace lost teeth or care for special populations
• Public-health organizations
• Hospital and dental-school clinics

Other dental assistant job opportunities include processing claims for insurance companies and selling dental products.

Dental Assistant Education

In some states, dental assistants can work without any special education or training. In those states, dental assistants get on-the-job training. Other states require dental assistants to earn a certificate or diploma from an accredited dental-assisting training program.

Dental Assistant CertificationsSome states require dental assistants to be certified. The Dental Assisting National Board offers several certifications for dental and orthodontic assistants.

Dental Assistant Job Market

Dental assistant employment will grow by 31 percent from 2010 to 2020, much faster than the average occupation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports. That growth will come from increased demand for dental services and from the fact that aging Baby Boomers are keeping their teeth longer than previous generations did.

Dental Assistant Salary

The median dental assistant salary was $34,140 in 2011, according to the BLS.