Oral surgery assistant vs certified medical technician

The differences between oral surgery assistants and certified medical technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an oral surgery assistant, becoming a certified medical technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an oral surgery assistant has an average salary of $44,205, which is higher than the $38,859 average annual salary of a certified medical technician.

The top three skills for an oral surgery assistant include patients, infection control and patient care. The most important skills for a certified medical technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Oral surgery assistant vs certified medical technician overview

	Oral Surgery Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Yearly salary	$44,205	$38,859
Hourly rate	$21.25	$18.68
Growth rate	8%	5%
Number of jobs	19,858	164,424
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 28%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Average age	38	44
Years of experience	2	12

What does an oral surgery assistant do?

An Oral Surgery Assistant prepares patients for surgery and provides them with needed care. They also make notes about performed procedures, progress, recommendations, and other subjects in the patient's charts.

What does a certified medical technician do?

Certified Medical Technicians are specialists in medical diagnoses by performing laboratory testing and analysis for hospitals and physicians. Their duties include lab sanitization to prepare for testing and collection, recording medical samples for testing, specimen preparation, blood drawing for donation and testing, and assisting physicians with sample collection as well as equipment handling in surgical rooms. They must also understand how to use complex and sensitive testing equipment such as cell counters, analyzers, microscopes, and centrifuges.

Oral surgery assistant vs certified medical technician salary

Oral surgery assistants and certified medical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Oral Surgery Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Average salary	$44,205	$38,859
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $77,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	-	Denton, TX
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Favorite Healthcare Staffing
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between oral surgery assistant and certified medical technician education

There are a few differences between an oral surgery assistant and a certified medical technician in terms of educational background:

	Oral Surgery Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 28%	Bachelor's Degree, 28%
Most common major	Dental Assisting	Nursing
Most common college	-	University of Connecticut

Oral surgery assistant vs certified medical technician demographics

Here are the differences between oral surgery assistants' and certified medical technicians' demographics:

	Oral Surgery Assistant	Certified Medical Technician
Average age	38	44
Gender ratio	Male, 11.1% Female, 88.9%	Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 22.3% Asian, 8.4% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 15.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.0% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	4%	8%

Differences between oral surgery assistant and certified medical technician duties and responsibilities

Oral surgery assistant example 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.
Set up and sterilization of instrumentation, making sure OSHA standards and high standards of the practice are met.
Anticipate surgeons' needs, pass instruments, cuts, sutures, hold retractors, obtain and process tissue samples.

Certified medical technician example responsibilities.

Maintain the cleanliness of storage areas, trays, centrifuges, refrigerators, freezers and work area.
Administer medications to patients according to their medication record as scheduled, as needed according to physician orders.
Perform laboratory test and procedures in areas including chemistry, hematology, urinalysis, coagulation, serology, and bacteriology.
Perform first aid and apply CPR when necessary.
Perform first aid or CPR during medical emergencies until paramedics arrive.
Assist the residents in their ADL needs and prepare their meals.

Oral surgery assistant vs certified medical technician skills

Common oral surgery assistant skills

Patients, 25%
Infection Control, 16%
Patient Care, 13%
Dental Care, 7%
Chair Side, 7%
Root Canals, 4%

Common certified medical technician skills

Patients, 17%
Vital Signs, 12%
CPR, 8%
Administer Medications, 7%
Resident Care, 6%
HIPAA, 6%

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Oral Surgery Assistant
Oral Surgery Assistant vs Certified Medical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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