Want a career that makes you smile all day long?

That’s the daily life of a dental assistant.

Working in the dental field has its challenges, but it can be highly rewarding to see people smiling after you’ve helped work on their oral care. Whether you love working with others as a team or making a difference in someone’s overall health, a career as a dental assistant has a lot of perks.

Read on to learn what makes a career in the dental industry worthwhile.

Make a Difference in People’s Lives

Each day you'll have the opportunity to greet patients and help them make a difference in how they feel about their smile.

Dental assistants work alongside dentists and dental hygienists to help fix dental problems and create beautiful smiles that people are proud to show off. Additionally, you’ll find patients are usually grateful for your help and calming presence.

How you’ll make a difference:

• Help patients feel at ease - Dentist appointments can be stressful; you can make visits easier for nervous patients by being a soothing presence.
• Keep patient health on track - Help schedule patients for their next visit to keep their oral health going in the right direction.
• Make patients comfortable - You'll make simple adjustments that mean the world to uncomfortable patients — like adjusting a chair or providing water for a dry mouth.

Perk alert: As a reward, you might find patients request your presence each time they come in for a dental visit. This will help you build personal relationships with the clientele you serve daily.

Dentist Offices are Great Places to Work

No two days are the same inside a dental practice. Throughout the day, you’ll find a variety of duties dental assistants must take care of to keep practices running smoothly.

Why work in a dental office? You can:

• Build friendships - Meet new people and develop relationships with regular patients who come in for oral care.
• Take part in teamwork - You’ll be an important part of a close-knit team.
• Nice work environment - Dentist offices must be clean and comfortable for patients. It’s generally not as stressful as other medical facilities where needs are more urgent — like the ER.

Perk alert: Dentist offices can’t run successfully without teamwork. If you love working with others, a dental office setting will keep you surrounded by other pros dedicated to the industry.

Benefits of Job Security

Dental assistants enjoy the well-being that comes with having a job in a field that is growing. Ongoing research about the importance of good oral health is contributing to more people going to the dentist for proper, regular checkups and dental work.

Why it’s a secure job opportunity:

• Continued education - You’re never done learning in the dental field. There's always something new to learn or a certification to renew.
• Career advancement - If you enjoy dental assisting, you can always step into higher positions like dental hygienist work.
• Dentist offices are everywhere - Dental assistant jobs are available in most areas of the United States. California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania have the highest rates of employment.

Perk alert: The field is expected to grow by 19% through 2026, meaning employers are hiring new dental assistants all the time.

Dental Assistants Do More Than Help Clean Teeth

Some of the best parts of being a dental assistant aren't just interactions with patients. If you enjoy learning about oral health and new technology, the dental field always has opportunities to explore both.

From taking x-rays to creating impressions of patients’ teeth, dental assisting allows you to do hands-on work every day. This means there is always a task to do or patient to help in some way. In a field that’s not slowing down anytime soon, motivated individuals are in high demand to help out in a variety of dental settings.

Best of all, the reward of knowing that your work directly contributes to the better oral health of a patient can give you the motivation to head into work daily!

Find out more about career training and dental assistant programs!