Healthcare Support · Holland code CRS

Dental Assistants

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), Dental Assistant (DA), Expanded Duty Dental Assistant (EDDA), Registered Dental Assistant (RDA), Certified Registered Dental Assistant, Expanded Dental Assistant, Expanded Functions Dental Assistant (EFDA), Oral Surgery Assistant.

O*NET 31-9091.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $48,070; Middle half earn $44,340 to $58,090. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Post-Secondary Certificate; 46% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +6% · Faster than average; 381,900 jobs in 2024, projected 406,300. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Dental assistants".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.
Provide postoperative instructions prescribed by dentist.
Instruct patients in oral hygiene and plaque control programs.
Take and record medical and dental histories and vital signs of patients.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.9 / 5
Speaking3.4 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.3 / 5
Active Learning3.1 / 5
Monitoring3.1 / 5
Writing3.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.5 / 5
Medicine and Dentistry4.4 / 5
English Language3.8 / 5
Administration and Management3.5 / 5
Administrative3.5 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.3 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic58
Investigative43
Artistic0
Social56
Enterprising6
Conventional74

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

dental chairside assistant · DE Zahnmedizinischer Fachangestellter/Zahnmedizinische Fachangestellte · FR aide dentaire
dental hygienist · DE Dentalhygieniker/Dentalhygienikerin · FR hygiéniste dentaire

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Dental nurses (6133)41,400 employed
Medical and dental technicians (3213)40,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.53. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (31-9091).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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