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Dental Support Major

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Dental Support

2,804 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
121 Master's Degrees Annually
#13 in Popularity

Types of Degrees Dental Support 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 11,403
Associate Degree 7,002
Basic Certificate 4,139
Bachelor’s Degree 2,397
Master’s Degree 95
Graduate Certificate 4

What Dental Support 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

Dental Support majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

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  • 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:

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  • 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:

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  • 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 Dental Support 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 Dental Support?

2,397 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
95% Percent Women
34% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
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:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 196
Black or African American 108
Hispanic or Latino 410
White 1,491
International Students 28
Other Races/Ethnicities 164

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Dental Support. About 1.2% of those with this major are international students.

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.

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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 Dental Support 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) 500 3
Certificate (2-4 Years) 14 0
Associate’s Degree 445 7
Bachelor’s Degree 1 1
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 20 4
Post-Master’s 3 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

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

Major Number of Grads
Nursing 308,114
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 88,809
Allied Health Professions 85,413
Health & Medical Administrative Services 85,302
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 79,189
Public Health 42,551
Health Sciences & Services 35,887
Mental & Social Health Services 31,550
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 29,934
Medicine 29,206
Communication Sciences 23,288
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 19,017
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 18,729
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services 10,516
Health/Medical Prep Programs 9,413
Other Health Professions 7,387
Dentistry 6,961
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 5,644
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 5,056
Alternative Medicine & Systems 3,431
Chiropractic 2,698
Medical Illustration & Informatics 2,689
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies 2,244
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences 1,845
Optometry 1,789
Medical Science 1,090
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services 760
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies 468
Alternative Medical Support Services 136
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies 116

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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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