If you’re interested in earning a dental assistant salary, you may be interested in knowing what a typical day looks like in this profession. There are quite a few different types of professionals working together in a dentist’s office to make sure it functions smoothly. The dentist is the one that does the main protective and restorative procedures necessary to maintain the cleanliness and health of your teeth. They hygienist is the one that gives the fluoride treatments, does the cleanings, and X-rays if you need them. Many people don’t realize that there is another professional helping out, and that is the dental assistant. They are the one that assists the dentist during things like crowns, root canals, and filling procedures.
The things that a dental assistant will usually do involve making sure the dentist always has the tool they need. At the same time, they will be working to make sure that the patient is comfortable and keeping an eye out for anything that doesn’t look right. They can also hold the suction tubes in place and develop X-rays when that is needed. When they’re not helping out in an actual procedure, a dental assistant will typically do things like sterilize the equipment and handle the huge amount of paperwork that always needs to be done.
Because of all these tasks and duties, it is easy to see why a dental assistant would be so necessary in a dentist’s office. A dental assistant salary varies between $25,000 to more than $37,000 across the United States. The working hours are usually Monday through Friday from 8 in the morning until 5 at night, though many dentists might decide to keep their offices open on Saturdays as well. In that case, the hours might be a little different. Either way, the work week usually spans about 40 hours, making it a very good pay for the amount of time required to work.
So if you are interested in the health sciences, particularly in mouths, and want to land a high paying, secure job after a relatively small amount of schooling, being a dental assistant might be for you. Since people care more than ever about the health of their mouths, the demand for dental assistants is only expected to rise in the coming years.