Dental Assistants
On the Job
Dental Assistants work under the direction of dentists. They have a range of tasks that involve helping patients and assisting dentists in dental offices. They may sterilize dental equipment, teach patients about dental hygiene, and work with patients on billing issues.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Administer basic health care or medical treatments.
- Assist practitioners to perform medical procedures.
- Fit patients for assistive devices.
- Interview patients to gather medical information.
- Explain technical medical information to patients.
- Maintain medical records.
- Record vital statistics or other health information.
- Make patient-assistive devices or device models.
- Prepare medical instruments or equipment for use.
- Clean medical equipment.
Typical Working Conditions
- Wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats, or life jackets.
- Close physical proximity with other people.
- Frequent contact with others.
- Exposure to disease or infections.
- Working with a group or team.
- Using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools, or controls.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Exposure to contaminants (like gases or odors).
- Frequent decision-making.
- Responsibility for others' health and safety.
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
