Receptionist vs dental receptionist

The differences between 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 receptionist and a dental receptionist. Additionally, a dental receptionist has an average salary of $34,359, which is higher than the $30,571 average annual salary of a receptionist.

The top three skills for a receptionist include patients, phone calls and customer service. The most important skills for a dental receptionist are patients, customer service, and phone calls.

Receptionist vs dental receptionist overview

	Receptionist	Dental Receptionist
Yearly salary	$30,571	$34,359
Hourly rate	$14.70	$16.52
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	65,671	66,076
Job satisfaction	3	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 32%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	2	2

What does a receptionist do?

Receptionists are employees assigned at the entrances or lobbies of offices. They welcome guests, check identification, issue visitor badges, attend to questions or inquiries, and direct guests to where they are supposed to go. They also receive general mail or packages, answer calls, and manage schedules. Receptionists perform various clerical or administrative functions as assigned by their supervisors. They should have good client relations skills.

What does a dental receptionist do?

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.

Receptionist vs dental receptionist salary

Receptionists and dental receptionists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Receptionist	Dental Receptionist
Average salary	$30,571	$34,359
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $38,000	Between $27,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Bellingham, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Alaska
Best paying company	Gensler	University of Southern California
Best paying industry	Finance	Health Care

Differences between receptionist and dental receptionist education

There are a few differences between a receptionist and a dental receptionist in terms of educational background:

	Receptionist	Dental Receptionist
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 32%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Receptionist vs dental receptionist demographics

Here are the differences between receptionists' and dental receptionists' demographics:

	Receptionist	Dental Receptionist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 8.4% Female, 91.6%	Male, 4.9% Female, 95.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.5% Asian, 6.1% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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%

Differences between receptionist and dental receptionist duties and responsibilities

Receptionist example responsibilities.

Manage invoicing with QuickBooks, taking customer calls and helping with any issues, parts and equipment delivery/pickup/ordering.
Manage multiple employee/resident databases utilizing an EMR system.
Verify insurance information and manage medical records while ensuring confidentiality according to HIPAA requirements.
Manage desk operations for the YMCA, organizing and documenting members' payments and collating operational documents
Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Bill patients for medical services provide by various doctors using ICD-9 and CPT-4 coding.

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Dental receptionist example responsibilities.

Manage an adjoining veterinary supply shop that sell medications, animal food and pet equipment.
Perform administrative and receptionist duties by managing patient records while staying in compliance with HIPAA and JCAHO.
Manage Eaglesoft system thereby maximizing and balancing the calendar of appointments to drive practice revenue while maintaining optimal practice productivity.
Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Register new patients according to office protocol using EagleSoft.
Experience in PPO and some HMO insurances.

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Receptionist vs dental receptionist skills

Common receptionist skills

Patients, 17%
Phone Calls, 14%
Customer Service, 9%
Data Entry, 9%
Telephone Calls, 8%
Front Desk, 8%

Common dental receptionist skills

Patients, 35%
Customer Service, 17%
Phone Calls, 10%
Patient Accounts, 8%
Front Desk, 3%
HMO, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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