How To Become An Oral Surgery Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is an oral surgery assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Aaron Benitez CDA, RDA, RDHAP, MSDH,

Carol Donohue

An oral surgery assistant works in an oral surgeon's office. They generally provide support to an oral surgeon by assisting them with prior preparation for medical procedures, preparation of equipment before the surgery, preparing patients for the surgery, follow-up care, and administrative duties such as scheduling patient appointments and maintaining patient records.

Oral surgery assistants usually work in clinics, hospitals, universities, or government agencies. They work closely with patients to ensure they are comfortable. A successful oral surgery assistant should have organizational skills, computer skills, listening skills, administration skills, attention to detail, and communication skills.

Oral surgery assistants work full time. They typically work in shifts and are expected to be on call when their services may be needed. In private practice, their work schedule is often based on patients' scheduled appointments.

What general advice would you give to an oral surgery assistant?

Aaron Benitez CDA, RDA, RDHAP, MSDH

Dental Assisting Faculty, Articulation Officer, Website

In California, it is an exciting time to be a Dental Assistant. The industry has been gradually adding more technologically advanced procedures like 3-D printing, intra-oral scanning, along with Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistance. A Dental Assistant needs to possess the traditional knowledge to be able to learn these new advanced procedures. In order to make themselves more competitive, the Dental Assistant must possess the knowledge and hands-on experience of these new procedures.
Also, since in California the minimum wage is increasing beyond the amount that a starting Dental Assistant could potentially earn, learning new advanced techniques is more relevant.

ScoreOral Surgery AssistantUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $44,205

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.77%

Asian 8.35%

Black or African American 8.12%

Hispanic or Latino 22.31%

Unknown 5.08%

White 55.38%

Gender

female 88.86%

male 11.14%

Age - 36

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 36

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.4

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an oral surgery assistant

Explore oral surgery assistant education requirements

Most common oral surgery assistant degrees

Associate

27.9 %

Bachelor's

21.2 %

Certificate

18.3 %

Start to develop specific oral surgery assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	25.13%
Infection Control	15.57%
Patient Care	12.80%
Dental Care	6.87%
Chair Side	6.52%

Complete relevant oral surgery assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New oral surgery assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an oral surgery assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real oral surgery assistant resumes.

Gain additional oral surgery assistant certifications

Oral surgery assistant certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific oral surgery assistant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for oral surgery assistants include Dental Assistant (RDA) and Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA).

More About Certifications

Research oral surgery assistant duties and responsibilities

Assist in intravenous sedation, prepare syringes with proper medication, placement of EKG leads, record and monitor during procedures.
Provide postoperative care with anesthesia patients monitoring vital signs until patient is conscious; establish patient comfort and review prescribe medications.
Maintain HIPAA compliance through patient confidentiality.
Train how to assist Dr, in surgery.

Prepare your oral surgery assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your oral surgery assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an oral surgery assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable oral surgery assistant resume templates

Build a professional oral surgery assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your oral surgery assistant resume.