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Resume Samples

A Brilliant Dental Assistant Resume Example Plus Writing Tips

dental assistant resume

In many ways, a dental assistant is the face of a dentist’s office. In fact, patients often get more face time with the dental assistant than the dentist. Thus, a dental assistant must be competent and friendly as they provide patient care, and support to the dentist during more complex procedures. The job also requires you to have strong people skills as assistant are often given the important tasks of patient education, performance of basic dental care, even reassuring fearful patients. Many also take on additional office duties. 

Being a dental assistant is a busy, yet well-paid and rewarding career, if you are able to find the ideal job. That starts with filing a great resume. Below are some essential writing tips, followed by a dental assistant resume example.

Lead Off With a Summary of Your Skills And Certifications

While some dental assisting positions offer on the job training, others require you to have the necessary licenses or certifications. Since this information will likely determine whether or not the practice will be interested in going any further with your application, place it at the top of your resume. Once the decision-maker realizes you meet their basic requirements, they will be happy to read further. Your resume summary is a great place to also include the specific skills you have mastered as a dental assistant.

Write a Brief Personal Statement That Will Connect With Your Audience

Your personal statement should succinctly summarize what skills you bring to the table, the patients you are experienced caring for, and other relevant details about your work. Write your personal statement so that it is clear that you will be a good fit for that office, and the patients they serve.

Use Additional Skills to Strengthen Your Resume

Once you’ve established your primary hard skills, be sure to add any additional skills that will be valued in your new position. These might include proficiency with MS Office, the ability to use a multi-line phone system, and customer service experience.

Add Keywords to Your Professional Experience Section

Keywords are important phrases that are used to describe relevant skills and experience, demanded by the position. These can usually be found by reading the job listing for which you are applying. Keywords are important because they stand out to hiring managers. In addition to this, resume scanning software is often used to determine if your resume contains the right keywords. This happens even before a human looks at your application. So if the tool does not detect any relevant words, your application will be filtered out.

Use Bullet Points and Spacing

Readability is an important factor. The person reading your resume may have gone through dozens before yours. Don’t send them something that gives them eye strain. Use lists and bullet points to make things easier to read. Use bold print selectively to make certain points stand out. Choose a font that is clear and easy to read without serifs or other embellishments. Finally, use plenty of white space to avoid crowding.

Carefully Proofread and Edit Your Resume

It’s perfectly fine to use your spellchecker, or a grammar checking app on your resume or CV. Just be sure that isn’t all that you do. Be certain to read through your resume to manually check it for any errors. If you can, have a friend or family member review it for you as well.

Resume Example For a Dental Assistant (Word Version)

resume sample for dental assistant

Download resume example (.docx)

Dental Assistant Resume (Plain Text)

The National Association of Dental Professionals, Board Certified Assistant with endorsements in Pediatric Dental Hygiene, Youth Patient Education, and Oral Surgery Assisting.

I am a dental assistant with more than five years experience in the field of pediatric dentistry. My skills include chairside assistance, dental surgery support, equipment sanitation and proper disposal, and post-surgical dental care. I have a great ability to create a rapport with children, and have worked with many dental-phobic patients.

Other Skills

  • Microsoft Office Suite
  • Gmail, Outlook
  • PhoneMax 2000
  • Data Entry
  • Patient Outreach.
  • Patient booking & scheduling software

Professional Experience

Oakwood Pediatric Dentistry

August 2014 – Present

Dental Assistant/Front Desk Manager

Key Duties: Performing teeth cleaning and whitening procedures, assisting the dentist during more complex procedures including endodontic work and in office surgery, educating patients on proper oral hygiene, setting appointments, and engaging with vendors.

Main skills: Developing and mounting dental radiographs, instrument sterilization, conducting patients’ intake, preliminary oral health exams, teeth cleaning, operatory preparation model casting, placing temporary crowns, preparing dental materials in line with specifications.

Smallville Dentistry

July 2013 – August 2014

Dental Assisting Intern

Key duties: Participated in a months-long internship as part of a high school cooperative education class. Observed and assisted with various aspects of dental care. Provided support to nervous patients and explained the importance of oral health to kids.

Education

Morris Occupational High School

Graduation Date: May 2014

High School Diploma/Allied Medical Careers Certification (Dental Assisting)

Memberships

St. Louis Dental Assisting Association: Treasurer

Allied Health Careers Alliance: Founding Member

Final Thoughts

Much like dental instruments your resume needs regular polishing and maintenance to serve you well. So don’t forget to update it regularly and customize your information for every position you apply. And to give it an extra spark, consider ‘dressing’ it in one of our professional resume templates (available for free!).

sample dental assistant resume

Author

  • Elena Prokopets

    Elena runs content operations at Freesumes since 2017. She works closely with copywriters, designers, and invited career experts to ensure that all content meets our highest editorial standards. Up to date, she wrote over 200 career-related pieces around resume writing, career advice... more

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