Where Do Dental Assistants Work?

Since many dentists employ two or more dental assistants, employment opportunities in this field are excellent. The types of practice settings available to dental assistants include:

• solo dental practices (practices with only one dentist);
  
  
• group practices (practices with two or more dentists);
  
  
• specialty practices, such as oral and maxillofacial surgery (removal of teeth and correction of facial deformities), orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics (straightening teeth with braces or other appliances), endodontics (root canal treatment), periodontics (treatment of gum problems), prosthodontics (replacement of lost teeth) and pediatric dentistry (treatment of children);
  
  
• public health dentistry, including settings such as schools and clinics which focus on the prevention of dental problems within entire communities;
  
  
• hospital dental clinics, assisting dentists in the treatment of bedridden patients; and
  
  
• dental school clinics, assisting dental students as they learn to perform dental procedures;

Other career opportunities for dental assistants include:

• insurance companies, processing dental insurance claims;
  
  
• vocational schools, technical institutes, community colleges dental schools and universities, teaching others to be dental assistants (which may require associate or baccalaureate college degrees); and
  
  
• dental product sales representatives.