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This is kind of like asking "How much does a waitress make?" It is largely dependent on: the restaraunt, the personality, the skills and the geographic location. Similarly with dental assisting, it depends on the dentist, the office, the city/state, and the personality and skills of the dental assistant. My mom was a dental assistant (DA) for 23 years and when she retired last year she made $17.50 an hour with a great benefits package. This is a great wage in that town. She had a co-worker who had been an assistant for 13 years who only made $10 an hour. At my current office we have 1 DA who is AWESOME and has been an assistant for over 15 years and she makes $23 an hour and has a great benefits package and profit sharing. We have another DA who is really good and only has 9 months experience and makes $14 an hour with good benefits. We have another DA who just graduated from DA school and still has a lot to learn and she makes $10 an hour with no benefits. I'd say the average wage, if you are a pleasant assistant with good skills and a few years experience you can hope to earn $15-18 on the west coast and then your wage goes up the longer you've been with the same dentist. In most states, anyone can technically be a dental assistant, there is no formal degree or certification required. Many states require special training and license to take x-rays. To perform expanded functions (i.e. to earn more money) you will need to get some formal training and pass a national standardized test. But to be an entry level assistant the dentist could train you on the job. That is how my mom was trained, and the current dental assistant I work with who is awesome was trained on the job as well, and then she went on over the years to attain all her certifications. There are dental assisting schools that range in length from 9 months to 2 years. Be wary of any dental assisting school that costs more than $15,000 to attend because for a little more money (and time) you could become a dental hygienist and earn 2 times as much money.

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17y ago

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