Is it good to be a dental assistant?

Dental assistants report the following factors as contributing to stress and a decrease in job satisfaction on the job:

• patient unreliability and anxiety

• risks involved with patient care

• lack of autonomy at work

• The repetitiveness of the job

• lack of meaning and not feeling challenged

Dental assistants report pay and practice size as important factors for job satisfaction, preferring higher pay and smaller practices. The 2020 Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) job satisfaction survey found the difference for those reporting the highest levels of job satisfaction and those reporting the lowest levels was $5 per hour.

Being a dental assistant does come with many benefits:

• low barriers to entry, with many states requiring only a high school diploma or equivalent

• above-average pay compared to other medical assistant professions

• schedule and location flexibility

• low-stress work environment

The dental assisting job outlook is also good. The profession has a projected ten-year job growth of 11%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020). The national average is just under 8%.