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Dental Assistant
Employment
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Dental Assistants held about 266,000 jobs in 2002. The vast
majority of these jobs were in the private offices of Dentists. A small
number of dental assisting jobs were in offices of physicians, educational
services, and hospitals.
Typically about half of dental assistants work a 35 to 40 hour work week
with the remainder working part-time, weekends or evenings. Approximately
one third of dental assistants worked part-time, sometimes in more than
one dental office.
Dental Assisting
Job Outlook
Overall the job prospects for dental
assistants should be excellent.
Dentists are expected to hire more dental assistants to perform routine
tasks so that they may devote their own time to more profitable procedures.
Most assistants learn their skills on the job, although an increasing number
are trained in dental-assisting programs; most programs take 1 year or less
to complete.
Job prospects for dental assistants should be excellent. Employment is
expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations
through the year 2012. In fact, dental assistants is expected to be one
of the fastest growing occupations through the year 2012.
In addition to job openings due to employment growth, numerous job
openings will arise out of the need to replace assistants who transfer
to other occupations, retire, or leave the labor force for other
reasons. Many opportunities are for entry-level positions offering
on-the-job training.
Population growth and greater retention of natural teeth by middle-aged
and older people will fuel demand for dental services. Older dentists,
who have been less likely to employ assistants, are leaving the
occupation and will be replaced by recent graduates, who are more likely
to use one or even two assistants. In addition, as Dentists’ workloads
increase, they are expected to hire more assistants to perform routine
tasks, so that they may devote their own time to more profitable
procedures.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of
Labor
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