Dental receptionist vs scheduling specialist

The differences between dental receptionists and scheduling specialists 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 scheduling specialist. Additionally, a scheduling specialist has an average salary of $37,269, 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 scheduling specialist are patients, medical terminology, and home health.

Dental receptionist vs scheduling specialist overview

	Dental Receptionist	Scheduling Specialist
Yearly salary	$34,359	$37,269
Hourly rate	$16.52	$17.92
Growth rate	-	-8%
Number of jobs	66,076	73,381
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
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 scheduling specialist do?

A scheduling specialist is responsible for managing the department's meeting, conference, and event schedules, as well as negotiating with suppliers and third-party vendors for appointment and program needs. Scheduling specialists may also perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, especially on communicating with clients and informing them of meetings, and responding to their concerns and inquiries. A scheduling specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, as well as knowledge of the data processing procedures to maintain the organization's database, updating clients' information, and tracking business transactions.

Dental receptionist vs scheduling specialist salary

Dental receptionists and scheduling specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dental Receptionist	Scheduling Specialist
Average salary	$34,359	$37,269
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $42,000	Between $27,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	Bellingham, WA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Alaska	New York
Best paying company	University of Southern California	Bristol-Myers Squibb
Best paying industry	Health Care	Transportation

Differences between dental receptionist and scheduling specialist education

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

	Dental Receptionist	Scheduling Specialist
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Dental receptionist vs scheduling specialist demographics

Here are the differences between dental receptionists' and scheduling specialists' demographics:

	Dental Receptionist	Scheduling Specialist
Average age	42	49
Gender ratio	Male, 4.9% Female, 95.1%	Male, 23.9% Female, 76.1%
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, 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 scheduling specialist 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.

Scheduling specialist example responsibilities.

Manage clinic visit schedules, rehabilitation conferences, medical exams, trial appearances, depositions, etc.
Treat all patients with compassion and dignity no matter what their socioeconomic status is.
Job entail becoming familiar with medical insurance carriers, which include Medicaid and Medicare programs.
Schedule patients for radiology procedures, including complicate scheduling for multiple exams in one patient visit.
Register patients into EMR system, ensuring accuracy when updating patient information, demographics and insurance.
Schedule outpatient appointment for radiology patients, verify insurance, obtain authorization from insurance companies for special procedures.

Dental receptionist vs scheduling specialist skills

Common dental receptionist skills

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

Common scheduling specialist skills

Patients, 25%
Medical Terminology, 8%
Home Health, 7%
Patient Care, 5%
Insurance Verification, 4%
Excellent Interpersonal, 4%

Dental Receptionist vs. similar jobs

Dental Receptionist related careers

Dental Receptionist related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Dental Receptionist
Dental Receptionist vs Scheduling Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs