How to Find a Dental Assistant Job: Essential Tips

Being a dental assistant in Canada is a very fulfilling career prospect. But, you may be wondering how to find a dental assistant job. Canada currently has a workforce of 26,000 to 29,000 dental assistants. However, with each passing day, there is an increased demand for dental services in Canada calling for an additional 5,000 dental assistants right now.

Understand the Role of a Dental Assistant

Before filling out your dental assistant job application, you should understand your role first. Let’s see what qualifications you require and what you need to do as a dental assistant.

Key Responsibilities and Duties

Dental assistants are required to assist doctors in many ways:

• Prepping patients
• Helping dentists with procedures
• Sterilizing equipment
• Utilizing instruments
• Recording patient history
• Using dental software

Required Skills and Qualifications

To become a dental assistant, you must complete a 52-week diploma program and get certified by the Canadian Dental Assistants Association. Other than a degree, you must possess key soft skills like strong communication, attention to detail, manual dexterity, and some basic computer skills.

Build a Standout Resume and Cover Letter

You must have heard the first impression is the last impression. Your Dental assistant resume and cover letter are your first impression. Of course, it needs to be very strong. Let’s see what you can do.

Highlight Relevant Experience and Skills

Highlighting any relevant qualification, experience or skill is necessary. Some notable points to highlight on your resume can be:

• Any clinical experience
• Your soft skills relevant to your role
• Technical proficiency in dental software or equipment
• Any additions certifications or licences

Tailor Your Application to Specific Job Postings

Each Dental assistant job application is unique. Different dentists require different assistance. Make sure your dental assistant resume and cover letter are tailored to match each job application, highlighting the relevant skills and experiences specific to the position.

Avoid Common Mistakes

Sometimes even the most common mistakes can become the reason for a rejection. Before sending your dental assistant job application, make sure to proofread and be specific, concise, relevant, and consistent in your resume.

Using these strategies will help you build a strong resume and cover letter helping you grasp as many dental assistant employment opportunities as possible.

Where to Find Job Listings

In Canada, there are many ways to do a job search for dental assistants. You can get opportunities by networking in different dental communities and events or you can find jobs on different platforms.

Top Job Search Platforms for Dental Assistants

You can job search for dental assistants on many platforms, such as Indeed, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor. However, Job Bank is a good source of dental assistant employment opportunities specifically for Canadians. If you are in any dental assistant association, you can find a fitting job on their dental assistant job board. Your local dental clinics are another great option.

Networking Strategies within the Dental Community

Attending industry events like seminars and conferences is a great way to expand your network and learn about new job openings. In such events, you can learn new dental assistant skills relevant to job openings from experts. Joining dental assistant organizations and volunteering at your local dental clinics also helps you get the same benefit and eventually land you a job.

Prepare for Interviews

Once you have gotten enough exposure, now it’s time to prepare for interviews. How well you handle an interview will determine your success in landing a job.

Common Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

Before you sit in the actual interview, practice some common questions to be prepared. Most employers often ask these questions in the first round of selection:

• What is your purpose in becoming a dental assistant?

You can simply highlight your passion for dentistry and how you want to help people.

• What are your strengths and weaknesses?

For strengths make sure you share your skills relevant to the job. However, when it comes to weakness, pick one that you are working on and tell them how you are going towards improvement.

• Tell me about a critical situation you faced and how you handled it.

Here, they want to assess your critical thinking and ability to handle difficult situations. You can pick any story where you professionally catered a challenging situation.

Demonstrating Clinical Competence and Soft Skills

Both your clinical competence and soft skills are equally important. Emphasize any relevant experience you had with dental procedures, equipment and instruments, or patient care. For soft skills, highlight relevant ones that are important to perform your job roles like communication, empathy, detail-oriented, teamwork, etc.

Post-Interview Follow-Up Etiquette

After the interview, send a personalized thank you note to the interviewer within 24 hours. Restate your interest and politely thank the interviewer for their time. In case you don’t get any response within a week, consider sending a follow-up email.

Employment Trends and Opportunities in Dental Assistant Career

As time passes things change so do employment trends and opportunities. Let’s see how you can keep up with this dynamic industry.

What is The Job Outlook of Dental Assistant Career?

Canada has approximately 16,000+ dental clinics. They need dental assistants, steadily increasing the demand in Canada. Currently, Canada is facing a shortage of dentistry professionals. The demand is on high rise as the population is aging and dental awareness is in full bloom. A career as a dental assistant is looking promising with a great outlook.

Regional Demands and Salary Expectations in Canada?

Different regions of Canada have different demands for dentistry professionals. Most of the population is in urban areas, increasing the demand while in rural areas the demand is not as high but still promising.

Talking about dental assistant salary expectations, it may vary based on several factors like your experience, location, and specialization. You can check average salaries in your region to have a better understanding of what to expect.

Opportunities in Specialized Dental Fields

A certified dental assistant can specialize in fields like orthodontics, pediatrics, endodontics, and oral surgery. It’ll expand your career options and give you a competitive edge in the specialized sector.

Leverage Professional Associations and Resources

To land a successful job leveraging professional dental assistant associations is a great option.

Benefit From Joining Dental Associations

Becoming a part of any association brings many perks. You can expand your network, access exclusive workshops, seminars, and conferences to learn new dental assistant skill, and keep progressing in your career.

Get Access To Professional Resources

Being a part of an association or organization in the dental community gives you access to many valuable resources. You can access webinars, workshops, dental journals, and publications, and even connect with mentors. All these resources help you advance in your career.

Stay Updated on Industry Regulations and standards

Staying updated is crucial in this dynamic industry. Make sure you stay informed about regulatory bodies. For a certified dental assistant, it is essential to keep fulfilling the education requirements to maintain license or certification.

Your First Dental Assistance Job Awaits!

Using this guide, you find out how to get a dental assistant job by building new skills, maintaining qualifications, and expanding connections.

Many dental assistant temps use Tempfind to find good employment opportunities that align with their skills.