If you are interested in pursuing a highly rewarding career in an incredibly robust and recession-proof field in health care services, and you have the ability to multitask and perform at a high level in a fast-paced and challenging environment, you may have the skills required to earn a dental assistant salary.
| Profession | Median Annual Salary |
| Dental Assistant | $32,750 |
The Career
As a dental assistant, you can expect to greet patients and answer any questions they may have. You can anticipate having to fetch or obtain patient records. You may be called on to sterilize and disinfect any instruments needed during procedures. Dental assistants also aid the primary dentist during procedures. Another duty you can anticipate having is scheduling future appointments, such as cleaning appointments, for example, which patients tend to have done every few months.
Career Prospects
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for dental assistants is expected to grow a whopping 36 percent between 2008 and 2018, which is among the fastest for all occupations. Even given the economic challenges the nation faces, people will always require dental health care. Let’s take a look at salary expectations for dental assistants.
Dental Assistant Salary Levels
A newly minted dental assistant can expect to make roughly $11 per hour, but this can easily increase to $15 per hour after just some on-the-job experience. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual dental assistant salary of all dental assistants is roughly $32,000. The bottom tier of dental assistants make roughly $22,000, while the top tier of dental assistants make significantly more at roughly $47,000 per year. As is the case with any profession, geography plays a significant role in determining earning potential for dental assistants. A dental assistant in the District of Columbia can expect to make roughly $47,000 per year; $42,000 in Alaska; $41,000 in New Hampshire; and $41,000 in Minnesota. As you can see, these salary figures are far better than the national median annual salary for dental assistants.
Summary
If you are truly interested in pursuing a career as a dental assistant, you will be pleased to know that job prospects are off the charts. Employment is expected to increase a whopping 36 percent in this field over the coming decade. As far as dental assistant salary expectations are concerned, a starting dental assistant can expect to make around $11 per hour, which can increase fairly quickly to $15 per hour. The bottom tier makes roughly $22,000 per year and the top tier makes roughly $47,000 per year. $47,000 per year seems to be the ceiling in terms of salary expectations you should have working as a dental assistant.
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