Dental Assistant Recognition Week: Exploring the Role of a Dental Assistant

Donna Jalai, Trinity Low, Aimee Park  

Project Smile Global

12 March, 2025

Fig. 1 “Illustrate a dental assistant”, ChatGPT, 2025

The first week of March each year marks Dental Assistant Recognition Week, and it is a reminder to appreciate dental assistants for all the difficult and meaningful work they do in dental clinics each day (“Dental Team Careers”). In honor of Dental Assistant Recognition Week, it is the perfect time to explore the role of dental assistants in a practice. In the fast-paced world of dentistry, dental assistants play a key role in ensuring that both patients and practitioners experience seamless and high-quality care. These professionals manage a wide variety of responsibilities in the office, from chairside assistance to regulating administrative duties. Despite their significant importance, dental assistants are often overlooked when it comes to discussions about oral health. For this reason, this article aims to shed light on the process of becoming a dental assistant and exploring their skills and responsibilities. As the field of dentistry continuously evolves and grows, so does the demand for dental assistants and their expertise, making them essential for any dental team. 

Each state has different requirements to become a certified dental assistant, ranging from having a high school diploma to completing separate certification courses for each advanced dental assisting skill. For example, New York state requires dental assistants to have experience in training programs, dental assistant certification, CPR certification, a license, a high school diploma, and to complete annual continuing education courses. It is important to note that most states still allow for unlicensed dental assistants, but their responsibilities are limited to those outside the direct patient-care scope. Conversely, Oregon only requires dental assistants to have a high school diploma to enable them to start working (Holbrook). Dental assistant training programs provide students with knowledge and skills related to the dental health field, and usually take less than one year to complete. What each program entails varies depending on institutional and state requirements. However,  they generally consist of didactic learning and supervised clinical experience including clerical and administrative tasks. (“Dental Assisting”). With further training and education, one can become a registered dental assistant, which requires completing a state-specific board-certified Registered Dental Assistant program and/or cumulative work experience.  Becoming a Registered Dental Assistant grants the most responsibilities in the office of the three different types of dental assistants. Registered dental assistants can administer local anesthetics, perform dental impressions, and stabilize temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction. In contrast, certified dental assistants are primarily trained to take X-rays and prepare patients for less-invasive procedures, such as restorations (“Differences between Registered”). 

Within a dental practice, dental assistants assist in a wide range of duties, encompassing multiple disciplines within the dental practice. Dental assistants are often the first face that the patient sees when they are taken to the back office. Because of this, it is important for them to be friendly and professional so that the patient feels at ease and is ready for their treatment (Dewi et al. 174). Once the patient is seated, dental assistants take on a variety of tasks, such as taking x-rays, inquiring about the patient’s medical history, taking vitals, calming patient nerves, educating patients on some dental practices, and, most notably, providing chairside assistance to the dentist during a procedure (“Dental Team Careers”). Aside from direct patient care, dental assistants typically sterilize instruments, rotate and sanitize rooms for the following patients, implement infection control protocol, set up appointments with patients and suppliers, and perform other miscellaneous office management tasks (“Dental Team Careers”). It is safe to say that dental assistants are involved in every aspect of running a dental office, making them a vital part of the team.

Since dental assistants typically have the lowest level of education within the clinical team of a dental practice, they are often overlooked for all their work. However, dental assistants play significant roles in increasing patient satisfaction and helping the office run efficiently. Dental assistants require many valuable skills, such as multitasking, patient communication, and manual dexterity (Dewi et al. 176). These skills must be present to be able to perform the clinical role and empathize with patients, listening to their thoughts and concerns whilst preparing them for treatment. Furthermore, dental assistants have many opportunities to advance their education and careers. As previously mentioned, dental assistants can go on to become certified and can then further pursue education to become Registered Dental Assistants (RDA). Experienced RDAs who may be looking for a non-clinical career have the opportunity to teach dental assisting at various schools and community college programs.

Additionally, RDAs, if they choose to do so, have the opportunity to further their education to become dental hygienists or dentists, allowing them more autonomy and responsibility within the scope of practicing dentistry. A third option for dental assistants is to transition into an administrative role in dentistry, such as becoming a dental clinic manager (“Guide to Becoming”). Dental assistants are an integral part of the dental team and the dental industry as a whole, and they have many opportunities to work throughout the field, whether clinically or administratively, highlighting their high skill set. As such, it is important to recognize dental assistants' hard work and dedication and not to overlook or undermine their work, which is the primary goal of Dental Assistants Recognition Week. 

The demand for dental assistants continues to grow, with an estimated 54,900 job openings annually and an anticipated 8% percent increase in employment from 2023-2033, which is a faster rate than most occupations (“Occupational Outlook Handbook”). The growing job openings are predicted to result from retiring workers or those who transfer to other workforces (“Occupational Outlook Handbook”; Sasaki et al.).

However, despite the projected increase in employment opportunities, the dental workforce has faced significant understaffing challenges, which were exacerbated following the COVID-19 pandemic (Sasaki et al.). In fact, there was a 10% decrease in practice capacity, a “notable downturn” in the number of individuals within the dental workforce (Sasaki et al.).

Job satisfaction remains a critical concern with an increased need for dental assistants. Recent 2022 studies revealed that about 80% of dental hygienists and assistants were satisfied with their jobs and 60% of dental assistants indicated high job satisfaction (Sasaki et al.).  On the other hand, those who reported low job satisfaction were mainly due to issues related to overwork (Sasaki et al.). Thus, it becomes increasingly important for practices to maintain a “positive workplace culture, practice philosophy, opportunities for growth and advancement, good communication in practice, work-life balance, fair pay, a reasonable workload, and flexible work schedule,” which were all selected levels indicative of high job satisfaction (Sasaki et al.).

In conclusion, dental assistants play crucial roles in ensuring the dental practice operates smoothly. Not only are they an essential support for dentists, but they also play significant roles in patient satisfaction and administration work. Therefore, it is crucial to acknowledge dental assistants' invaluable contributions and advocate for positive and supportive working conditions to improve job satisfaction. Dental Assistant Recognition Week is one way to acknowledge their hard work, and with the increase in demands for dental assistants, it serves as a reminder that their work is critical to the success of a dental practice. Furthermore, recognizing dental assistants' work can help create a more positive working environment and, in turn, improve patient care.

References

“Dental Assisting.” New York State Education Department

(n.d.). https://www.nysed.gov/career-technical-education/dental-assisting. Accessed 11 March 2025.

“Dental Team Careers.” American Dental Association (n.d.). https://www.ada.org/resources/careers/dental-team-careers. Accessed 11 March 2025. 

Dewi, Fellani Danasra et al. “Patient satisfaction analysis on service quality of dental health care based on empathy and responsiveness.” Dental Research Journal, vol. 8, no. 4, Oct 2011,  pp. 172-7. doi:10.4103/1735-3327.86032.

“Differences between a Registered and Certified Dental Assistant.” Northwest Suburban College, 11 Feb 2022,   https://nwsc.edu/differences-registered certified-dental-assistant/

“Guide to Becoming a Dental Assistant.” UEI College. https://www.uei.edu/guides/dental-assistant/how-to-become-dental-assistant/. Accessed 11 March 2025.

Holbrook, J. “Dental Assistant Requirements: State-by-State.” Stepful (n.d.). https://www.stepful.com/post/dental-assistant-requirements-by-state#top. Accessed 11 March 2025.

“Illustrate a dental assistant” prompt. ChatGPT, ChatGPT-4, OpenAI, 27 Mar. 2025, chat.openai.com/chat.

“Occupational Outlook Handbook: Dental Assistants.”  Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Aug 2024. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dental assistants.htm. 

Sasaki, Nozomi et al. “Workplace factors associated with job satisfaction among dental hygienists and assistants in the United States.” Health Affairs Scholar,  vol. 3, no. 1, Jan 2025. doi: 10.1093/haschl/qxae147.