7 things to know about dental assistants: Salary totals $36.9k

Dental assistants are crucial members of a dental office, often fulfilling a variety of roles such as providing patient care and ensuring records are updated.


Here are seven things to know about dental assistants based on 2016 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

1. Median salary totals $36,940 annually.

2. The lowest 10 percent of earners made less than $25,460 annually in 2014.

3. The top 10 percent had an average salary of more than $52,000.

4. In 2014, there were 318,000 U.S. dental assistants.

5. There is an 18 percent projected change in dental assistant employment from 2014 to 2024, greater than the 7 percent average across all occupations.

6. In 2014, nearly 33 percent of dental assistants worked part time.

7. Dental assistant education varies state by state with some states requiring assistants to graduate from an accredited program and also pass an exam. However, some states do not have formal educational requirements.

More articles on dental:
Insurance Commissioner fines Dental Health Services $300k: 5 takeaways
Paramount Health Care acquires Dental Health Options by Health Resources: 3 things to know
Arizona faces dentist shortage: 7 highlights

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