Dental receptionist vs dental hygienist

The differences between dental receptionists and dental hygienists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a dental hygienist has an average salary of $88,432, 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 dental hygienist are patients, patient care, and CPR.

Dental receptionist vs dental hygienist overview

	Dental Receptionist	Dental Hygienist
Yearly salary	$34,359	$88,432
Hourly rate	$16.52	$42.52
Growth rate	-	11%
Number of jobs	66,076	24,234
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Associate Degree, 71%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	2	-

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 dental hygienist do?

Dental hygienists are professionals who provide preventative oral care under a dentist's supervision. They are concerned mostly in treating minor oral health conditions. They clean teeth, examine any signs of damage and oral diseases and provide dental recommendations and after-care treatment. They educate patients with proper oral hygiene and counseling about how good nutrition impacts oral health. They also teach them ways to improve and maintain good oral health.

Dental receptionist vs dental hygienist salary

Dental receptionists and dental hygienists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dental Receptionist	Dental Hygienist
Average salary	$34,359	$88,432
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $42,000	Between $56,000 And $137,000
Highest paying City	Bellingham, WA	Sacramento, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Rhode Island
Best paying company	University of Southern California	Bonita
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between dental receptionist and dental hygienist education

There are a few differences between a dental receptionist and a dental hygienist in terms of educational background:

	Dental Receptionist	Dental Hygienist
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Associate Degree, 71%
Most common major	Business	Dental Assisting
Most common college	-	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Dental receptionist vs dental hygienist demographics

Here are the differences between dental receptionists' and dental hygienists' demographics:

	Dental Receptionist	Dental Hygienist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 4.9% Female, 95.1%	Male, 6.9% Female, 93.1%
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, 3.7% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 6.3% White, 73.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	6%	7%

Differences between dental receptionist and dental hygienist 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.

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Dental hygienist example responsibilities.

Assist dentist to manage dental and medical emergencies by maintaining CPR certification.
Assist front office with eligibility interviews and inputting information of future patients into Dentrix computer system.
Perform all the same duties as a dental hygienist under the supervision of a RDH.
Enter all services render, treatment plan and suggest into DENTRIX computer system; including clinical charting.
Develop a course plan, instruction materials, and curriculum goals for students as a didactic instructor for radiology.
Sterilize surgical instrument trays, set up and operate ultrasonice cleaners, maintain and operate autoclaves, assemble surgical trays.

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Dental receptionist vs dental hygienist skills

Common dental receptionist skills

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

Common dental hygienist skills

Patients, 30%
Patient Care, 13%
CPR, 10%
Medical History, 5%
Infection Control, 5%
Work Ethic, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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