Show me the money...

What are typical dental office receptionist salaries? Do some companies pay a lot more for this position than others? What does a top earner make in this field?

What skills should you learn to increase your salary?

Experienced should start at least $18 hr plus benefits. Certain cities will pay more. In AZ for instance, the same job in Scottsdale will pay $2 more an hour than Mesa, Az....pays $2 less with same experience level.......Scottsdale is considered the "higher class" city, however, I have found alot of the Dentists are NOT PLEASANT to work for. Watch out for the DDS who offers nothing in the way of benefits, and is a member of alot of Dental plans.......they are money hungry, slave drivers, and it is not worth it.
Dental gal for 25yrs.

Boy did you state this right. I have been looking for months. I seem to only get a chance to interview with all the Drs that don't pay well, work too long of hours, want you to do the work of 2 people, and offer nothing in the way of benefits....and those dozens of dental plans.....WHAT A JOKE...The Mesa DRS are all MICRO managers who think they know everything......Scottsdale is way better, it is just most all the good jobs are taken. Once in a while one will open up, but the competition is HUGE....whats a girl like ME goin to do????? I guess Just keep trying.

If you will kindly re-read my statement.....It is NOT that THEY don't pay well......Is not my comment intent.. my comment is about the Area. The statement is that because of the LDS religion, and the very large number of children....the congregations keep the job openings and training opportunities with in its members...therefore, the opportunities for someone outside of that group are limited! That means I am NOT stereotyping LDS....it means that the competition to get a job and good pay is limited, due to the fact that the LDS Kids are higher, trained, and work for far less money.....If you had been in the field very long, you would know that all geographical areas pay differently, due to one reason or another...that is one of the reasons for this Mesa area.
I am LDS.....So I think I should know what I am talking about.....Obviously, you don't!!!!
"SO....don't get your panties in a HITCH....I didn't mean anything derogatory.....sorry if you took it that way.
AZ4Hands.

I am a expanded duties assistant with over 17 years of experience, i have worked both front desk and all aspects of back office. due to an injury, and my age, i am trying to get a job front office in an orthodontic office, i have little ortho background but plenty of dental.. here is my question.. how to do find an salary averge for such a situation.. this doctor does office some nice benefits, but her inital offer is much lower than what i can take... I have looked all over the internet and cannot find a decent site to be specific for dental jobs... any advice would be greatly appreicated..

I have worked for a few dentists, the last one was Korean and offered no benefits except vacation. So, I had to use my vacation days to cover holidays, but have run out of vacation days and it's not even Thanksgiving! She is definitely a slave driver and very verbally and emotionally abusive!! Bills insurance for treatment she doesn't do, etc. Help, I will relocate if possible. Am very easy to get along with. She only paid me $14 an hour and never got 40 hours, usually about 32-35 at most.

To Sandra in Houston, you are working with an emotional abuser, if this were a realtionship you would have left long ago, right? I have been looking for a job for 4months where i live, and there is evidence that many dental assistants and professionals are out of jobs, making the market for employees a "employers market" they will take whomever will take the lowest pay, yet agree to work like a dog. It is obvious you are in a really bad situation, but look for another job before you leave, with the job market like it is, you dont want to end up with No job, verse, finding antother. I believe she is also breaking labor laws by not offering certain holiday pay, what if you needed religous holidays off, that is illegal if she denies you. also, you could turn her in for insurance fraud, that is like jail time and she would loose her licese.. it is really too bad that there is no goverment agencey really for the employee, everyone is on the side of the employer, and their is no protection from abuse. I wish you well, and just know, you will be better off no matter where you go, dont let her take your self estem... keep your chin up..girl

sandra in Houston, Texas said: I have worked for a few dentists, the last one was Korean and offered no benefits except vacation. So, I had to use my vacation days to cover holidays, but have run out of vacation days and it's not even Thanksgiving! She is definitely a slave driver and very verbally and emotionally abusive!! Bills insurance for treatment she doesn't do, etc. Help, I will relocate if possible. Am very easy to get along with. She only paid me $14 an hour and never got 40 hours, usually about 32-35 at most.

Try DentalPost.net It's great!

I have worked at the same dental office for 17 yrs. Im a expanded RDA, I do front office to help when office manager is away from the desk. I have been the only assistant over 3/4 of the time I've been there. Back office, ventory control person, osha cooredator. You name its me. We get 2 weeks vacation after the second year. I feel we should get 3 weeks vacation after being there 15 yrs. There is only 2 full time employee until this last spring 2008. Myself and the office manager which has been there 19 years. We get no other benifits, except christmas day, day after christmas, new years day, memorial day, 4th of July if fell on Mon- Thurs. labor day , Thanksgiving Day.
I would like same in put about what other dental office offer.

My sister-in-law has been a Dental Assistant for ten years and she makes $26 an hour, one week of paid vacation, plus two weeks pto (dental office is closed) for Christmas.

Dental Gal in Mesa, AZ said: Experienced should start at least $18 hr plus benefits. Certain cities will pay more. In AZ for instance, the same job in Scottsdale will pay $2 more an hour than Mesa, Az....pays $2 less with same experience level.......Scottsdale is considered the "higher class" city, however, I have found alot of the Dentists are NOT PLEASANT to work for. Watch out for the DDS who offers nothing in the way of benefits, and is a member of alot of Dental plans.......they are money hungry, slave drivers, and it is not worth it.
Dental gal for 25yrs.

Boy is she right! I have been in several offices over the many years I have worked in the dental field. Trying to find a dentist to work for who is PLEASANT is very hard! I am trying to find an office in the Memphis area now to go back to work after about a year, and what I get from the offices I have interviewed with is "why have you worked in so many offices?" I have moved several times because my husband was transferred, but some of the times the offices are just to hard to work in due to UNPLEASANT dentists! By the way, I have been in the industry for 35 years! Oh, and I made $16.50 at my last job. They pay less in the Memphis area.

Bet you have NEVER worked for a dentist like mine. We do not EVER get a check stub.
I checked with S.S. and my benefit went down instead of up.(the estimate they give you? Afraid something fishy is going on) Her accountant is her brother!!! What a winner!!!

My mom has been working at a certain dentist office for over 12 years... It took her about 10 years to get $12 an hour. She's fantastic at her job, but she works for a corporation.
I just started at a private office and make $12 an hour.

it is so sad that most of the dentist these days are doing so well, but do not value their employees at all. If only loyalty,professionalism, and honesty were worth a dollar amount, no one front office or back wants anything that they have not already earned, including respect. I feel awful for your mom, she should look for a diffrent office, if she finds another job her doc just might be willing to pay more to keep her, I am an assistant and have been for 20 yrs I have had to take bigg pay cuts just because the doctors do not WANT to pay you what they know you are worth it gets to the point most folks just burn out, unless they are hygenists.

I have found over the course of 25 years that dentists require a certain type of personality...buttheads all of them. They are willing to have a lot of turnover and hire inexperience so they don't have to pay a decent wage. Too bad they don't understand that an efficiently run front office MAKES them money, inexperience costs them in the long run. What they don't get is their office doesn't function without a front office.

That says it all!!!!!!!!!!! Good for you!

SG in Mesa, AZ in Minneapolis, Minnesota said: That says it all!!!!!!!!!!! Good for you!

You are all wrong. I have been working with my dentist for 12 years and it is all
how you define your position and do the things to be done on your job description, and for the person that says dentists are butthead? who owns the business and where does your salary come from, dentists have to think both managing and dealing with their patients so it is disrespectful to say that.
For the past 12 years I have been getting 1 to 2 dollars each year aside from 3T to 5Thousand bonus each year plus free medical coverage and 3 weeks vacation.
Now tell me.

Lucky you, for you must have the one perfect Doctor/office in America. As for the rest of us, I can almost promise you, that the Dentists who offer such lavish bonuses on there staff, save that one office manger who belittles the rest of the staff, or micro manages, is a RARE thing. Yes, it is his or her office, and they reap the most benefits, with the house, the cars, the wife and kids in private schools, and yes it took years of college, but the payoff is forver. Your practice is only as good however as the Doctors manerisms, bedside manner and how he treats his staff. If the turn over is high, look no further than that wonderful Doctor of yours, if you hire people for there experience, and professionalism all we are asking is treat them with respect and pay them a decent salary or wage, without slave driving.. If others disagree with what I have said I would love to know if there is an area of the US where Dentist are throwing rewards at there staff as for Georgia, it just isnt happening. So Chicago better keep that job, I can promise you there are not many like it out there, and he obivously has you snowed..

you're are a lucky one. I've worked for the same dentist for 17 1/2 years. We get 2 weeks vacation and 4 day personal time or sick time whatever you want to call it. If a holiday fall on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday you loss that holiday with no pay. Forget about bonus, only gotten $200.00 once. We will get a gift certificate at christmas for 3-4 hundred to use at the store he chooses. We may get a raise of 75 cents every 2-3 years if lucky. We have to ask each time. Iknow may job and I know it well. I'm the go to person if anything need done or fixed. I do front and back office. N
Not all denist are buttholes but a lot are, same throw things at you. Talk down to you like your dirt. And some just will not stand behind their employee.
Luck I said you are the LUCKY ONE.

Take my advice, get out now when you are still sane....I did. It was the best thing I ever did! I now work for a wonderful healthcare company. I love my job. I make a few dollars an hour less, but the benefits make up for the difference. I work for United Healthcare......it is GREAT!
I feel like I am making a difference, and am treated like a queen.....what a difference from the dental office "politics".
Good luck to all of you who are "stuck in the rut"....but there is a way out!

Believe it or not, it is hard to get a job here unless you are bilingual. I am "stuck" in the dental field with no health coverage. Since I am not married, it really hurts. not having coverage. Also, I go to another dental office to get my cleanings and any other treatment I might need. They are cheaper! Besides, we are afraid to ask the dentist to do anything for us, she thinks we are expecting too much. I hate to have a bad attitude but can't help it.
No one would believe us if we told them because she is altogether different with her patients. All she cares about is the almighty dollar.

Completely understand, Texas what you are going through, it is a sad day when we healthcare employees are treated like 2nd rate citizins regarding our own benefits and dental care. Here in Georgia most dentist do not offer health benefits as they dont want to pay extra for their employees to be coverd, however if they are not married but engaged they will put their soon to be spouse on the office bill and pay,as for your own dental work, it is a sad sad state that we work all day long on our patients but dont feel comfortable to get our own work done., I have dental insurance my office will collect my insurance for anything i have done, however the others in my office with insurance dont pay dime? see it is very fishy, and yet where do you go for your own work. Due to a large majority of spanish speaking people, Our city too is now looking more and more for biligual assistants, it is wrong, and I am sure if this were causing more healthcare workers jobs, someone would say it is unethical to deny a job to someone due to language. English is our primary langauge at least for now. Experience should mean more than being bilingual, IT is a rare occiciason in which the Doctor actually CARES about his or her staff, and those are few and far between..

Margaret in Chicago, Illinois said: You are all wrong. I have been working with my dentist for 12 years and it is all
how you define your position and do the things to be done on your job description, and for the person that says dentists are butthead? who owns the business and where does your salary come from, dentists have to think both managing and dealing with their patients so it is disrespectful to say that.
For the past 12 years I have been getting 1 to 2 dollars each year aside from 3T to 5Thousand bonus each year plus free medical coverage and 3 weeks vacation.
Now tell me.

Good for you that you found the exception to the rule. I'll say it again, every dentist I have worked for has been a butthead to one extent or another. And for the record, the dentists I work for don't do a bit of managing and when they try they do a poor job at best. They have one staff member who they refuse to call the "office manager" because they don't want to pay the salary that goes along with the title and yet the responsibility they heap on her is almost overwhelming. Sure she puts up with it because it's what works for her but it sucks on their part.

All I can say to Margaret in Chicago.......You better never MOVE or Leave your job, or your boss better never retire....you will be facing a very different and RUDE AWAKENING. Things were a little different 12years ago when you got your job. The rest of us are in the "Real world of NOW"...be thankful for what you have, and try to have a little bit of compassion for what the rest of us have to deal with.

I've worked front desk for 25+years, with my current employer 9-years. Dentistry is a high stress profession regardless if you are the dentist, receptionist, assistant, hygienist. The dentist is a doctor, a salesman, a boss, a business manager [and not necessarily good at the last three]. The costs to run a dental office are ridiculous and as in most business, the easiest area to cut expenses are with employees/benefits. In my experience, small dental offices do not offer group medical plans because of the costs. If one person gets sick, the premiums go up on all employees. My employer offers a reimbursement towards medical premiums [pays about half]. I am compensated $18.50 an hour, get 3-weeks paid vacation, and four paid holidays a year. Is it a perfect job? No. There are days this old gal would rather stay home but it's what I do. Do not work for an unethical dentist as you will be treated unethically.

maggy sound like a true dyed in the wool dental professional who has been around the block. I too have been in small and large offices, and your are 100% correct about an unethical doctor, or office manger or the dreaded wife for petes sake. just not worth it, I only wish others understood what a stressful job we have, and when your benefits are underhand, such as my office with two doctors and 6 part time hygenist, three full time assistants, my doctor owns his building and has three other tenents who pay lease to him, I know how expensive it is to run a dental office, however when you shave off hours of employees, and only offer 5 days vacation a year for sick and some holidays!! when office is open 5 days a week.. then want to pull the old be happy you have a job.

I have been the front desk person in the same dental office for 14 years. Our dentist has his faults and isn't the best people manager there ever was, but for the most part he is a good man to work for. Sure, production is the bottom line, but we do get monthly bonuses if we meet our production/collections goals (which doesn't happen as often as it used to in these troubled economic times)We have no office manager, but when it comes to signing letters to patients about finances, I get to "use" the title without any compensation. I currently make $19.50 per hour..not sure if that is a good hourly salary or not. I have a lot of duties besides just greeting patients...like accounts receivable, insurance, OSHA training, monthly reports, and I am the closest thing to an I.T. person the office has when it comes to problems with the computers. Our office is open four days a week, always closed on Fridays, so we always have a 3 day week-end, which I believe it pretty much the norm for dental practices in this area We are off for all major holidays (paid) unless they fall on a Friday or week-end. Our dentist does offer health insurance and he contributes to part of our premium. We get our dental work and cleanings for free (or just pay lab fees for crowns, etc) and we never get any grief for using our 15 days of yearly vacation. We have two full-time assistants and two full-time hygienists and two people at the front desk area (one is me). Yes, we have office politics and drama (doesn't every office?) but for the most part, we get along and feel we are a customer service based office with a lot to offer.

Thank you for your reply. I sure wish I could find a job half as good as yours!! Like I think I said, I make $13 an hour, just got this raise, no medical, not even a cleaning, maybe once a yr if we are lucky, and a quick one at that!! No sick days, no bonus, basically nothing but a pay check without a ch stub, so basically have no way of knowing how much is being taken out of my check for what!!

S in Houston - paystub requirements are set my each state. You might find this link of interest regarding the State of Texas. en.allexperts.com/q/Employment-Law-924/2008/3/CURRENT-EMPLOYMENT-CONCERN.htm

From reading this, your employer is in State violation. Good luck!

Ah, the ever-missing check stubs......we do not get them either, even though several of us have expressed our displeasure at this oversight. I have to wonder why our doctor is so adverse to giving them to us. If any of us ever need to produce a statement of our income for a loan or whatever, we must ask him to have one typed up for us. It makes no sense, but I have overlooked it for 14 years because it's not worth the fuss he makes when we mention it. I suppose I tell myself that the pay, the position I enjoy and the perks outweigh this one problem. I am curious to know how widespread this practice is.

i personally never experienced any problems with paystubs, but know both bad and good about the bosses. i had a job i absolutely loved, where i was mostly doing insurance and only helped the front desk when they were overwhelmed. the office was hi-tech, all the newest gadgets were in before they hit the big market, everything was computerized and electronic, you name we had it all. the crew was great, we often got together after work or on weekends for fun outings, comedy club trips, it was really great. but the boss was a horror! he was (i guess still is) a fantastic dentist, but as far as i could tell - total nut: his moods were swinging faster than my eyes can blink, he would go from funny and relaxed to mad and rude, even cursing. there were rumors of sexual and physical abuse, and when one of his former employees filed a law suit against him, i left. i had spent almost 3 years there and it was a very difficult decision. but the right one: 3 months later, i ended up in the front of the grand jury as a witness! my current job for the last almost 2 years has its problems and politics, but it's normal, and overall it's a great place. patients love me - and that's what matters more that anything else. do we get the best of all? no. medical is awful, no vision, 12 days total vacation and sick, but dental is treated there for free - anything, including immediate family. so i guess it's not so bad. at least, the boss doesn't curse and yell and no one is suing him... everything is relative...

About the lack of paystub, I would just like to know where my money is going. She takes out a big chunk, but at the end of the year, I almost always owe the IRS. This job has no perks!! I know she will never change and I need to look elsewhere. I am willing to relocate if anyone knows anything about a good posotion available. Houston is just too big and hectic. The drive is a nightmare and with no benefits... she will scream and throw a fit, has done it before.
Oh well, at least I have a job in this uncertain economy.

Stevie in Kyle, Texas said: My sister-in-law has been a Dental Assistant for ten years and she makes $26 an hour, one week of paid vacation, plus two weeks pto (dental office is closed) for Christmas.

this is very good to know, as i am movin to Kyle at the end of feb. does your sister know anyone hiring? 13yrs experience in the dental office....from front desk to chairside to everything in between!!! any help would be useful! thanks

Fosterdog in Houston, Texas said: Try DentalPost.net It's great!

sue her for insurance abuse and move on

I have worked for only 1 dentist, but have been with him for 8 years. He is a bit manic and crazy, however, the benefits are worth it. I started as Patient Care Coordinator, but am now his office manager. I make $25.00 and hr, he gives raises annually. I have 4 weeks paid vacation and have 9 paid holidays. He pays 75% of our medical insurance...free dental. We get quarterly bonuses depending if production/collections was met. He pays for all of our classes we ask to take. We have a 401K plan. Last year for Christmas he took us and spouses out to a very nice dinner. All employees were given a $800.00 bonus visa card to shop with at the store of our choice. He then gave all of our spouses or significant others a $250.00 visa gift card to use at the store of their choice. (His reason for the spouses present was that he knows they have to listen to all of us employees complain for the year about how horrible he it.)

Hi Carrie,
I currently live in MN and have my registration and certification for Dental Assisting. I graduated in August of 2008 and have been banging my head against a brick wall trying to find a job. Can you tell me what the job market is like there? I have family in Federal Way and Puyallup and I am thinking about moving there. I would like to hear from someone in the field what it is like there. I would appreciate your input or advice. Here is my e-mail address: dragonflydee@hotmail.com

Carrie - Dentalgirl in Federal Way, Washington said: I have worked for only 1 dentist, but have been with him for 8 years. He is a bit manic and crazy, however, the benefits are worth it. I started as Patient Care Coordinator, but am now his office manager. I make $25.00 and hr, he gives raises annually. I have 4 weeks paid vacation and have 9 paid holidays. He pays 75% of our medical insurance...free dental. We get quarterly bonuses depending if production/collections was met. He pays for all of our classes we ask to take. We have a 401K plan. Last year for Christmas he took us and spouses out to a very nice dinner. All employees were given a $800.00 bonus visa card to shop with at the store of our choice. He then gave all of our spouses or significant others a $250.00 visa gift card to use at the store of their choice. (His reason for the spouses present was that he knows they have to listen to all of us employees complain for the year about how horrible he it.)

sandra in Houston, Texas said: I have worked for a few dentists, the last one was Korean and offered no benefits except vacation. So, I had to use my vacation days to cover holidays, but have run out of vacation days and it's not even Thanksgiving! She is definitely a slave driver and very verbally and emotionally abusive!! Bills insurance for treatment she doesn't do, etc. Help, I will relocate if possible. Am very easy to get along with. She only paid me $14 an hour and never got 40 hours, usually about 32-35 at most.

WOMEN DENTISTS ARE.....THE WORST! STAY AWAY!

WOMEN DENTIST ARE...THE WORST! STAY AWAY!

I tend to agree, when in perspective to how crazy the men are, care to mention whom, so the rest of us locals looking for new jobs dont make the same mistake?? Also anyone else working for a Dentist yet cant get your own dental work taken care of? Is it unprofessional to seek your own dental care elsewhere when you cant get cared for at the practice you work full time in? Comments?

Angie, I think it is very unprofessional to go to another dentist to receive your dental treatment but we have no choice and need to take care of ourselves. I understand your frustration. I worked for a dentist for 3 years that NEVER gave his staff "free dental treatment" as so, and per his pathetic "employee handbook". I finally went to a nearby dentist, close to our office, as I had a terrible toothache. I told the dentist ..." I have a toothache. I work for Dr. Smith and he does not value his employees enough to take care of them. I am here today because he would not treat me." Ladies....should we embaress our employers like this? YES. My theory in life is "you choose the behavior, you choose the consequences."

Thanks Icursmile, been a dental assistant for over 20 years, this is the first time I have ever truly needed work done for myself, ( a poorly made crown with bad margins) on temp since last November,although when work is done on me or my family, my office files my dental insurance most of the employees dont have insurance, my employers answer was to get a root canal?? As for the decay he found at my last cleaning, still in there. How can we ask friends and family to come see our Doctors if we the employees who work there everyday as so unimportant? There are great Dentists out there who really appreciate their staff, but they are fewer in numbers and many are at retirement age. What is next for those of us who have put our whole lives into a profession with an age limit?

Angie, have you sat down with your boss one on one and relayed to him how you feel about not getting treatment? Or better yet, if the whole staff feels the same, it would be benefical to call a meeting so everyone will have a voice. I have been in the dental field (front office)for 16 years now. I worked for a previous employer where at the end of an office meeting, the staff said to the doctor ....."we need to talk to YOU." The doctor listened and acted on it. I know, this is VERY unusual. And yes, I would tell the doctor (in which I DID!)...

"How can I rave about the quality of your work, tell the patients what a GREAT dentist you are and ask for referrals when we do NOT feel VALUED??? Doctor, when I accepted employment with you, YOU trusted that I would keep MY word and committments... well, I trusted that in good faith YOU would keep yours TOO." Also, where IS the Office Manager in all of this? I have managed offices and do NOT take a "passive" approach to this. I have left jobs over this and also SAVED many jobs over this. I am a firm believer in "we get what we tolerate." You choose the behavior...you choose the consequences. (addressing the doctor here.)At the end of the day, we have to decide what is healty for us. We can act or react.

Carrie - Dentalgirl in Federal Way, Washington said: I have worked for only 1 dentist, but have been with him for 8 years. He is a bit manic and crazy, however, the benefits are worth it. I started as Patient Care Coordinator, but am now his office manager. I make $25.00 and hr, he gives raises annually. I have 4 weeks paid vacation and have 9 paid holidays. He pays 75% of our medical insurance...free dental. We get quarterly bonuses depending if production/collections was met. He pays for all of our classes we ask to take. We have a 401K plan. Last year for Christmas he took us and spouses out to a very nice dinner. All employees were given a $800.00 bonus visa card to shop with at the store of our choice. He then gave all of our spouses or significant others a $250.00 visa gift card to use at the store of their choice. (His reason for the spouses present was that he knows they have to listen to all of us employees complain for the year about how horrible he it.)

....ARE YOU HIRING?? *SMILE*

brooke in Denver, Colorado said: this is very good to know, as i am movin to Kyle at the end of feb. does your sister know anyone hiring? 13yrs experience in the dental office....from front desk to chairside to everything in between!!! any help would be useful! thanks

Go online and work with SEVERAL dfferent dental RECRUITERS. They get PAID for EVERY Candidate they place. Be proactive.

ICURSMILE in Suwanee, Georgia said: WOMEN DENTISTS ARE.....THE WORST! STAY AWAY!

I,seriously, would be very careful about working with a doctor who files treatment for services NOT rendered. You could potentially be drawn into as a willingly or unwillingly participant in Insurance FRAUD. I had a friend who got innocently caught up in that. Just be careful. In 16 years of dentistry, I have seen alot of things.

PJ in Mesa, Arizona said: I have found over the course of 25 years that dentists require a certain type of personality...buttheads all of them. They are willing to have a lot of turnover and hire inexperience so they don't have to pay a decent wage. Too bad they don't understand that an efficiently run front office MAKES them money, inexperience costs them in the long run. What they don't get is their office doesn't function without a front office.

You couldn't have said it better! I so agree.

Host said: What are typical dental office receptionist salaries? Do some companies pay a lot more for this position than others? What does a top earner make in this field?

What skills should you learn to increase your salary?

Dental Office Receptionist salaries, in my opinion are based on:

1.) Geographics
2.) Doctors value for Candidate
3.) Doctors "percieved" value for position he is looking to fill
4.) Responsibilities of position
5.) Years of Experience and Skill set
6.) Economy

A top earner makes....what a doctor is willing to pay and a candidate is willing to accept.

andrea w in Lilburn, Georgia said: I am a expanded duties assistant with over 17 years of experience, i have worked both front desk and all aspects of back office. due to an injury, and my age, i am trying to get a job front office in an orthodontic office, i have little ortho background but plenty of dental.. here is my question.. how to do find an salary averge for such a situation.. this doctor does office some nice benefits, but her inital offer is much lower than what i can take... I have looked all over the internet and cannot find a decent site to be specific for dental jobs... any advice would be greatly appreicated..

Go with a Dental Recruiter. They get paid PER placement.

ICURSMILE in Suwanee, Georgia said: Angie, have you sat down with your boss one on one and relayed to him how you feel about not getting treatment? Or better yet, if the whole staff feels the same, it would be benefical to call a meeting so everyone will have a voice. I have been in the dental field (front office)for 16 years now. I worked for a previous employer where at the end of an office meeting, the staff said to the doctor ....."we need to talk to YOU." The doctor listened and acted on it. I know, this is VERY unusual. And yes, I would tell the doctor (in which I DID!)...

"How can I rave about the quality of your work, tell the patients what a GREAT dentist you are and ask for referrals when we do NOT feel VALUED??? Doctor, when I accepted employment with you, YOU trusted that I would keep MY word and committments... well, I trusted that in good faith YOU would keep yours TOO." Also, where IS the Office Manager in all of this? I have managed offices and do NOT take a "passive" approach to this. I have left jobs over this and also SAVED many jobs over this. I am a firm believer in "we get what we tolerate." You choose the behavior...you choose the consequences. (addressing the doctor here.)At the end of the day, we have to decide what is healty for us. We can act or react.

you are one hundred percent correct,, However this happens to be a wife managed office, our meak office manager, does what the wife tells her, and the Doctor is under tight control, does nothing without wifes approval.. yes, I too have been in many other office where staff had an opinion, and mattered., but the wife was not working in the office and rarely showed up at all. I have already started looking for another position, however in the meantime, I really have a problem with have a toothache and working in an office where there is a dentist that knows, his staff needs work he is a decent person, but his staff in invisable to him.. he doesnt see people only cash

Angie...Gosh, I am sorry about your situation. I have been in your shoes before and it was hard to walk another mile. I have NEVER had a good experience where the wife "worked" (...yeah, right) in the practice. The wife's opinion supercedes anything else. In that situation, unfortunately, nothing ever changes. This past Christmas, the wife gave the girls (staff) a vase. On the bottom of it was the price sticker...."reduced price" $6.50. She bought 4 identical vases for each one of the staff members. .....Boy, WE felt SPECIAL. We decided next year for Christmas we would give the doctor and his wife something unique and special....one of OUR vases! (and yes, with the price sticker still on the bottom!) ....Could you see the wife saying, " Oh! how COULD they?"....as she stomps out of the room. And my response would be, "yeah, how could YOU?"
.....and the stories go on.

Do you live in Alpharetta? I know dentists in the area (Alpharetta, Suwanee, Johns Creek, Roswell) looking for an assistant. I am actively interviewing front office,in these same areas- I live in Suwanee) and have been to great offices and bad ones too. When I do my searches (internet leads/leads from dental reps./dental recruiters/friends in the dental field, etc.), I see the good offices with an opening for a hygienist or an assistant and tell my friends in the dental field. (I wish more of us in this field would HELP one another with any good leads we find or hear via word of mouth.) PEOPLE KNOW PEOPLE. I have often thought of being a Dental Recruiter myself because I care enough to tell another dentist office of a great qualified person. If I am not a good fit and it is a great opportunity, it is great to pass on the information. I have replaced my disappointments in the dental field with a heart of compassion for the unappreciated, unvalued and skilled person in our field. I know a great dentist in Suwanee looking for an assistant. Send me your email and I'll email you some other leads too!