Career overview

Dental Assistants

O*NET-SOC 31-9091.00

Median pay / yr$47,300

OutlookRapid Growth

Perform limited clinical duties under the direction of a dentist. Clinical duties may include equipment preparation and sterilization, preparing patients for treatment, assisting the dentist during treatment, and providing patients with instructions for oral healthcare procedures. May perform administrative duties such as scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes.

What it takes

The skills, knowledge, and credentials employers look for in Dental Assistants.

Skills employers look for

Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
InstructingTeaching others how to do something.

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Medicine and DentistryKnowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Administration and ManagementKnowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
AdministrativeKnowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.