Dental secretary vs dental hygienist

The differences between dental secretaries 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 $33,630 average annual salary of a dental secretary.

The top three skills for a dental secretary include scheduling appointments, patients and patient appointments. The most important skills for a dental hygienist are patients, patient care, and CPR.

Dental secretary vs dental hygienist overview

	Dental Secretary	Dental Hygienist
Yearly salary	$33,630	$88,432
Hourly rate	$16.17	$42.52
Growth rate	-8%	11%
Number of jobs	36,708	24,234
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	Associate Degree, 71%
Average age	49	42
Years of experience	2	-

Dental secretary vs dental hygienist salary

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

	Dental Secretary	Dental Hygienist
Average salary	$33,630	$88,432
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $56,000 And $137,000
Highest paying City	-	Sacramento, CA
Highest paying state	-	Rhode Island
Best paying company	-	Bonita
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between dental secretary and dental hygienist education

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

	Dental Secretary	Dental Hygienist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	Associate Degree, 71%
Most common major	Business	Dental Assisting
Most common college	-	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Dental secretary vs dental hygienist demographics

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

	Dental Secretary	Dental Hygienist
Average age	49	42
Gender ratio	Male, 11.3% Female, 88.7%	Male, 6.9% Female, 93.1%
Race ratio	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%	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	9%	7%

Differences between dental secretary and dental hygienist duties and responsibilities

Dental secretary example responsibilities.

Manage Eaglesoft system thereby maximizing and balancing the calendar of appointments to drive practice revenue while maintaining optimal practice productivity.
Bill charges to patients and insurance companies and process cash/credit and insurance check payments; make financial arrangements for patients.
Check patients in and out for appointments, billing, filing and pulling medical records, phone calls.
Provide technician support to psychologists and urologists by accurately and efficiently transcribing a wide range of medical conditions onto patient records.
Perform therapeutic treatments including: electric stimulation, ultrasound therapy, and lumbar and cervical decompression therapy.

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.

Dental secretary vs dental hygienist skills

Common dental secretary skills

Scheduling Appointments, 40%
Patients, 36%
Patient Appointments, 3%
Insurance Forms, 3%
Insurance Claims, 3%
Check-In, 2%

Common dental hygienist skills

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