Dental Assistants
What Dental Assistants Do
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.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- 0.7%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 3 of 5Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
- Education
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
- Job training
- Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.5/5
- Medicine and Dentistryimportance 4.4/5
- English Languageimportance 3.8/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.5/5
- Administrativeimportance 3.5/5
- Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.3/5
- Sales and Marketingimportance 3.3/5
- Production and Processingimportance 3.1/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets4.9/5
- Contact With Others4.8/5
- Physical Proximity4.8/5
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.6/5
- Telephone Conversations4.5/5
- Health and Safety of Other Workers4.5/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers95% skill match
- Parts Salespersons94% skill match
- Dental Hygienists94% skill match
- Nuclear Medicine Technologists94% skill match
- Veterinary Technologists and Technicians93% skill match
- Log Graders and Scalers93% skill match
- First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers93% skill match
- Opticians, Dispensing92% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.1/5
- Instructingimportance 3.1/5
- Service Orientationimportance 3.1/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.0/5
- Coordinationimportance 2.9/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.9/5
- Time Managementimportance 2.8/5
- Operations Monitoringimportance 2.6/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- Email software
- Kodak Dental Systems Kodak SOFTDENT Practice management software PMS
- Open Dental
- Patterson Dental Supply Patterson EagleSoft
- Quicken
- The Systems Workplace TDOCS
- Web browser software
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Cooperation
- Cautiousness
- Integrity
- Empathy
- Social Orientation
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- ConventionalHigh
- RealisticMedium
- SocialMedium
- InvestigativeMedium
- EnterprisingLow
- ArtisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where dental assistants make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ2.62× national avg
- 2Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT2.16× national avg
- 3St. George, UT2.02× national avg
- 4Yakima, WA2.00× national avg
- 5Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA1.99× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Dental HygienistsCareer Change
- Medical AssistantsLateral Move
- Veterinary Technologists and TechniciansCareer Change
- Respiratory TherapistsCareer Change
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Dental Laboratory Technology/Technician
- UEI College-Phoenix (Phoenix, AZ)grads earn ~$30,713
- United Education Institute-Morrow (Morrow, GA)grads earn ~$30,713
- Concorde Career College-San Bernardino (San Bernardino, CA)grads earn ~$34,635
- Delta Technical College-Mississippi (Horn Lake, MS)grads earn ~$29,448
- Cypress College (Cypress, CA)