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Dental Assistant Resume Examples

A dental assistant resume example with chairside, X-ray and expanded-function work, summaries from new grad to lead, and how to list DANB and state permits.

What has to be at the top

A dental assistant resume opens with two kinds of credential: a national certification such as DANB's CDA, and the state permits you hold for X-rays or expanded functions. Then it names the kind of practice (general, pediatric, orthodontic, oral surgery), the procedures you assist with and the imaging and practice software you use, with one number per job that a dentist would care about.

The full example

A complete dental assistant resume example

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Why this example works

  • The national certification and the state permit are separate lines with separate issuers, because DANB certifies the assistant while the state decides which duties the assistant may perform.
  • Radiography gets its own bullet with the image types named, since X-ray work is where state requirements and a dentist's first questions both land.
  • The expanded-function bullet says what the work freed up, three more hygiene cleanings a day, which is the reason a practice pays for an EFDA.
  • Modern's sidebar carries the contact details and skills, which leaves the main column for two full jobs and keeps the page to one.

The dental assistant resume example as text

The same content as the sheet above, readable without zooming, so you can copy any line.

Brianna Kowalski
Certified Dental Assistant, General and Restorative Dentistry

Portland, ORbrianna.kowalski@email.com(555) 019-5531

Summary

Certified Dental Assistant (DANB) and Oregon Expanded Function Dental Assistant with seven years chairside in general and pediatric dentistry. Takes 25 to 30 radiographs a day and led the switch to intraoral scanning that cut crown remakes from 11 to 3 a year.

Experience
Dental Assistant, EFDA — Riverbend Family DentalApr 2021 – Present
  • Assist two dentists chairside with fillings, crowns and extractions for 14 to 18 patients a day.
  • Take bitewings, full-mouth series and panoramic images on digital sensors; retakes under 5%.
  • Place sealants, polish and apply fluoride as an EFDA, freeing the hygienist for 3 more cleanings a day.
  • Trained the office on the iTero scanner; remakes for poor impressions fell from 11 to 3 a year.
Dental Assistant — Maplewood Pediatric DentistryJun 2019 – Mar 2021
  • Assisted with 20 or more children a day, including nitrous oxide setups.
  • Ran sterilization and weekly spore tests; the office passed its state inspection with no findings.
Education
Dental Assisting Certificate, CODA-accredited program, Columbia Gorge Health Careers CollegeSep 2018 – Jun 2019
Licenses and certifications
  • Certified Dental Assistant (CDA), Dental Assisting National Board (DANB), Aug 2019
  • Expanded Function Dental Assistant (EFDA), Oregon Board of Dentistry, Feb 2021
  • Basic Life Support (BLS), American Heart Association, Valid through Nov 2026
Skills

Four-handed dentistry, Digital radiography, Intraoral scanning (iTero), Sealants and coronal polishing, Impressions, Sterilization and infection control, Dentrix, Calm with nervous patients, Anticipating the dentist's next step

Illustrative. Not a real person and not a real employer.

Summaries

Dental Assistant resume summary examples by experience level

The summary is the part of a resume that changes most as a career goes on. The same job at three stages, and what each stage leads with.

  • New dental assistant, school and externship

    Dental assisting graduate from a CODA-accredited program (2026) with a 300-hour externship in a general practice, assisting on 12 to 15 patients a day by the last month. Passed DANB's RHS and ICE exams, with the GC exam booked for August to complete the CDA. BLS current.

    Name the DANB component exams you have already passed. They show real progress toward the CDA before the full credential arrives.

  • Orthodontic or specialty assistant

    Orthodontic assistant with five years in a three-chair practice, assisting with bonding and debonding, taking scans and photos, and delivering retainers. Seats 40 to 50 adjustment visits a day and helped cut the average visit from 20 to 15 minutes by setting up trays for the next patient in advance.

    In a specialty, the procedures are the keywords. Name the ones you assist with, and one number that shows how you keep the chairs moving.

  • Lead dental assistant or clinical coordinator

    Lead dental assistant and clinical coordinator with 13 years in multi-dentist practices, holding the CDA and a state expanded-function permit and supervising 7 assistants across 10 operatories. Rewrote the office's infection control manual and sterilization logs, and set up a supply par system that cut supply spending by 14% in a year.

    A lead is judged on the whole back office: staff, infection control, supplies. Put the team size and one cost or compliance result in the summary.

Skills

Skills for a dental assistant resume

Dental postings mix skills and permissions: "X-ray certified", "EFDA preferred", "Dentrix experience". Keep the permissions in the certificates section, where the state and the date go, and use the skills list for procedures, imaging and software.

Hard skills

Chairside

  • Four-handed dentistry
  • Restorative and endodontic assisting
  • Oral surgery assisting
  • Impressions and bite registrations
  • Temporary crowns

Imaging

  • Digital radiography
  • Panoramic imaging
  • Intraoral scanning

Infection control and records

  • Instrument sterilization
  • OSHA and CDC infection control
  • Dentrix
  • Eaglesoft

Expanded functions (where your state allows)

  • Sealants
  • Coronal polishing

Soft skills

  • Chairside manner
  • Anticipating the dentist's needs
  • Calm with anxious patients
  • Attention to detail
  • Teamwork
  • Dependability

Name two or three of these in the skills section at most. They count for more when a bullet shows one at work.

Bullet points

Dental Assistant resume bullet points, before and after

Five lines as people first write them, and the same lines rewritten so the result comes last, where the eye lands. The numbers are illustrative; use your own.

  • Assisted the dentist with procedures.

    Assisted chairside on 15 to 20 patients a day in a two-dentist general practice and set up crown, filling and extraction trays ahead of time; chair time per crown fell from 90 to 70 minutes.

  • Took X-rays.

    Took bitewings, periapicals and panoramic images for about 25 patients a day on a digital sensor system, keeping retakes below 4% across the year.

  • Sterilized instruments.

    Ran sterilization for six operatories with weekly spore testing and a logged cycle for every cassette; the practice passed two state board inspections with no findings.

  • Worked with nervous patients.

    Set up a routine for anxious patients, with a preview of each step and a hand signal to pause, and no-shows among patients flagged as anxious dropped from 22% to 10%.

  • Helped at the front desk when needed.

    Covered the front desk two days a week, confirming appointments and presenting treatment plans; acceptance of plans over $1,000 went from 48% to 63%.

Starting every bullet with the same verb? Synonyms for overused resume words →

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When you write your experience in our CV builder, pick "Example phrases" under a job and add the dental assistant bullets from this page in one click. Every number is left as [X], so the figures on your CV are your own.

Beyond experience

Dental assisting certifications and state permits

Dental assistants carry two kinds of credential: a national certification from DANB, and whatever the state requires for duties such as X-rays or expanded functions. Each state sets its own requirements and titles for expanded functions, so write every permit in the words your state board uses.

  • Certified Dental Assistant (CDA)

    DANB's national certification, made up of three exams: Radiation Health and Safety (RHS), Infection Control (ICE) and General Chairside Assisting (GC). One route is graduating from a CODA-accredited program; another is a high school diploma plus 3,500 hours of approved work experience. Every route needs current hands-on CPR, BLS or ACLS from a DANB-accepted provider.

    Issued by Dental Assisting National Board (DANB)

  • Radiation Health and Safety (RHS)

    Recognized or required in many states for assistants who take X-rays, and one of the three CDA exams. While the full CDA is still in progress, a passed RHS is worth a line of its own.

    Issued by Dental Assisting National Board (DANB)

  • Expanded functions: EFDA, RDA and other titles

    Titles differ by state: some use Expanded Functions Dental Assistant, others Registered or Licensed Dental Assistant. Typical expanded functions include sealants, impressions, coronal polishing and topical fluoride, and many states count DANB exams toward the requirements. Write the permit with its state.

    Issued by Dental Assisting National Board (DANB), overview of state rules

  • Keeping DANB certification current

    DANB certification is renewed every year with continuing education credits, a current CPR certificate and the renewal fee. If a renewal is due soon, renew before you send applications, since the CDA line is one of the first things checked.

    Issued by Dental Assisting National Board (DANB)

  • Moving to another state

    DANB's state requirements pages list each state's dental assistant titles, exam and education pathways, and allowable duties. Check the new state before you copy your credential line across, since a permit from one state may not carry over.

    Issued by Dental Assisting National Board (DANB)

How to list certifications on a resume →

Template

Which template to use for a dental assistant resume

Modern. Many dental offices are small practices where the office manager or the dentist reads every resume, and that is the reader Modern is made for. Its sidebar keeps contact details and skills out of the way, so the chairside and X-ray work in the main column is what gets read first. If the practice belongs to a group that takes applications through an online system, switch to Basic, which reads in strict order and downloads free without a watermark.

What makes a template ATS-friendly →See all templates filled in →

Dental Assistant resume questions

How do you describe a dental assistant on a resume?

By practice type, procedures and volume: "Chairside assistant in a two-dentist general practice, 15 to 20 patients a day, crowns, fillings and extractions." Add the imaging you take and the software you use, then one result such as fewer retakes or a shorter chair time.

What are good skills for a dental assistant resume?

Four-handed dentistry, digital radiography, impressions or intraoral scanning, sterilization and infection control, and the practice software, such as Dentrix or Eaglesoft. Add expanded functions only where your state permit allows them. The soft skills worth showing are chairside manner and anticipating what the dentist needs next.

What is a good summary for a dental assistant resume?

Your credentials (CDA, state permit), your years and type of practice, and one number, in two or three sentences. The sample opens with exactly that, and the three summaries above adapt it for a new graduate, an orthodontic assistant and a lead assistant.

How do I write a dental assistant resume with no experience?

Lead with the program, the externship hours and the DANB exams you have passed or booked. Describe the externship like a job, with the practice type and how many patients you assisted on. Earlier work in customer service, reception or any job with strict hygiene routines goes below it.

Should I list X-ray certification separately on my resume?

Yes. Put the radiography permit or the passed RHS exam on its own line in the certificates section, with the state where it applies. X-ray work is one of the first things a dentist asks about, and a separate line answers the question before it comes up.

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