What skills should a Dental Assistant put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Active Learning, and Instructing among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Dental Assistant list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Email software, Henry Schein Dentrix, Kodak Dental Systems Kodak SOFTDENT Practice management software PMS, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Office software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Dental Assistant work?

O*NET records 23 titles for this occupation, including Certified Dental Assistant, CDA, DA, and Expanded Duty Dental Assistant. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Dental Assistant need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 46% reported their level of education as "Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Dental Assistant role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Dental Assistant resume example

A resume for a Dental Assistant needs to show the work itself: perform limited clinical duties under the direction of a dentist. Day to day that means work like this: prepare patient, sterilize or disinfect instruments, set up instrument trays, prepare materials, or assist dentist during dental procedures; record treatment information in patient records. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Certified Dental Assistant
CDA
DA
Expanded Duty Dental Assistant
EDDA
Registered Dental Assistant
RDA
Certified Registered Dental Assistant
Expanded Dental Assistant
Expanded Functions Dental Assistant
EFDA
Oral Surgery Assistant
Orthodontic Assistant
Ortho Assistant
Surgical Dental Assistant
Dental Aide
Dental Nurse
Dental Specialist

O*NET records 23 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

Certified Dental Assistant (CDA)
Dental Assistant (DA)
Expanded Duty Dental Assistant (EDDA)
Expanded Functions Dental Assistant (EFDA)
Orthodontic Assistant (Ortho Assistant)
Registered Dental Assistant (RDA)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Prepare patient, sterilize or disinfect instruments, set up instrument trays, prepare materials, or assist dentist during dental procedures.
Record treatment information in patient records.
Assist dentist in management of medical or dental emergencies.
Order and monitor dental supplies and equipment inventory.
Expose dental diagnostic x-rays.
Provide postoperative instructions prescribed by dentist.
Instruct patients in oral hygiene and plaque control programs.
Take and record medical and dental histories and vital signs of patients.
Apply protective coating of fluoride to teeth.
Schedule appointments, prepare bills and receive payment for dental services, complete insurance forms, and maintain records, manually or using computer.
Make preliminary impressions for study casts and occlusal registrations for mounting study casts.
Pour, trim, and polish study casts.

16 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Prepare patient, sterilize or disinfect instruments, set up instrument trays, prepare materials, or assist dentist during dental procedures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Record treatment information in patient records, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Assist dentist in management of medical or dental emergencies, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Order and monitor dental supplies and equipment inventory, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Email software
Henry Schein Dentrix
Kodak Dental Systems Kodak SOFTDENT Practice management software PMS
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Open Dental
Patterson Dental Supply Patterson EagleSoft
Quicken
The Systems Workplace TDOCS
Web browser software
Word processing software

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Air abrasion units
Air compressors
Air/water syringes
Amalgam carriers
Amalgamators
Apex locators
Articulators
Aspirating syringes
Autoclaves
Band seating pliers
Bench lathes
Bite blocks

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Henry Schein Dentrix

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Speaking
03Reading Comprehension
04Active Learning
05Instructing
06Monitoring
07Service Orientation
08Social Perceptiveness
09Complex Problem Solving
10Critical Thinking

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Customer and Personal Service
Medicine and Dentistry
English Language
Administration and Management
Administrative
Computers and Electronics
Sales and Marketing
Production and Processing

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

46%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
29%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
17%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Dental Assistant do?: Perform limited clinical duties under the direction of a dentist. Day to day that includes work like prepare patient, sterilize or disinfect instruments, set up instrument trays, prepare materials, or assist dentist during dental procedures and Record treatment information in patient records.
What skills should a Dental Assistant put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Active Learning, and Instructing among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Dental Assistant list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Email software, Henry Schein Dentrix, Kodak Dental Systems Kodak SOFTDENT Practice management software PMS, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Office software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Dental Assistant work?: O*NET records 23 titles for this occupation, including Certified Dental Assistant, CDA, DA, and Expanded Duty Dental Assistant. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Dental Assistant need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 46% reported their level of education as "Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Dental Assistant role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.