Dental Assistant Pay Scale

The dental assistant pay scale is above the average. According to stats released by the US Department of Labour, in 2006, dental assistants earned $14.53 per hour. The middle 50 percent earned between $11.94 and $17.44 an hour. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $9.87, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $20.69 an hour. The benefits vary tremendously depending on the practice setting and could be contingent upon full-time employment.

As mentioned, the dental assistant pay scale depends on the location. For example, in Georgia, the pay ranges from $10 to $15 per hour. If you have an expanded duty certificate, then the pay can be above 15$ per hour. In Saint Lous, the dental assistant pay scale goes from $10 to $25 per hour, depending on the experience.

Besides the location of the office, the other major factor which determines the pay scale is the experience and by gaining more experience, you will get a bigger check. In other words, the starting pay scale for in-experienced dental assistants (people that are just starting in this profession), is significantly lower that for experienced ones. So if you are a person who has just graduated from a course, you can't expect to start from the highest possible salary, but depending on where the office is, you can get a better contract. The general rule is that offices in a metropolitan area generally pay higher salaries than those in suburban areas.

There other factors that affect a dental assistant salary. Specializing in another field like oral surgery, endodontics, or periodontics will definitely increase the potential for dental assistant salaries. Furthermore, having x-ray certification is also a plus, although it's required by default in most states now, still increases a dental assistant salary. Also, the tendency is for offices to go paperless as everything is getting digital, even the x-rays so good knowledge on computers also helps. My point is that dental assistants that are good with computers and digital software have a serious advantage over the competition, because most offices look for assistants who are already experienced with the major brands of software and don't require intense training on the programs (which cuts their spending on training the new personnel).

Another factor that could increase the dental assistant pay scale is the language. Dental assistants who are bilingual also tend to earn much more. At the moment, there is a great need for bilingual assistants, particularly in Arizona and employers are willing to pay these assistants more as they are so valuable.

Future looks bright for dental assistants as the employment outlook is very good. The biggest advantage to being in any healthcare-related field is that there will always be a need. People will not stop having toothaches because the market is down. And this is a serious factor that you shouldn't forget. The population of the planet is increasing all the time, so the need for dental assistance can only go up.

Studies are the most important thing, regardless of whether you are a therapist or technician. The educational materials that you will get while receiving your associates degree are vital. Nurses, veneers and therapists need insurance. The pharmacology industry has been booming in recent years.