Dental Assistant Careers Information
Dental assistants, who roughly compare to the medical assistants who work in many hospitals, work in dental offices under the supervision of dentists. They are entrusted with many preparatory and administrative duties, but are not licensed to perform the clinical roles held by dental hygienists.
Duties include, preparatory work for examinations and operations, sterilization, laboratory tasks, paperwork and other administrative responsibilities, and acting as a patient liaison. The flexible nature of scheduling in this profession makes part-time or multiple-job workers commonplace.
Dental Assistant Careers & Degrees
- Everest Institute: Austin
American Career Institute: Braintree
Everest University: Jacksonville
Dental Assistant Careers Path
Most dental assisting programs take either one or two years to complete. The one-year programs usually offer diplomas or certificates, while the two-year programs offer an Associate’s degree. It is important to remember that most accredited programs take a year or more to complete. These programs include coursework in general dental and medical science, but the focus is on practical skills and preparation for the workplace.
Dental Assistant Careers: Compatible Personality Traits
Reliable, courageous, caring, punctual, hard-working, careful, attentive, outgoing
Dental Assistant Careers: Salary Expectations
According to the Department of Labor, the median annual salary for dental assistants is $32,380 a year. Many dentist’s offices will help to finance further education among their employees, which means that dental assistants often have excellent opportunities to move up to higher paying positions, including working as a dental hygienist. Benefits often depend upon full-time employment.
Dental Assistant Careers: Job Outlook
Like the rest of the healthcare industry, the dental sector should enjoy very strong growth in the next decade. Thusly, dental assisting should see strong job growth in the near future. Indeed, the growth will likely especially favor dental assistants, as new technologies and practices are causing new jobs to be centered around dental positions which require fewer years of training. The Department of Labor expects 36% job growth in dental assisting.
Slightly Off the Footpath
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Psychologists, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos163.htm (visited November 1, 2011).
