Dental receptionist vs certified medical technician

The differences between dental receptionists and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a dental receptionist, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a certified medical technician has an average salary of $38,859, which is higher than the $34,359 average annual salary of a dental receptionist.

The top three skills for a dental receptionist include patients, customer service and phone calls. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Dental receptionist vs certified medical technician overview

	Dental Receptionist	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$34,359	$38,859
Hourly rate	$16.52	$18.68
Growth rate	-	5%
Number of jobs	66,076	164,424
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	42	44
Years of experience	2	12

What does a dental receptionist do?

A dental receptionist is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support dental office operations and ensure that the patients receive the highest quality care services. Dental receptionists manage and schedule the patients' appointments, determine the availability of the dentist, process dental reports and service payments, and ensure the adequacy of dental inventories. They also organize the database system by updating patients' information, sending referrals to medical specialists, pulling-up patient charts, and responding to the patients' dental inquiries and concerns.

What does a certified medical technician do?

Certified Medical Technicians are specialists in medical diagnoses by performing laboratory testing and analysis for hospitals and physicians. Their duties include lab sanitization to prepare for testing and collection, recording medical samples for testing, specimen preparation, blood drawing for donation and testing, and assisting physicians with sample collection as well as equipment handling in surgical rooms. They must also understand how to use complex and sensitive testing equipment such as cell counters, analyzers, microscopes, and centrifuges.

Dental receptionist vs certified medical technician salary

Dental receptionists and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dental Receptionist	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$34,359	$38,859
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $42,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Bellingham, WA	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	University of Southern California	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between dental receptionist and certified medical technician education

There are a few differences between a dental receptionist and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:

	Dental Receptionist	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Business	Nursing
Most common college	-	University of Connecticut

Dental receptionist vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between dental receptionists' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Dental Receptionist	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	42	44
Gender ratio	Male, 4.9% Female, 95.1%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 27.0% Asian, 5.5% White, 52.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 15.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.0% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	6%	8%

Differences between dental receptionist and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Dental receptionist example responsibilities.

Manage an adjoining veterinary supply shop that sell medications, animal food and pet equipment.
Perform administrative and receptionist duties by managing patient records while staying in compliance with HIPAA and JCAHO.
Manage Eaglesoft system thereby maximizing and balancing the calendar of appointments to drive practice revenue while maintaining optimal practice productivity.
Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Register new patients according to office protocol using EagleSoft.
Experience in PPO and some HMO insurances.

Certified medical technician example responsibilities.

Maintain the cleanliness of storage areas, trays, centrifuges, refrigerators, freezers and work area.
Administer medications to patients according to their medication record as scheduled, as needed according to physician orders.
Perform laboratory test and procedures in areas including chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, coagulation, serology, and bacteriology.
Perform first aid and apply CPR when necessary.
Perform first aid or CPR during medical emergencies until paramedics arrive.
Assist the residents in their ADL needs and prepare their meals.

Dental receptionist vs certified medical technician skills

Common dental receptionist skills

Patients, 35%
Customer Service, 17%
Phone Calls, 10%
Patient Accounts, 8%
Front Desk, 3%
HMO, 3%

Common certified medical technician skills

Patients, 17%
Vital Signs, 12%
CPR, 8%
Administer Medications, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
HIPAA, 6%

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Dental Receptionist
Dental Receptionist vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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