A career as a dental assistant is rewarding, pays well, and is fairly easy to begin with just a certificate or diploma. The average pay is around $30,000 a year, and a full 4-year college degree is not necessary. Often, you can get certified within 2 years or even much less.
If you work well with people and are interested in working in the health field, then consider a career in dental assisting.
Dental Assistant Education and Training
A wide variety of certifications, diplomas and associate degrees exist in the dental assistanting field.
Salaries according to the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey program - May 2010
Average Dental Assistant Salary (Annual in USD)
$33,470
25k
50k
75k
100k
Take the Dental Assisting Traits & Skills Quiz
If you're interested in becoming a Dental Assistant, then this quiz is a perfect starting point for you.
Spend just a few minutes answering the 30 multiple-choice questions and you'll gain a great understanding of the skills and traits needed to be successful AND enjoy a career as a Dental Assistant.
Duties of a Dental Assistant:
A dental assistant helps the dentist interact with patients. As a dental assistant, your responsibilities will be to take and develop x-rays, make patients feel at ease, teach patient's oral hygiene, and perform office management.
Dental Assistant Work Environment:
A dental assistant works exclusively in a dentist's office. Much of the day will be spent on your feet and interacting with patients, dentists, and other dental office employees.Dental assistants may work part-time up to full-time and the hours are generally during the day, with little evening, weekend, and holiday work.
