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Registered dental assistant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Aaron Benitez CDA, RDA, RDHAP, MSDH,

Mario Alemagno

Registered dental assistant example skills

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical registered dental assistant skills. We ranked the top skills for registered dental assistants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 26.1% of registered dental assistant resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a registered dental assistant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 registered dental assistant skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how registered dental assistants use patients:

Assisted dentist and anesthesiologist with high-risk patients in clinic and at Virginia Mason/Memorial Hospital operating rooms.
Prepared patients for recording temperature and blood pressure, administering sedatives along with charting.

2. CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a medical procedure that involves chest compression to help a patient breathe. This artificial ventilation helps in keeping the brain function in place and regulates blood throughout the body. CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is used in emergencies.

Here's how registered dental assistants use cpr:

Certified in CPR and Radiography.
Educate patient and parents about good oral hygiene.Maintain CPR, BLS certifications to ensure patient safety.

3. RDA

Here's how registered dental assistants use rda:

Fulfilled all duties of an RDA, including but not limited to; x-rays, impressions, sterilization of equipment.
Provided last minute services as an on-call, skilled, RDA to dental offices in emergency staffing situations and/or maternity leaves

4. Treatment Rooms

Here's how registered dental assistants use treatment rooms:

Disinfected patient treatment rooms and sterilized dental instruments.
Implemented proper sterilization of treatment rooms.

5. Oral Surgery

Here's how registered dental assistants use oral surgery:

Assisted in periodontal surgery, orthodontics and oral surgery placing periodontal dressing, removing sutures and orthodontic procedures.
Assisted with general dentistry and oral surgery procedures.

6. Patient Care

Patient care entails the diagnosis, recovery, and control of sickness as well as the maintenance of physical and emotional well-being through the use of healthcare providers' services. Patient care is described as services provided to patients by health practitioners or non-professionals under guidance.

Here's how registered dental assistants use patient care:

Front office functions; provided direct patient care and performed other clinical and clerical functions independently of direct supervision.
Maintained quality patient care and updated patient records and documentation.

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7. Dental Procedures

Dental procedures is a term used to refer to the medical procedures and processes which occur within or otherwise related to a patient's teeth or other connected and nearby elements. Such procedures are medical in nature and thus must be done, specifically, by medical experts and professionals who also must be in possession of the appropriate medical licenses. These procedures can include but are not limited to: dental fillings, crowns, extraction of teeth, and braces.

Here's how registered dental assistants use dental procedures:

Greeted and prepared patients for dental examinations by obtaining updated medical histories and setting patients up for various dental procedures.
Experienced in dental procedures for oral examination, routine restoration and surgical procedures.

8. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how registered dental assistants use customer service:

Preformed administrative duties which included phone management, customer service, scheduling appointments and confirming.
Provide great customer service and patient/ parent customer service satisfaction.

9. ENDO

Here's how registered dental assistants use endo:

Created and maintained patient records using PBS Endo System.
Chair side assist in general, endo, perio and surgical procedures.

10. Chair Side

In most cases, chairside refers to the activities that take place beside a dentist's chair. Chairside assisting stands for any operation performed by a dental assistant to assist the dentist during a procedure or dental examination.

Here's how registered dental assistants use chair side:

Served as an integral member of a health team for dental office.-Assisted dentist with chair side procedures.-Radiology-Certified CPR-Infection control-Charting
Assisted dentist in conducting four-handed chair side dentistry procedures including oral evacuation and mouth/tongue retractions.

11. OSHA

Here's how registered dental assistants use osha:

Maintained sterilization of equipment and ensured infection control according to Cal OSHA standards.
Sterilize instruments using autoclaves and chemical disinfectants and maintain accepted OSHA standards.

12. Scheduling Appointments

Scheduling appointments is the practice of finding a free slot with the person(s) you want to meet. The process of scheduling appointments involves finding mutually free time, negotiating follow-ups, sending reminders, and creating new appointments. Scheduling appointments is important to ensure that the timings of consecutive meetings do not clash with each other.

Here's how registered dental assistants use scheduling appointments:

Preformed receptionist duties such as verifying insurance documents, following up on insurance aging reports, scheduling appointments, and filing.
Assist in front office duties such as greeting patients, answering phones, scheduling appointments, and updating insurance information.

13. Vital Signs

Vital signs are a set of values indicating different body systems' performance. They are measurements of the body's most basic functions. The four major vital signs used in medicine to assess a patient are body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure.

Here's how registered dental assistants use vital signs:

Consulted patients regarding medical history and current vital signs.
Managed patient scheduling, billing, and insurance credentialing, Conducted Spur tests, Measured and monitored vital signs.

14. HIPAA

Here's how registered dental assistants use hipaa:

Completed accurate documentation of patient treatment and maintained HIPAA compliance.
Front office coverage; billing, insurance eligibility, processed insurance claims, patient communications, compliant with HIPAA regulations.

15. Infection Control Procedures

Here's how registered dental assistants use infection control procedures:

Demonstrate proper infection control procedures in setting up and cleaning up operatory.
Maintained proper dental infection control procedures including sterilization and storage of all dental equipment and supplies.

5 Registered Dental Assistant resume examples

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What skills help Registered Dental Assistants find jobs?

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What registered dental assistant skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Aaron Benitez CDA, RDA, RDHAP, MSDH

Dental Assisting Faculty, Articulation Officer, Website

In the Dental Assisting program at West Los Angeles College, the advice that we give our students includes several topics. The main recommendation is to take the California's Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) exam. Other advice includes, creating a professional resume (cloud based and on paper), always be respectful of other's time and having a professional mindset. These are qualities that are timeless.

What type of skills will young registered dental assistants need?

Mario Alemagno

Dental Coach, Business Coach, Life Coach, Dental School

I do believe that there will. Infection control has always been a point of emphasis in all dental programs. The coronavirus has reinforced this with students and has made them respect the necessity of this imperative part of their education and, ultimately, their practice. This is not likely to be forgotten. On a broader level, it has taught them to be prepared and to adapt to changes that may take place in the way they perform their dentistry and how they run their dental practices.

Do you want to know more?

List of registered dental assistant skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a registered dental assistant resume and required skills for a registered dental assistant to have include:

Patients
CPR
RDA
Treatment Rooms
Oral Surgery
Patient Care
Dental Procedures
Customer Service
ENDO
Chair Side
OSHA
Scheduling Appointments
Vital Signs
HIPAA
Infection Control Procedures
Orthodontics
Dental Instruments

Patient Education
Front Desk
Hippa
Dental Assistants
Digital X-Rays
Blood Pressure
Lab Cases
Instrument Trays
Alginate Impressions
Study Casts
Resuscitation
Dental Equipment
Medical History
Dentures
Dental Histories
Nitrous Oxide
Study Models

Patient Appointments
Dental Materials
Instrument Sterilization
Insurance Verification
Coronal Polish
Examination Rooms
Dental Treatment
Eaglesoft
Patient Charts
Insurance Claims
Disinfect Instruments
Digital Radiographs
Root Canals
Digital X Ray
Antibiotics

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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