Dental Assistant Salary Survey "2020 Results"

Takeaway for Employers:

Just over 40% of respondents have been with their primary employer for 5 years or more. Of all the employees in the dental office, dental assistants have the most turnover.

As a career path, dental assistant educators are doing the best training new professionals to enter the industry. Specifically, there are 50% more dental assistants with less than 5 years of experience in the industry then dental hygienists of similar industry experience. Among the average employee age dental assistant respondents are the most evenly distributed among the generations.

Among all employees within a dental practice, dental assistants are the best staffed for the future. A near equal distribution of talent is present throughout the generations. Further, dental assistants are entering the industry at rates higher than any other position. It’s working and those over the age of 65 are taking notice. Adjusted by age, dental assistants working full-time are likely the youngest employees to officially retire from dentistry.

For Gen X and the Boomers, compensation growth was regularly reported as a concern. In many geographic areas, these dental assistants expressed competition among Millennials and Gen Z entering the industry were keeping wages lower.

• In our survey, only 23% of dental assistant respondents are satisfied with current compensation.
• This 23% satisfaction rate is dramatically lower than hygienists (43% satisfied), front office (31% satisfied) and dentists (52% satisfied)

Key Finding: Dental assistants ages 18-34 are 30% more likely to work at a corporate dental practice than those who are 45 years or older.

Unlike with their dental hygienist and dentist peers, DSOs hold a narrow hiring advantage among young and newer dental assistants entering the industry. With shorter educational requirements to become a dental assistant, DSOs struggle to have enough time to build relationships at the same level as with dentists and hygienists.

Where DSOs will win among younger dental assistants is an ability to offer a larger number of scheduled hours. This is a great feature to attract new dental assistants. Long term, this can become a retention challenge -- dental assistants working at DSOs are 50% more likely to feel overworked compared to dental assistants working at a private practice.

Dental assistants are predominately staffed by females (97%). This is similar to dental hygienists (97% female) and front office staff (98% female).

With the exception of a male dentist present in the office (57% of dentist respondents), it is not uncommon for nearly half of small dental offices to be fully staffed by females.

A large portion of dental assistants live in multi-income households. At the same time, dental assistants are one of the most likely employees in an office to be a sole income provider.

In particular, ages 35 - 44 are significant among the average dental assistant’s career. It is at this age that dental assistants are the most likely to be a household's sole income provider (44%). As a comparison within the office, a dental hygienist of the same age (35 - 44) is only 22% likely to be a sole income provider, the lowest point of a RDH’s career.

Dental Assistants between the ages of 35 to 44 are the most likely in the office to have at least one child under the age of 18 in the home. Similar to front office staff, dental assistants tend to start their families at a younger age. If a dental hygienist or dentist of a similar age is expecting their first child, it is likely a dental assistant of the same age already has two children.

At their peak in their late 20s to early 50s, dental assistants tend to have 2 children under 18 living in the home. Only 1 out 10 have 3 children, and 1 out of 20 have 4+ children.

Average pay for dental assistants can vary greatly by state, hours worked and status (full-time vs part-time). Overwhelmingly, dental assistants are paid hourly (94%). Another 5% are paid an annual salary. The remaining 1% are paid a daily rate. Only 1% of dental assistant respondents identify receiving a percentage of production/collections or other performance comp structure.

Overall, the fastest way for a dental assistant to improve her earnings is to increase her hours. Shorter commutes and more flexible schedules that allow more hours to be worked can be just as effective for dental assistants looking for a change, as a $1 - $2 per hour increase in pay.

Similar to other dental office employees surveyed staff, the majority of dental assistants work 31 to 40 hours per week (73%). About 1 in 14 dental assistants work more than 40 hours per week.

Note: Surveyed dental assistants working less than 30 hours per week, are primarily practicing part-time or working as a temp.

Dental assistants are overwhelmingly likely to work full-time (83%), of which 75% are working 1 job and another 8% are working multiple jobs.

Among respondents that identify as part-time (14%), a majority report working one part-time job (10%) versus multiple part-time jobs (4%). Approximately 3% of respondents are retired or unemployed.

For 1 in 5 dental assistants, temping is on their mind. This includes 11% of dental assistant respondents currently working as a temp. This 11% is significant. Among respondents, only RDHs are currently temping at a higher rate (21%).

Currently 9% of dental assistant respondents are considering temping in the future. We can expect participation to climb, especially among dental assistants working at DSOs, and among dental assistants in their 50s and 60s seeking to work on a limited basis.

• Only 23% of dental assistants reported being satisfied or very satisfied with overall pay (lowest among all dental office positions)
• Almost 1 in 2 dental assistants are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with overall pay (highest among all dental office positions)

Dental assistants throughout the industry are loud and clear about their opinion on annual raises. Beyond disappointment in the raise itself (61% dissatisfied or very dissatisfied), respondents regularly expressed confusion and frustration with the review process itself.

• Dental assistants report paid holidays, paid vacation and flexible scheduling are the benefits they are most satisfied with.
• That flexible scheduling may be coming at a cost elsewhere. A benefit for employers to pay attention to, how they coordinate paid sick leave.
• In addition to child care benefits, health insurance options are both areas employees would like to see improved.

One of the most interesting statistics, 61% of dental assistants are considering looking for a job in the next year. That is a significant percentage for any profession. In addition, 44% of dental assistant respondents had applied for a job in the past year.