Dental Assistant Resume Template & Examples
A dentist or office manager hiring a dental assistant checks first whether you can legally take X-rays in their state — a radiography certificate or permit, often based on DANB's RHS exam — and whether you hold a credential such as DANB's Certified Dental Assistant. Then they look at what you can do chairside without being taught: four-handed dentistry, the procedures you assist with, the imaging and practice software you know, and how many patients you see a day. Sterilization and infection control come next; a sloppy instrument cycle is a risk every practice takes seriously.
Key Skills: Four-handed dentistry · Digital radiography · Sterilization & infection control · Chairside assisting · Impressions & intraoral scanning · Dentrix / Eaglesoft · Patient education · CPR / BLS
Resume Writing Tips
Put your state permit and DANB status first
Dental assistant duties are set state by state, and taking radiographs usually requires a state certificate or permit; many states accept DANB's Radiation Health and Safety (RHS) exam or the CDA credential as part of that. Write it at the top: «Certified Dental Assistant (DANB) · Radiography certificate, [state]». If your state has expanded-function duties (sealants, coronal polish, temporary restorations), name the permit you hold.
Count patients and procedures
A dentist wants to know your pace. «Assisted on 12–16 patients per day in a 2-dentist general practice» or «Assisted on 6–8 implant and extraction cases a day in an oral surgery office» says it plainly. Add the procedures you assist with: crowns and bridges, root canals, extractions, implants, fillings, clear aligner starts.
Show the tools you already know
Name the practice management and imaging systems: Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental; digital sensors and panoramic or CBCT units; intraoral scanners such as iTero or Primescan. Practices lose days training someone on new software, and seeing their own system on your resume is a relief.
Write sterilization like a process
Instead of «maintained cleanliness», describe the cycle: «Ran instrument reprocessing for 4 operatories — cleaning, packaging, autoclave cycles with weekly spore testing and logs». Infection control is what a dentist and an inspector look at closely, and DANB's ICE exam is a way to show it formally.
Include the front-desk and patient side
Many assistants also explain post-op instructions, review treatment plans with patients, confirm appointments and help with insurance. If you helped the schedule run better — fewer no-shows, faster room turnover — add it with a number you can stand behind.
Licences and requirements
Radiography is regulated by the state
Each state decides who may expose dental radiographs. Many accept DANB's Radiation Health and Safety (RHS) exam or the CDA credential as part of a state certificate; some require a state application or a course with a clinical component. Check your state's requirements before listing radiography.
DANB's CDA
The Certified Dental Assistant credential from the Dental Assisting National Board is earned by passing three exams: General Chairside (GC), Radiation Health and Safety (RHS) and Infection Control (ICE). GC has eligibility requirements; RHS and ICE can be taken on their own.
Resume summary examples
- Recent dental assisting graduate with a 300-hour externship in a pediatric practice. Passed DANB's RHS exam; BLS certified. Comfortable with digital sensors and Dentrix.
- Certified Dental Assistant with 6 years in general and cosmetic dentistry, 12–16 patients a day, digital radiography, intraoral scanning and sterilization for 4 operatories.
- Expanded-function dental assistant and clinical lead with 12 years in a multi-location group, placing sealants and temporaries, training new assistants and running OSHA compliance for 3 offices.
Strong Resume Bullets
- Assisted chairside on 12–16 patients a day in a 2-dentist general practice using four-handed technique.
- Took and processed full-mouth series, bitewings and panoramic images with digital sensors, retaking under 5% of images.
- Ran instrument reprocessing for 4 operatories with weekly spore testing and complete sterilization logs.
- Captured digital impressions with an intraoral scanner for about 10 crown and aligner cases a week.
- Placed sealants and performed coronal polishing under the state's expanded-function permit.
- Reviewed post-op instructions with every extraction and implant patient; follow-up calls cut after-hours questions.
- Cut room turnover time from about 12 to 8 minutes by setting up procedure trays in advance.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the state. Some states allow on-the-job training for basic duties; most require a certificate or permit to take X-rays, and many have extra permits for expanded functions. DANB's CDA credential is national and voluntary in many states but accepted or required for some duties in others. Check your state dental board.
Next to your name (for example, «Brianna Lopez, CDA») and in a «Certifications» section with the issuing body, state and expiry: CDA (DANB), RHS, ICE, state radiography certificate, BLS.
Lead with your training program and clinical externship: the practice type, hours, procedures you assisted on, radiographs you took under supervision. Add your RHS or state radiography status and BLS. Front-desk work in any healthcare office helps too.
Yes. Name the practice management software (Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental) and imaging tools you've used. Offices often prefer someone who already knows their system.
One page. Credentials, procedures and patient load should be visible in the top half.
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