Motivated and compassionate Dental Assistant with extensive experience providing excellent support during dental exams and procedures. Committed to fostering a relaxed and comfortable environment in which patients feel welcomed, accepted, reassured, and confident in the care they receive.
06/2017 - 06/2021, Dental Assistantx, Beechwood Dental Group, Scarsdale
- Greet and seat up to 15 patients per day in a timely manner but with no sense of being rushed.
- Set up trays according to patient needs and plans, and the dentist’s preferences.
- Assist the dentist using 4-handed dentistry methods.
- Discuss treatment plans with patients and answer any questions appropriately.
- Perform X-rays as needed.
- Conscientiously follow best practices for packaging and sterilizing instruments.
10/2013 - 04/2017, Dental Assistant, Auderbach Dentistry, Harrison
- Assisted the dentist during a variety of treatment procedures.
- Carefully set up and broke down the operatory post treatment.
- Managed infection control by preparing and sterilizing instruments and equipment in an efficient manner.
- Provided patients with accurate instructions for oral care following dental procedures.
- Performed various office tasks as necessary to ensure a smooth-running office.
09/2012 - 05/2013, Dental Assisting, The New York School for Medical & Dental Assistants, Queens, NY
- English
- Spanish
- Ability to Multitask
- Interpersonal Communication
- Knowledge of Dental and Medical Terminology
- Preliminary Oral Health Exams
- 4-Handed Dentistry
This is a great way to be involved in healthcare, a growing industry. Dental assistants make patients feel more comfortable in a place where many are nervous. They perform valuable functions and help keep dental practices working smoothly. With help from resume.io, you can develop a great resume that will get you working in a practice where you are valued by dentists, colleagues, and patients. No matter whether you are an experienced dental assistant or just starting your career, a well-prepared resume will help you reach your goal. But writing a great resume is much more than listing your job experience. This guide includes the tips and hacks that will take your resume from average to amazing. In about 15 minutes, you will discover how to:
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- Use keywords to get past Applicant Tracking Systems
- Make the most of your achievements and attributes
- Differentiate yourself from the crowd and get that coveted interview
- Keep the design clean and professional.
The job market: opportunities abound
You’ve chosen a career with growth and high job satisfaction. Many healthcare professionals are shift workers, but most dental assistants work a regular schedule. You may have to work an evening or weekend shift if the office is open, but mostly it is a 9-to-5 job. Of certified dental assistants, 82 percent rated their job satisfaction as very high or high, according to a survey by the Dental Assisting National Board. You 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. You can teach others how to be a dental assistant at a vocational school or become a dental product sales representative.
This profession is growing much faster than average, with an 11 percent increase in jobs by 2028, according to the U.S. labor bureau.
If you are looking for a new challenge, consider becoming a dental hygienist.
Your profile: getting to the heart of who you are
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 profile, also known as a summary, sits at the top of your resume. That prime spot offers you a chance to inject your professional personality into your resume while showing what will make you a great hire. You have your Master List and a good idea of the skills necessary to be a successful dental assistant. Choose the achievements you are most proud of and 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.
Include adjectives that describe your workplace demeanor. Are you efficient? Friendly? Calm under pressure? Organized and disciplined? Make that clear in your profile.
This is your first opportunity to get in some keywords.
Applicant Tracking Systems
Why aren’t I getting responses from my resume? If you’re asking yourself that question, the ATS may be the answer. Most medium and large companies use ATS software in the hiring process. They see the ATS as a tool to sort, document, and rank resumes. Your first job is to understand how the ATS software works so that your resume doesn’t end up eliminated before a hiring manager sees it.
ATS software is an algorithm-based system designed to eliminate "bad" resumes before they ever get into the hands of a human. Hiring managers do not have time to read the hundreds of resumes they receive for each position. Instead, they rely on ATS to narrow the field. ATS software hunts for keywords related to skills that employers prioritize. Because employers receive many resumes for each job opening and only 4 to 6 people will earn an interview, you need to stand out from the crowd to beat the odds. That means it is vital for you to use those keywords in your resume (also pay special attention to formal requirements such as city, contact information, certifications, etc.).
What are keywords and how do I find them?
It may seem obvious, but these are the words hiring managers have programmed the ATS to look for. If you don’t include those words, no matter how amazing your experience, your resume will never be seen by a person. Read each job listing carefully and highlight any skills mentioned. Then, make sure you tailor your resume to include those words. Knowing which words will help you get past the ATS can be confusing. If job listings are vague, or the opposite—too detailed—consider using a word cloud program such as wordle.com or wordart.com. Put in one or more job descriptions and the keywords will literally pop out. The more often a word is used, the bigger it will be.
Master List
Sometimes when you are feeling the pressure of the job search, you may forget one of your greatest assets. That’s where a Master List comes in. Think through all your job skills, professional personality traits, achievements, and successes. Put them all down in one place and refer to the list as you personalize your resume. Keep the list and as you grow professionally, add to it for your next search.
Experienced Dental Assistant with a passion for helping others and providing optimal patient care in the field of dentistry. Committed to working towards positive patient experiences, by providing dentists and hygienists with the support they need. Adept in office procedures and practices, and dedicated to remaining up-to-date regarding industry and patient-care advancements. Able to communicate well with patients, families, and dental professionals. Bringing forth compassion, skill, and the desire to positively impact the lives of others.
Employment History/Experience: show what you know
The heading for this section depends on whether you are a working dental assistant or are looking for your first job in the field. If you are an experienced dental assistant, think of this section as a way to demonstrate growth in knowledge and responsibility. Putting a job description in this section is OK, but your resume needs to be great! Here are some tips to go from good to amazing:
Consider the CAR format. In this format, you describe the:
- Challenge you encountered,
- the Action you took,
- and the Results.
If you improved patient comfort, this is a great place to show it off. Example: Addressed patient complaints about back/necks stiffness after procedures by researching a solution and proposing the purchase of support pillows, which greatly increased customer satisfaction. Use strong action verbs. You want hiring managers to think of you as a person who gets the job done. Words that describe specific actions convey that image. Be specific. Instead of stating, “took x-rays,” tell how many you took a day, what kinds of x-rays they were, or what x-ray technology you used. The more specific you are, the more likely you are including those all-important keywords.
If you are new to the dental assistant’s field, think about the experience you had during your training and focus on that. If you have had jobs in other industries, highlight transferable skills such as all the abilities that fall under the emotional intelligence umbrella. Employers want to know that you are reliable, trustworthy, and know how to work with colleagues. If you have technology experience, include that too.
Your employment history should be listed in reverse chronological order, last job first.
- Served as a dedicated Dental Assistant at Asbury Park Dental Associates for 10+ years.
- Worked as a team with other dental professionals to promote optimal patient care.
- Performed state of the art procedures, helping patients to achieve oral wellness goals.
- Efficiently used office equipment and tools during check-ups and procedures.
- Clearly communicated patient concerns and questions to dentists and hygienists.
- Remained informed about the latest dental breakthroughs, enabling the best care possible.
Skills section: your top 10 list
This is an easy way for hiring managers to see your abilities in a quick scan. You already have your Master List and you know how to pick out the most important skills from each job listing. Now all you have to do is put those together to create your Skills Section. Hiring managers value different categories of skills. Broadly, there are hard skills, or the knowledge necessary to do your job, and soft skills, which are the abilities you need to function in a workplace and deal with people. Dental assistants perform a wide variety of duties, so they need a broad range of hard skills. 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.
But 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:
- Self-awareness
- Self-regulation
- Social skills
- Empathy
- 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.
An OfficeTeam survey found that 95 percent of human resource managers value high emotional intelligence, as do 99 percent of workers.
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. Try to create a blend of hard and soft skills so that you illustrate that you are a well-rounded worker. You can organize this section any way, but consider listing the skills most important to an employer first. 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.
- Excellent Communication Skills
- Knowledge of Dental Care
- Critical Thinking Skills
- Sanitation Techniques
- Safety Guidelines
Education section: highlight your knowledge
Along with your high school degree, you need to complete a dental assistant’s training program. One way to become a dental assistant is on-the-job training. If that is your career path, make sure you detail your training in your employment history section. The other way to become a dental assistant is through a training program. These programs typically last nine to eleven months. When you complete the program, you will receive a certificate. These programs are offered at community colleges, vocational schools, technical institutes, universities, or dental schools. Make sure you list the certificate in your education section. There are also accelerated programs to get you that certificate faster, part-time programs if you are working, or you can choose a distance training program if you can’t easily get to a training site. Make sure that your program is approved by the Commission on Dental Accreditation.
Especially if you are fresh out of school, add honors, scholarships, and certificates you have earned. These accolades will give you a boost.
If you have earned a higher degree, such as an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, make sure you list it. Your education section should also include your high school degree. If you have taken any healthcare-related classes in high school, especially if you are looking for your first job as a dental assistant, you can also include that. 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.
- 2008-2012 Hunter College, Bachelor of Biology, NY, NY
- 2012-2014 Lincoln Technical Institute, Dental Assistant Associate, NY, NY
- 2014 Certified Dental Assistant (certification)
Layout and formatting: clean lines and legibility rule
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. Use one of these layout templates from resume.io. These templates are expertly designed, but you can customize them a bit. Or, personalize the resume example at the top of this guide. Just remember these guidelines:
- 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 (more important sections can be a bit larger, and the content can be naturally slightly denser towards the top-left, which is the “maximum attention zone”).
- Separate text. 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.
Formatting
If you choose to alter the layout templates, pay special attention to the formatting. You’ve written a great resume that will get you the interview you want! Don’t lose your opportunity with sloppy formatting. This can happen if you use word processing software instead of a dedicated resume-creation program such as resume.io. Different word processing programs, or even different versions of the same program, can misread your formatting. Avoid the problem by carefully scanning your resume and then saving it as a PDF file.
Key takeaways
- Use keywords from job listings to beat Applicant Tracking Systems
- Focus on your challenges, actions, and results in your employment history
- Tailor your resume to each job
- Keep you layout neat and professional
Use resume.io, its builder tool and field-tested layouts to create a great resume!
Other helpful healthcare resume examples:
- Healthcare
- Endodontist
- CNA
- Lactation Consultant
- Epidemiologist
- Marriage and Family Therapist
- Health Care Administration
- Dental Receptionist
- Nursing Student
- Nursing Home
- Occupational Therapist
- Behavioral Therapist
- Psychologist
- Art Therapist
- Audiologist
- Respiratory Therapist
- Child Psychologist
- Medical Support Assistant
- Medical Social Worker
- Pharmacy Technician
- Physician Assistant
- Clinic Coordinator
- Medical Receptionist
- Optometrist
- Physical Therapist
- Pharmaceutical Sales Representative
- Pharmacist
- Dentist
- Sonographer
- Nurse
- Psychotherapist
- Medical Science Liaison
- Paramedic
- Doctor
