Dental Assistant Resume Example & Writing Guide

Becoming a dental assistant is a great way to be involved in healthcare, a fast-growing industry. A great dental assistant resume is the surest way to get you working in a practice where you are valued by dentists, colleagues, and patients. 

To give your job search teeth, you need a resume with polish. What do we mean by that? A resume is your pitch for employment, and a great resume makes that pitch with confidence and clarity.

Imagine going to a dentist’s office where no one was smiling. You wouldn’t think much of their ability to make your mouth sparkle. A dull resume has the same effect on your job search. That first impression makes all the difference. Begin your job search with a resume that gives recruiters a reason to smile.

Resume guide for a dental assistant resume

Writing a job-winning resume involves much more than listing your work experience. Resume.io has created more than 500 occupation-specific resume examples bearing that out, along with writing guides filled with step-by-step advice and a resume builder when you’re ready to get started. 

This guide includes the tips and hacks that will take your dental assistant resume from average to amazing. It’s backed by a dental assistant resume example that you can use as a basis for your own. In about 15 minutes, you will discover how to:

• How to write a dental assistant resume
• Choosing the right resume format for a dental assistant
• How to add your contact information
• Using summaries
• Adding your dental assistant experience
• Listing education and relevant experience
• Picking the right resume design/layout
• What the dental assistant market looks like, and what salary you can expect

How to write a dental assistant resume

Getting started writing your dental assistant resume should seem less daunting when you realize the process can be broken into the same steps that apply to all resumes. Your aim is to create a page containing these elements:

• The resume header
• The resume summary (aka profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The resume skills section
• The education section

Before delving into each of these resume sections one at a time, let’s look at some general guidelines for creating a resume for a dental assistant.

• Write each bullet item as an accomplishment instead of a responsibility. The dentist and office manager know what a dental assistant does. They want to know how you did it better.
• Personalize each resume to target the needs of the employer. A summary for a pediatric practice should have a different tone than one for an endodontist.
• Choose a resume template that presents a professional, but warm image.
• Optimize any online application with keywords and phrases that will help your resume pass its first test: ATS screening software.

Choosing the best resume format for a dental assistant

As long as you have some work experience as an employee, the most commonly used chronological resume format is recommended, and recruiters prefer it. Your job history will be organized as bullet-point highlights below dated employer headings. List them in reverse chronological order, starting with your current or most recent position and working backward.

Other resume formats may be suitable when job applicants are new to the workforce, have been self-employed or otherwise lack relevant work experience. They may want to emphasize specialized skills instead of employers. In that case, a functional or hybrid (combination) format could be suitable. 

Include your contact information

A distinctive dental assistant resume header can help you stand out in the crowd of other candidates vying for the same job. It’s like a personal branding element that’s especially effective if applied to both your cover letter and resume, so they are a visually matched pair. 

Practically speaking, the prominence of your header information on the page makes it easy for hiring managers to readily identify who your resume belongs to, and how to get in touch for an interview.

• Full name and title. List your first and last name. Use the title of the role you are pursuing.
• Professional email address. Use format like [email protected]. Don’t use a quirky, unprofessional email address.
• Phone number. List a number where you can be readily contacted, and listen to your voicemail greeting to ensure it sounds professional.
• Location. List only your city and state. Don’t list the street address or zip code. It’s unnecessary and can be unsafe. Note 'Willing to Relocate' here if applicable.
• LinkedIn. If your LinkedIn profile is active and relevant, include it here.

Don’t include:

• Date of birth: Not necessary and could potentially lead to age discrimination.
• Personal details: Marital status, social security number, passport number, etc. Any information that can lead to identity theft or the appearance of bias.

Make use of a summary

Since you will be working closely with your boss, you need to give hiring managers insight into your professional personality. Here’s where you have a chance to do just that. The summary or personal statement, sits at the top of your dental assistant resume. 

That prime spot offers the best opportunity to personalize your pitch for being a great hire. It also enables you to get in some keywords. It helps if you have a master list (see previous Expert Tip) and a good idea of the skills necessary to be a successful dental assistant. 

Choose the achievements you are most proud of and use action verbs to boast a little. This is not the place to be modest. You have two to four sentences to distinguish yourself from the crowd. But keep it professional. Focus on your work style and skills.

For more ideas and inspiration, take a look at these other writing guides and resume examples in our  medical occupation category: healthcare resume example, endodontist resume example, dental receptionist resume example, physician assistant resume example, or dental hygienist resume example.

You can find adaptable dental assistant resume example summaries below:

Outline your dental assistant work history: Your crowning achievements

Whether the heading for this section of your dental assistant resume is " employment history" or "experience" depends on whether you are a working dental assistant already or looking for your first job in the field. 

Whether the heading for this section of your dental assistant resume is "employment history" or "experience" depends on whether you are working already or looking for your first job in the field. List the highlights for each employer in reverse chronological order, last job first. 

Think of this section as a way to demonstrate growth in knowledge and responsibility. Putting descriptions of your duties in this section is OK, but framing them as achievements is much better. Here are some tips to go from good to amazing:

Consider the CAR format to describe the: 

• Challenge you encountered
• Action you took
• Results

Use strong action verbs. You want hiring managers to think of you as someone who gets the job done. Words that describe specific actions convey that image.

For example:

• If you improved patient comfort: Addressed patient complaints about back/neck stiffness after procedures by researching a solution and proposing the purchase of support pillows, which greatly increased customer satisfaction.
• Instead of stating, “took X-rays,” “Captured high-quality dental radiographs using digital imaging technology as a diagnostic tool for an average of 20 patients a day.

Below is a dental assistant employment history sample you can modify.

Include the relevant key skills that make you a great dental assistant

The skills list of your dental assistant resume provides an easy way for recruiters to scan your abilities. They value skills from different categories: hard skills — knowledge specific to your job — and soft skills, the abilities you need to function in a workplace and deal with people. 

You already know how to create your master list and pick out the most important skills from each job listing. Now all you have to do is put those together to determine which skills belong on your resume.

Dental assistants perform a wide variety of duties, so the hard skills they need cover a wide range. So, what exactly does a dental assistant do? According to the American Dental Association, here are responsibilities that require hard skills:

• Help the dentist with procedures
• Take x-rays and impressions of patients’ teeth
• Make sure the office is free from infection and develop infection control procedures
• Teach oral hygiene
• Provide instructions for care after dental surgeries and treatment
• Schedule appointments and perform other computerized office tasks.

However, being a dental assistant also requires excellent soft skills. You will be:

• Calming nervous patients
• Making sure patients are comfortable
• Communicating with dental suppliers and labs
• Relaying patient information to the dentist and hygienist
• Answering patient questions.

You really need emotional intelligence, that is, the range of skills that allows you to understand what both patients and colleagues need. These skills also make you a more valued and valuable employee. The five categories of emotional intelligence, according to psychologist Daniel Goleman, are:

1. Self-awareness
2. Self-regulation
3. Social skills
4. Empathy
5. Motivation

While these skills are important in all work environments, dealing with patients who may be in pain or afraid of dental procedures makes them key to your job. You may also be working in a practice with more than one dentist, at least one hygienist, and other office staff. Your job is full of human interaction, so you need excellent emotional intelligence.

Another requirement for the job is manual dexterity. You will be working in patients’ mouths in small spaces, so precise movements are necessary. You will be following specific rules and protocols, so attention to detail is important as well. 

Check out the dental assistant resume sample for the skills section below.

Try to create a blend of hard and soft skills for your resume to illustrate that you are a well-rounded worker. You can organize this section any way you like, but consider giving top priority on the list to the skills most important to the targeted employer. Another strategy is an alphabetical listing, or one that categorizes hard and soft skills. 

The most important aspect here is keywords. This section affords you a great opportunity to include words that you may not have in other sections, or to double-up on keywords that are frequently mentioned in job listings.

For example:

• Health and safety knowledge and procedures should be a focus in the employment history and summary sections. They may also appear in the education section if you have taken any courses addressing these functions.
• Emotional intelligence guides interactions with patients and staff and is a key aspect of your job performance.
• Proficiency in dental technology can be highlighted in bullet items in your employment history section.

Detail your education & relevant dental assistant certifications

The education section of your dental assistant resume might look different from those of other job applicants, depending on your postsecondary education and types of dental assistant training you’ve had. The listing order should be in reverse chronological order, from highest to lowest level.

That means if you have earned a college degree, such as an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, it should appear first. Otherwise, in the top spot, many dental assistants will list a certificate training program completed at a community college, vocational school, technical institute, university, or dental school. These programs typically last nine to 11 months. 

There are also accelerated programs to get you that certificate faster, part-time programs if you are working, or distance training courses if you can’t easily get to a training site. In any case, they should be approved by the Commission on Dental Accreditation.

Dental assistants can also become certified by taking an exam. The Dental Assisting National Board’s certified dental assistant test is most popular, the American Dental Association says. 

Another way to become a dental assistant is through on-the-job training. Some of the details may belong in your resume's employment history section.

Only if you do have any college degrees is it necessary to include your high school graduation. But if you do, be sure to make note of any healthcare-related classes you took in high school — especially if you are seeking looking for your first job as a dental assistant.

Below is our dental assistant's resume education example.

Pick the right resume layout and design for a dental assistant resume

Hiring managers want to be able to scan your resume quickly and without eye strain, so keep it simple. You may be tempted to personalize your resume by making it a work of art. This is not the way to stand out. You want your hiring manager’s first visual impression of you to be neat and professional.  

Choosing a layout from resume.io's collection of field-tested resume templates can be your best assurance of reader-friendly results.These templates are expertly designed, but you can customize them a bit. Or, personalize the resume example at the top of this guide. Just keep these guidelines in mind:

• Try the quadrant test to make sure the text is well-balanced. Split your resume into four quadrants by dividing it horizontally and vertically. Text should be almost evenly spread among the quadrants. However, more important sections can be a bit larger, and the content can be slightly denser towards the top-left, which is the “maximum attention zone.”
• Separate blocks of text can sometimes provide visual interest. Instead of putting your title, dates of employment, and employer's name one right after the other, divide them into columns.
• Choose fonts wisely. Use boldface, type size, and fonts to draw recruiters' eyes to the most important information.
• Use color sparingly. A splash of color is fine, but too much is distracting and looks unprofessional.

Dental assistant job market and outlook

Dental assistants have the option of working in many different environments, including:

• Solo practices
• Group practices
• Specialty practices, such as endodontics or orthodontics
• Public health environments such as schools
• Hospital clinics
• Dental school clinics.

Some dental assistants choose not to work in a practice but to process dental claims for insurance companies. Other career options include teaching future dental assistants in a vocational school program or becoming a dental product sales representative. If you are looking for a new challenge, consider becoming a dental hygienist.

What type of salary you can expect in dental assistance

Dental assistants can expect to earn a median of $70,631 annually. A typical salary range for the profession is $50,619-$98,555, depending on experience level and location.

Key takeaways for a dental assistant resume

A great dental assistant resume can speed your way to a new job. To create one, use keywords from job listings to beat applicant tracking systems, focus on your challenges, actions, and results and tailor a different version of your resume to each specific job application.

Our online resume builder can take the pain out of document creation and formatting so you can put your effort into crafting the best employment pitch possible.