Dental receptionist vs medical office administrator

The differences between dental receptionists and medical office administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a dental receptionist and a medical office administrator. Additionally, a dental receptionist has an average salary of $34,359, which is higher than the $34,252 average annual salary of a medical office administrator.

The top three skills for a dental receptionist include patients, customer service and phone calls. The most important skills for a medical office administrator are patients, patient care, and customer service.

Dental receptionist vs medical office administrator overview

	Dental Receptionist	Medical Office Administrator
Yearly salary	$34,359	$34,252
Hourly rate	$16.52	$16.47
Growth rate	-	-8%
Number of jobs	66,076	179,503
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	42	49
Years of experience	2	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 medical office administrator do?

A medical office administrator is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties within a health care institution, supplying physicians and medical professionals with patients' information, and coordinating with insurance companies. Medical office administrators handle the information and data management system to ensure the accuracy of patients' details, medical history, and treatment plans. They also schedule doctor appointments and cancellations, as well as monitoring the inventory of medical supplies. A medical office administrator submits payment reports, respond to patients' inquiries and concerns, and process billing disputes.

Dental receptionist vs medical office administrator salary

Dental receptionists and medical office administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dental Receptionist	Medical Office Administrator
Average salary	$34,359	$34,252
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $42,000	Between $27,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Bellingham, WA	Anchorage, AK
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	University of Southern California	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Health Care	Health Care

Differences between dental receptionist and medical office administrator education

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

	Dental Receptionist	Medical Office Administrator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Business	Health Care Administration
Most common college	-	-

Dental receptionist vs medical office administrator demographics

Here are the differences between dental receptionists' and medical office administrators' demographics:

	Dental Receptionist	Medical Office Administrator
Average age	42	49
Gender ratio	Male, 4.9% Female, 95.1%	Male, 9.4% Female, 90.6%
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, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	6%	9%

Differences between dental receptionist and medical office administrator 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.

Medical office administrator example responsibilities.

Re-Evaluat & improve policy manual, develop standards for HIPPA, OSHA, manage care, billing and medical compliance.
Facilitate client relationships and manage surgery schedules, financial consultations, follow up care and ongoing maintenance.
Used knowledge of medical procedures and customer service, record medical histories and schedule patients for hospitalization and other procedures.
Scan new information such as daily progress notes, physical exams, labs and diagnostic testing into EMR.
Advise and counsel patient regarding food, fluid, medicine intake and restrictions prior to surgery including drop regime.
Organize patient charts and loose reports, as well as paper work from daily operations for scanning into EMR system.

Dental receptionist vs medical office administrator skills

Common dental receptionist skills

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

Common medical office administrator skills

Patients, 21%
Patient Care, 10%
Customer Service, 8%
Insurance Verification, 5%
Phone Calls, 5%
Appointment Scheduling, 4%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Dental Receptionist
Dental Receptionist vs Medical Office Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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