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Functional Resume

Dental assistants offer technical support and are also involved in patient care, office management and routine lab tasks. Make sure your resume highlights your expertise, with the focus on skills that show you can get the job done, such as excellent organizational ability, and practical dental knowledge.

Focus on your management skills along with technical, job-specific training. In addition, emphasize interpersonal skills that show that you can deal with patients and colleagues effectively. For example: “Affable and organized Dental Assistant with over three years of experience in both private and corporate dental offices. Able to skillfully schedule routine procedures, maintain patient records, and communicate with my regular patients.”

Feature hard skills such as developing radiographs, instrument sterilization, infection control and mouthguard fabrication, as well as soft skills such as ability to multitask and handle responsibility.

Show how you’ve expanded your skill set by listing proficiencies you have in areas such as coronal polishing, sealant application and fluoride treatment. Also look to gain and feature Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) certification by the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB).

Combination Resume

Emphasize both your skills and your work experience in this profession. Substantiate your accomplishments as a dental hygienist with examples from your professional history.

Mention your best traits and work experiences thus far in areas such as periodontics and oral cancer, presenting yourself as an expert who can work closely with both dentists and patients.

Your soft skills should center around patient management and ability to educate diverse groups on oral hygiene. Stress hard skills such as dental radiography, oral cancer detection, tartar buildup, periodontal charting and debridement.

Feature additional training you’ve completed, such as the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination, or licensing in local anesthesia administration and dental radiography. Also list any advanced degrees you have in dentistry, as well as any teaching or specialized research experiences you have in dental schools and education programs.

Chronological Resume

These primary dental care providers are expected to have a decent amount of experience — make sure your resume reflects that, with an extensive work history section.

Give a brief overview of your top skills and experiences, presenting yourself as someone who can offer holistic dental treatment. Maintain an authoritative tone in your resume. For example: “Efficient General Dentist with over five years’ experience serving 800+ patients in family practice settings. Specializing in diagnosis, treatment planning and periodontal work.”

Highlight your expertise in performing both standard (e.g., placing fillings, oral disease diagnosis) and complex dental procedures (e.g., root canal therapy, dental implants), as well as your ability to communicate with patients and provide a positive office atmosphere.

Follow up your Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree or Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree with certification in specializations such as oral and maxillofacial radiology, endodontics and prosthodontics. Demonstrate how you stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the field, and how you’ve contributed to successful organizations (e.g., your dental practice receiving favorable user ratings).