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

What is an orthodontist assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Manish Valiathan

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an orthodontist assistant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $55.1 an hour? That's $114,618 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 8,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What's a day at work look like for an orthodontist assistant?

Manish Valiathan

Associate Professor, Case Western Reserve University

In the short run, so long as the social distancing requirements are in place, all providers will work at a slightly reduced capacity. This is also an opportunity to take one's time to cultivate relationships in the office, evaluate systems and processes, with a keen eye towards opportunities for improvements.

ScoreOrthodontist AssistantUS Average

Salary

8.0

Avg. Salary $114,618

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.8

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 17.66%

Black or African American 3.04%

Hispanic or Latino 8.96%

Unknown 3.23%

White 66.87%

Gender

female 88.68%

male 11.32%

Age - 45

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 - 45

Stress level

8.8

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.4

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an orthodontist assistant

Explore orthodontist assistant education requirements

Most common orthodontist assistant degrees

High School Diploma

26.0 %

Bachelor's

25.7 %

Associate

20.7 %

Start to develop specific orthodontist assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	40.01%
Scheduling Appointments	18.19%
Patient Care	5.33%
Chair Side	3.66%
Front Desk	3.63%

Research orthodontist assistant duties and responsibilities

Manage Invisalign treatments and procedures.
Assist the orthodontist during ortho procedures.
Schedule ortho appointments and start learning how to file with insurance companies.
Create monthly electronic newsletter and distribute to patients, potential patients and business associates.

Prepare your orthodontist assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your orthodontist 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 orthodontist 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 orthodontist assistant resume templates

Build a professional orthodontist 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 orthodontist assistant resume.

Apply for orthodontist assistant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an orthodontist assistant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do orthodontist assistants rate their job?

-/5

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Orthodontist assistant reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019

Pros

Many many many things. The flexible schedules, the happy patients, the relationships you create with your patients and the lifelong bonds you make. You get to see the Joy and happiness flow off of them when their braces come off. It's so rewarding

Cons

Literally nothing