Data & Research
 
* ELMI Occupation Profile - Dental Assistants *
 
Dental Assistants
(O*NET 31-9091.00, SOC 31-9091)
What they do
Perform limited clinical duties under the direction of a dentist. Clinical duties may include equipment preparation and sterilization, preparing patients for treatment, assisting the dentist during treatment, and providing patients with instructions for oral healthcare procedures. May perform administrative duties such as scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes.
 
Also called:
Certified Dental Assistant (CDA), Certified Registered Dental Assistant, Dental Assistant (DA), Expanded Dental Assistant, Expanded Duty Dental Assistant (EDDA), Expanded Functions Dental Assistant (EFDA), Oral Surgery Assistant, Orthodontic Assistant (Ortho Assistant), Registered Dental Assistant (RDA), Surgical Dental Assistant
 
 
Wages
Vermont - 2023
Percentile1HourlyYearly
10% $ 22.42   $46,630  
25% $ 23.19   $48,240  
Median $ 23.91   $49,730  
75% $ 28.50   $59,280  
90% $ 30.61   $63,670  
 
Average $ 25.90   $53,860  
1 What are Percentile Wages?
More at CareerOneStop
 
Industries of Employment
United States - 2020
IndustryPercent of total
  • Ambulatory healthcare services
94%
  • Administrative and support services
2%
  • Educational services; state, local, and private
1%
  • Federal government, excluding postal service
1%
  • Hospitals; state, local, and private
1%
More at BLS
 
Knowledge
People in this career often know a lot about:
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • English Language
    Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Administration and Management
    Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Administrative
    Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
More at O*NET
 
Skills
People in this career often have these skills:
  • 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.
  • Speaking
    Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Reading Comprehension
    Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Active Learning
    Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Instructing
    Teaching others how to do something.
More at O*NET
 
Interests
People in this career often prefer these work environments:
  • Conventional
    Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.
  • Realistic
    Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.
  • Social
    Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.
What are your interests? Take the O*NET Interest Profiler
 
Work Styles
People in this career will do well at jobs that need:
  • Dependability
    Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
  • Attention to Detail
    Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
  • Self-Control
    Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
  • Stress Tolerance
    Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
  • Integrity
    Job requires being honest and ethical.
More at O*NET
 
Tasks
On the job, you would:
  • Prepare patient, sterilize or disinfect instruments, set up instrument trays, prepare materials, or assist dentist during dental procedures.
  • Record treatment information in patient records.
  • Assist dentist in management of medical or dental emergencies.
  • Order and monitor dental supplies and equipment inventory.
  • Expose dental diagnostic x-rays.
More at O*NET
 
Related Occupations
More at O*NET
 
 
Career Video
Watch at CareerOneStop with transcript or at YouTube.
 
Projected Employment
 Vermont
2020 employment 299
2030 employment 327
Annual percent change
(compounded)
0.9%
Annual projected job openings
(due to change and separations)
39
More at Occupational Projections
 
Education and Experience:
  • Typical education needed for entry
    Postsecondary non-degree award
  • Work experience in a related occupation
    None
  • Typical on-the-job training needed to attain competency
    None
Based on BLS Education and Training Classifications
 
Physical Work Activity
Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
 
  • Physical activity is Important
  • Level of activity is Moderate
Importance
Low   High
Level
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Job Zone
Medium Preparation Needed
  • Specific Vocational Preparation Range
    (6.0 to < 7.0) - A typical worker will require over 1 year up to and including 2 years of training to achieve average performance in this occupation.
Based on O*Net Job Zones and SVP
 
Education Level
How much education do most people in this career have?
Education level Percent of
U.S. Workers
Doctoral or professional degree
or post-MA certificate
  0%
Master's degree or
post-BA certificate
  0%
Bachelor's degree   0%
Associate's degree   8%
Certificate or some college,
no degree
  63%
High school diploma
or equivalent
  29%
Less than high school diploma   0%
More at O*NET
 
Licensing
Vermont may require an occupational license:
Select a license for details
 
Abilities
People in this career often have talent in:
  • Near Vision
    The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Oral Expression
    The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension
    The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Speech Recognition
    The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Written Comprehension
    The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
More at O*NET
 
Work Activities
In general, what you might do:
  • Getting Information
    Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Assisting and Caring for Others
    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Working with Computers
    Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
    Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
More at O*NET
 
Detailed Work Activities
What you might do in a day:
  • Assist practitioners to perform medical procedures.
  • Clean medical equipment.
  • Prepare medical instruments or equipment for use.
  • Maintain medical records.
  • Inventory medical supplies or equipment.
More at O*NET
 
Other Resources
  • CareerOneStop
    resource for job seekers, students, businessess and career professionals
  • O*NET Online
    nation's primary source of occupational information
 
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This page includes information from the O*NET 28.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

BLS

This page includes information produced in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics and State Occupational Projections programs.

 
 
 
 
Vermont.gov State of Vermont Department of Labor