If you’re researching dental assistant career as well as the dental assistant salary outlook throughout the nation, you’ll likely be very happy to hear that this profession is expected to be among the fastest growing in the country over the coming years. Through the year 2018, the demand for dental assistants is expected to grow by over 36%, which is a very rapid rise in employment figures as compared to other professions. There are several reasons for this which we’ll take a brief look at in this article.
Retiring Dental Support Staff
As the “baby boomer” generation reaches retirement age, we’re seeing a large number of employees across all professions leaving the work force. This is expected in dental practices as well, where dental assistants and hygienists who have worked in the industry for their entire career are now leaving full-time jobs. This will in turn have a positive impact on both the dental assistant salary and employment prospects over the next decade.
Retiring Practice Management
Many dental practice owners are reaching retirement age as well. While this may not seem like it would have a direct influence on the availability of dental assistant openings, it will for indirect reasons. These retiring practice owners are frequently handing over the management of their practices to new graduates of dental programs who are just entering the work force as trained dentists. These newly minted dentists have been trained in more recent years to rely on support staff more heavily than their predecessors, as dental program training in the past didn’t place quite as much emphasis on the use of dental assistants and hygienists.
Complexity of Procedures
In dental practices, the complexity of routine procedures which can be carried out during patient treatments has increased in recent years to battle issues such as advanced gum disease. By using dental assistants to regularly conduct some of the basic tasks involved in running a dental practice, dentists are able to focus on these more advanced treatments, which will lead to an increase in the demand for the profession as well as higher dental assistant salaries.
Longer Retention of Natural Teeth
As proper oral hygiene techniques have gained widespread acceptance throughout the country over the last few decades, the aging population tends to retain their natural teeth for much longer than in the past. This is leading to an overall increase in the number of patient visits for dental practices and subsequently increasing the demand for support staff, such as dental assistants.
As you can see, these factors make the profession a very attractive career choice for the coming years. With dental assistant salary numbers and employment opportunities on the rise, this can lead to very rewarding long-term job prospects.