Earnings

The median annual wage for dental assistants was $34,500 in May 2012.  The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.  The lowest 10 percent earned less than $23,550, and the top 10 percent earned more than $47,580.

Most dental assistants work full time.  However, about one in three assistants worked part time in 2012.  Some work evenings or weekends, depending on the hours of operation at the office where they work.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-2013 Edition (http://www.bls.gov/oco/)