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Role hub · Dental Assistants

Dental Assistant: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of dental assistants earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$48,070
Hourly
$23.11
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Dental Assistants perform limited clinical duties under the direction of a dentist. The median pay is $48,070 a year ($23.11 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a post-secondary certificate (46% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$48,070
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
387,790
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 3 of 5
medium preparation
Most common education
Post-Secondary Certificate
46% of workers
Explore the role

Every page for Dental Assistants

SalaryDental Assistant salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeDental Assistant how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →ResumeDental Assistant resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Interview questionsDental Assistant interview questions

Questions with what they test, plus practice mode.

Open →Career changeDental Assistant career change

Where these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What dental assistants do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Prepare patient, sterilize or disinfect instruments, set up instrument trays, prepare materials, or assist dentist during dental procedures.
  2. Record treatment information in patient records.
  3. Assist dentist in management of medical or dental emergencies.
  4. Order and monitor dental supplies and equipment inventory.
  5. Expose dental diagnostic x-rays.
  6. Provide postoperative instructions prescribed by dentist.
  7. Instruct patients in oral hygiene and plaque control programs.
  8. Take and record medical and dental histories and vital signs of patients.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Active ListeningcoreSpeakingcoreReading ComprehensioncoreSocial PerceptivenessInstructingService OrientationActive LearningMonitoringComplex Problem Solving

Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, Medicine and Dentistry, English Language, Administration and Management, Administrative, Computers and Electronics.

Tools and technology

Software dental assistants use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Henry Schein DentrixMedical softwareIn demand
  • Kodak Dental Systems Kodak SOFTDENT Practice management software PMSMedical software
  • Open DentalMedical software
  • Patterson Dental Supply Patterson EagleSoftMedical software
  • The Systems Workplace TDOCSMedical software
  • Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareHot technology
  • Email softwareElectronic mail software
  • QuickenAccounting software
  • Web browser softwareInternet browser software

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).

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).