Due to the similar job duties and day-to-day tasks shared by dental and medical assistants, you may find yourself at a crossroads, wondering which job to choose. Whether you’re just beginning or considering a career change, acquiring accurate information about these two professions is crucial for making the most informed decision.
In this article, we will compare dental assistants vs medical assistants by looking closely at their job roles, average salaries, and so on. After reading this, you will be one step closer to making the best career decision. Let’s get started!
Job Roles & Skills of Dental Assistants vs. Medical Assistants
One of the first considerations you might have is the tasks and duties associated with these professions. Of course, you would want a career that best suits your passions, interests, and inclinations. So, in this section, we’ll cover the main job roles of these two career paths.
Dental Assistants
Dental assistants commonly work in private clinics, yet opportunities exist in educational institutions, hospitals, regional health units, dental supply companies, and more.
A dental assistant in a hospital or clinic must have plenty of technical skills. But beyond technical skills, they must also be able to interact with patients and ensure their comfort throughout procedures.
Tip: When applying for a dental assistant position, prepare for potential interview questions the hiring supervisor might ask.
Day-to-Day Dental Assistant Tasks
According to the Canadian Dental Assistants Association, A few major day-to-day tasks that dental assistants perform in a clinic/hospital setting include:
- Assisting Duties: Assisting the dentist and hygienist during various treatment procedures.
- Radiograph Management: Taking and developing dental radiographs (x-rays).
- Patient Health Assessment: Asking about the patient’s medical history and taking blood pressure and pulses.
- Infection Control Officer Responsibilities: Serving as an infection control officer, developing infection control protocol and preparing and sterilizing instruments and equipment.
- Patient Comfort Support: Helping patients feel comfortable before, during and after dental treatment.
- Oral Care Instructions: Teaching patients appropriate oral hygiene strategies to maintain oral health (e.g., toothbrushing, flossing and nutritional counselling).
- Office Management Tasks: Performing office management tasks that often require the use of a computer
- Communication and Coordination: Communicating with patients and suppliers (e.g., scheduling appointments, answering the telephone, billing and ordering supplies).
- Patient Care Support: Assisting with and helping to provide direct patient care in all dental specialties, including orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, and oral surgery.
- Impressions for Study Casts: Taking impressions of patient’s teeth for study casts (models of teeth).
Medical Assistants
Medical Assistants can work in private clinics, hospital settings, chiropractic offices, OB-GYNs, pediatric clinics, and similar settings. Like dental assistants, they need technical skills and the ability to interact with patients to ensure their comfort.
Day-to-Day Medical Assistant Tasks
A few major day-to-day tasks of a medical assistant include the following:
- Appointment Management: Schedule and confirm appointments.
- Patient Administration: Validate patients’ health services cards, help with medical or insurance forms, admit patients, create new medical files, proofread records, and update electronic medical files.
- Financial Management: Collect payments, prepare invoices and statements, process payments, bank documents, and payroll.
- Patient Care: Directing to resources, measuring vitals, and taking weight and height measurements.
- Facility Management: Set up exam rooms by disinfecting instruments and supplies.
Training Needed to be a Dental Assistant vs. Medical Assistant
Another factor you might be considering is the amount and kind of education you would need to undergo to be a dental assistant or medical assistant. In this section, we’ll talk about how long the studies would take, what major subjects you would take, and how the licensure process works.
Dental Assistants
The first step is completing formal education through a Dental Assistant Program, which typically takes about a year to complete. You’ll need to have completed high school focusing on science-related courses. Additionally, some programs require their students to maintain a valid CPR Level C Certificate.
The training program will cover the following mandatory skills:
- Chairside dental assisting
- Expose dental radiographs
- Oral hygiene instruction
- Dietary counselling relative to oral health
- Selective coronal polishing
- Applies and removes dental dam
- Takes preliminary impressions
- Applies treatment liner
- Applies and removes matrix and wedge
- Applies fluoride
- Applies pit and fissure sealant
- Applies desensitizing agents
- Applies topical anesthetic
- Performs tooth whitening using trays
Dental assisting is considered a “restricted health care occupation throughout Canada.” Though the profession is self-regulated, most provinces require a license for their dental assistants. After formal education, the individual must pass the National Dental Assisting Examining Board (NDAEB) exam. The abovementioned skills are required before an individual is qualified to take this exam.
Note: You can contact the Dental Assisting Regulatory Authority to confirm whether the NDAEB certificate is required for your province.
Medical Assistants
Certificate programs for medical assistants generally take eight months to 1 year. Other programs that result in a post-secondary diploma can last about two years. Though both these programs can prepare an individual for an entry-level position, some employers may prefer an individual who has completed a more extensive training program.
The subjects covered typically include the following:
- Medical terminology
- Patient relations
- Fundamentals of healthcare operations
- Business and medical communications
- Medical recordkeeping and filing procedures
- Scheduling and planning systems
- Medical office software
- Health care policies and government regulations
- Ethics and standards of conduct for health care professionals
Currently, medical assistants are not regulated anywhere in Canada. Aspiring medical assistants won’t need a professional certification or government license.
Is Being a Dental Assistant Your Calling?
Based on what you’ve read in this article, do you feel pulled toward becoming a dental assistant? If so, feel free to check our article, The Role and Duties of a Dental Assistant – this resource sheds more light on what you will do daily as a dental assistant.
If you’re ready to take the next step, we are here for you. Cestar College in Toronto is one of the top accredited institutions that can provide you with the comprehensive Dental Assistant Program you’d need to succeed in the profession. Get equipped with key skills like dental radiography, operative dentistry, preventive dentistry, and patient care.
Do you have any questions? Feel free to contact us; we’ll be happy to help!
