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Oral surgery assistant vs expanded duty dental assistant

The differences between oral surgery assistants and expanded duty dental assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an oral surgery assistant and an expanded duty dental assistant. Additionally, an oral surgery assistant has an average salary of $44,205, which is higher than the $39,095 average annual salary of an expanded duty dental assistant.

The top three skills for an oral surgery assistant include patients, infection control and patient care. The most important skills for an expanded duty dental assistant are patients, OSHA, and patient care.

Oral surgery assistant vs expanded duty dental assistant overview

Oral Surgery AssistantExpanded Duty Dental Assistant
Yearly salary$44,205$39,095
Hourly rate$21.25$18.80
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs19,85823,594
Job satisfaction4-
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 28%Associate Degree, 25%
Average age3838
Years of experience22

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 an expanded duty dental assistant do?

An Expanded Duty Dental Assistant helps a dentist perform a wide range of administrative duties. Their duties include making impressions of a patients' teeth, performing preliminary oral examinations, and preparing filling materials.

Oral surgery assistant vs expanded duty dental assistant salary

Oral surgery assistants and expanded duty dental assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Oral Surgery AssistantExpanded Duty Dental Assistant
Average salary$44,205$39,095
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $77,000Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between oral surgery assistant and expanded duty dental assistant education

There are a few differences between an oral surgery assistant and an expanded duty dental assistant in terms of educational background:

Oral Surgery AssistantExpanded Duty Dental Assistant
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 28%Associate Degree, 25%
Most common majorDental AssistingDental Assisting
Most common college--

Oral surgery assistant vs expanded duty dental assistant demographics

Here are the differences between oral surgery assistants' and expanded duty dental assistants' demographics:

Oral Surgery AssistantExpanded Duty Dental Assistant
Average age3838
Gender ratioMale, 11.1% Female, 88.9%Male, 7.9% Female, 92.1%
Race ratioBlack 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, 8.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 7.9% White, 58.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage4%4%

Differences between oral surgery assistant and expanded duty dental assistant 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.
  • Show more

Expanded duty dental assistant example responsibilities.

  • Sterilize dental instruments and maintain the clinic according to OSHA guidelines in regard to cleanliness and sterilization protocol.
  • Place fillings, coronal polish, take impressions and prepare bleaching trays.
  • Create molds for dentures, retainers, whitening trays, partial dentures, bite guards, etc.
  • Assist with surgical extraction, impressions for dentures and partials and also with soft and hard reline procedures.
  • General sterilization procedures according to OSHA guidelines.
  • Greet patients, sterilize instruments and maintain office equipment.
  • Show more

Oral surgery assistant vs expanded duty dental assistant skills

Common oral surgery assistant skills
  • Patients, 25%
  • Infection Control, 16%
  • Patient Care, 13%
  • Dental Care, 7%
  • Chair Side, 7%
  • Root Canals, 4%
Common expanded duty dental assistant skills
  • Patients, 28%
  • OSHA, 11%
  • Patient Care, 10%
  • Vital Signs, 8%
  • CPR, 8%
  • Dental Care, 4%

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