Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many dental support services graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Undergraduate Certificate	11,713
Associate Degree	7,216
Basic Certificate	4,441
Bachelor’s Degree	2,539
Master’s Degree	114
Graduate Certificate	1

What Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to dental support were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Dental Support Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge 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.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Skills for Dental Support Majors

dental support majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving 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.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Abilities for Dental Support Majors

Dental Support majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with dental support:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Dental Assistants	19.5%	$38,660
Dental Hygienists	19.7%	$74,820
Dental Laboratory Technicians	14.4%	$40,440
Health Specialties Professors	25.9%	$97,370

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

This is one of the most frequently chosen healthcare majors. It is the 13th most popular in the country with 2,804 students graduating with a bachelor’s in dental support in 2021. This major is dominated by women with about 95% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of dental support majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	237
Black or African American	136
Hispanic or Latino	354
White	1,581
International Students	28
Other Races/Ethnicities	203

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Dental Support, too. About 1.1% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea
• Venezuela
• China
• Libya

How Much Do Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $39,770 to $75,500 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to dental support. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to

Some degrees associated with dental support may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to dental support have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	2.5%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	12.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	23.9%
Some College Courses	2.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	33.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	10.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.2%
Master’s Degree	6.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.7%
Doctoral Degree	4.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	3.2%

Online Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	512	2
Certificate (2-4 Years)	14	0
Associate’s Degree	443	6
Bachelor’s Degree	2	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	21	3
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a dental support grad is $43,180 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 8% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $65,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to dental support.

Major	Number of Grads
Nursing	319,502
Health & Medical Administrative Services	88,600
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	85,339
Allied Health Professions	83,905
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	83,587
Public Health	41,651
Health Sciences & Services	36,762
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions	30,594
Mental & Social Health Services	30,331
Medicine	29,089
Communication Sciences	23,558
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences	19,400
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	18,884
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services	10,622
Health/Medical Prep Programs	9,605
Other Health Professions	7,676
Dentistry	6,771
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services	6,113
Bioethics/Medical Ethics	4,980
Alternative Medicine & Systems	3,434
Chiropractic	2,881
Medical Illustration & Informatics	2,163
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies	1,818
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences	1,796
Optometry	1,746
Medical Science	1,051
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	817
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies	452
Alternative Medical Support Services	140
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	89

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.