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Dental Assisting/Assistant

A program that prepares individuals to provide patient care, take dental radiographs (x-ray photographs), prepare patients and equipment for dental procedures, and discharge office administrative functions under the supervision of dentists and dental hygienists. Includes instruction in medical record-keeping, general office duties, reception and patient intake, scheduling, equipment maintenance and sterilization, basic radiography, pre- and post-operative patient care and instruction, chairside assisting, taking tooth and mouth impressions, and supervised practice.

Types of Degrees Dental Assisting/Assistant Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Dental Assisting/Assistant can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	10,111
Associate’s Degree	1,362
Bachelor’s Degree	1
Master’s Degree	3,832

What Dental Assisting/Assistant Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Dental Assisting/Assistant develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Dental Assisting/Assistant graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Dental Assisting/Assistant emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Dental Assisting/Assistant program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Active Learning — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Dental Assisting/Assistant careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Dental Assisting/Assistant graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Working with Computers	4.4 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.3 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.2 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.1 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.0 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Dental Assisting/Assistant professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Course management system software	Computer based training software	—
Material safety data sheet MSDS software	Compliance software	—
iParadigms Turnitin	Information retrieval or search software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS	Medical software	—
TechSmith Snagit	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
InteractElsevier Netter’s 3D Interactive Anatomy	Medical software	—
DOC Cop	Information retrieval or search software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Dental Assisting/Assistant graduates include:

• Health Assessment and Treatment Teacher
• Educational Therapy Teacher
• Laboratory Technology Teacher
• Gastroenterology Professor
• Pharmacy Teacher
• Nutrition Aides Teacher
• Neurosurgery Professor
• Anesthesiology Teacher
• Dietitian Teacher
• Assistant Professor
• Pharmacology Teacher
• Activity Therapy Teacher
• Clinical Instructor
• First Aid Teacher
• Dental Hygiene Teacher

What Can You Do With a Dental Assisting/Assistant Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Dental Assisting/Assistant commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	10.7%	$46,663	$40,304–$53,022

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Dental Assisting/Assistant graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	24.9%
Doctoral degree	17.3%
Postsecondary certificate	16.2%
Post-doctoral training	13.3%
High school diploma or equivalent	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	8.7%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	5.8%
Some college courses	5.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Dental Assisting/Assistant?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 92% of Dental Assisting/Assistant degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	14,307	92.0%
Men	1,250	8.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Dental Assisting/Assistant graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	3,873	24.9%
Asian	588	3.8%
Hispanic or Latino	5,701	36.6%
Black or African American	2,531	16.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native	136	0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	38	0.2%
Two or More Races	473	3.0%
Race Unknown	2,148	13.8%
International Students	69	0.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Dental Assisting/Assistant Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Dental Assisting/Assistant graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$28,149
4 years	$30,974
5 years	$33,855

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $33,855 — roughly 20% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Dental Assisting/Assistant Programs

Online study is tracked by IPEDS for Dental Assisting/Assistant. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	2	4

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Dental Assisting/Assistant Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Dental Assisting/Assistant graduates earn a median of $30,974 four years after completion — about 18% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions	24,761
Dental Hygiene/Hygienist	8,802
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, Other	2,445
Dental Laboratory Technology/Technician	295
Advanced General Dentistry	238
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences, Other	150
Dental Services and Allied Professions, Other	107

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.