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The differences between legal receptionists 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 legal receptionist and a dental receptionist. Additionally, a dental receptionist has an average salary of $34,359, which is higher than the $32,592 average annual salary of a legal receptionist.
The top three skills for a legal receptionist include law firm, paralegals and litigation. The most important skills for a dental receptionist are patients, customer service, and phone calls.
| Legal Receptionist | Dental Receptionist | |
| Yearly salary | $32,592 | $34,359 |
| Hourly rate | $15.67 | $16.52 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 23,699 | 66,076 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 37% | High School Diploma, 32% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
In law firms, a legal receptionist serves the clients' first point of contact. They are primarily in charge of greeting and professionally interacting with clients, identifying their needs, answering questions, and escorting visitors to offices. They must also perform clerical tasks such as handling calls and correspondence, arranging appointments, confirming schedules, maintaining records, managing the flow and deliveries of mails and other forms of documentation, and assisting attorneys as needed. Furthermore, a legal receptionist must manage the law firm's facilities, such as the lobby and meeting offices.
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.
Legal receptionists and dental receptionists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Legal Receptionist | Dental Receptionist | |
| Average salary | $32,592 | $34,359 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $42,000 | Between $27,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Bellingham, WA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Winget | University of Southern California |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a legal receptionist and a dental receptionist in terms of educational background:
| Legal Receptionist | Dental Receptionist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 37% | High School Diploma, 32% |
| Most common major | Legal Support Services | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between legal receptionists' and dental receptionists' demographics:
| Legal Receptionist | Dental Receptionist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 6.0% Female, 94.0% | Male, 4.9% Female, 95.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 23.9% Asian, 5.7% White, 54.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | 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 | 6% | 6% |