Dental Support

Types of Degrees Dental Support Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many dental support services graduations there were in 2021-2022 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Undergraduate Certificate	11,713
Associate Degree	7,216
Basic Certificate	4,441
Bachelor’s Degree	2,539

What Dental Support Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to dental support were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Dental Support Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in dental support should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Skills for Dental Support Majors

When studying dental support, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Abilities for Dental Support Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a dental support student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Dental Support Major?

People with a dental support degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Dental Assistants	19.5%	$38,660
Dental Hygienists	19.7%	$74,820
Dental Laboratory Technicians	14.4%	$40,440

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Dental Support?

This is one of the most frequently chosen trade school majors. It is the 6th most popular in the country with 7,233 students graduating with an associate’s in dental support in 2021. The major attracts more women than men. About 94% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of dental support majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	520
Black or African American	450
Hispanic or Latino	1,574
White	4,011
International Students	82
Other Races/Ethnicities	579

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Dental Support, too. About 1.1% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea
• Venezuela
• China
• Libya

How Much Do Dental Support Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $39,770 to $75,500 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to dental support. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Dental Support

Some careers associated with dental support require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for dental support careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	2.5%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	12.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	23.9%
Some College Courses	2.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	33.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	10.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.2%
Master’s Degree	6.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.7%
Doctoral Degree	4.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	3.2%

Online Dental Support Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	512	2
Certificate (2-4 Years)	14	0
Associate’s Degree	443	6
Bachelor’s Degree	2	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	21	3
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Dental Support Worth It?

The median salary for a dental support grad is $43,180 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 8% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $65,600 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Dental Support

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to dental support.

Major	Number of Grads
Health & Medical Administrative Services	88,600
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants	85,339
Allied Health Professions	83,905
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services	83,587
Health Sciences & Services	36,762
Mental & Social Health Services	30,331
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science	18,884
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services	10,622
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies	1,818
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services	817
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies	89

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.