Dental secretary vs dental receptionist

The differences between dental secretaries and dental receptionists 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 secretary and a dental receptionist. Additionally, a dental receptionist has an average salary of $34,359, 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 receptionist are patients, customer service, and phone calls.

Dental secretary vs dental receptionist overview

	Dental Secretary	Dental Receptionist
Yearly salary	$33,630	$34,359
Hourly rate	$16.17	$16.52
Growth rate	-8%	-
Number of jobs	36,708	66,076
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	High School Diploma, 32%
Average age	49	42
Years of experience	2	2

Dental secretary vs dental receptionist salary

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

	Dental Secretary	Dental Receptionist
Average salary	$33,630	$34,359
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $27,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	-	Bellingham, WA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	University of Southern California
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between dental secretary and dental receptionist education

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

	Dental Secretary	Dental Receptionist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 33%	High School Diploma, 32%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Dental secretary vs dental receptionist demographics

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

	Dental Secretary	Dental Receptionist
Average age	49	42
Gender ratio	Male, 11.3% Female, 88.7%	Male, 4.9% Female, 95.1%
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, 9.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 27.0% Asian, 5.5% White, 52.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	9%	6%

Differences between dental secretary and dental receptionist 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 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.

Dental secretary vs dental receptionist skills

Common dental secretary skills

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

Common dental receptionist skills

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