You’re a superhero to all your young patients who hate going to the dentist. Your comforting presence and intimate knowledge of dentistry help kids, teens, and parents navigate difficult dental procedures without a hitch.
You have the unique skill set to be a top-notch pediatric dental assistant, but do you have a good resume to show the world what you can do?
Like you spend your days helping others overcome obstacles, we’re helping job seekers craft resumes that score their dream roles. Here’s how to prepare an eye-catching pediatric dental assistant resume and create a cover letter to get you more interviews.
What Matters Most: Your Skills & Pediatric Dental Assistant Experience
Few professions encapsulate empathy the way yours does. Working with youngsters at a dental office can be a tough test of patience, but you pass it daily with flying colors. However, when discussing your top skills in a resume, avoid focusing solely on soft skills.
As a pediatric dental assistant, you have a lot of technical skills to cover. Potential employers want to know whether you can handle X-ray imaging, instrument sterilization, and chairside assistance.
To highlight your expertise, talk about your proficiency in software such as Dentrix or Eaglesoft and hands-on skills such as working with dental composites and local anesthetics. Don’t overlook your patient management skills entirely, but emphasize the technical side of your job in this section.
9 best pediatric dental assistant skills
- X-ray imaging
- Chairside assistance
- Instrument sterilization
- Dentrix
- Sealant application
- CPR
- Special care dentistry
- Dental charting
- Calming techniques
Sample pediatric dental assistant work experience bullet points
Your skills make you a favorite among your patients, but your work experience puts them into perspective. This can show employers the value you bring to the table.
To make an impression, turn your bullet points into metrics. Don’t settle for “provided dental assistance” because that’s a given. Instead, talk about how many patients you saw each day or how your sterilization techniques reduced post-procedure cleanup by 25%.
Here’s how to use measurable impact to your advantage:
- Reduced appointment cancellations by 18% by implementing new distraction techniques and positive reinforcement that alleviate dental anxiety
- Performed radiographs and intra-oral pictures for patients, reducing processing time by 25%
- Maintained OSHA compliance by cleaning each operatory 15+ times per week following state infection control guidelines
- Provided chairside assistance to up to 15 patients per day, including local anesthetic, sealant application, and fluoride treatments
Top 5 Tips for Your Pediatric Dental Assistant Resume
- Highlight your extras
- As a pediatric dental assistant, your job is to comfort patients regardless of their individual needs. If you have experience working with children with autism or disabilities, say so. You can also mention courses you’ve taken, languages you speak, and conferences you’ve attended.
- Certifications are a must
- You can get hands-on experience on the job, but primary education and certifications are necessary for this role. Mention your DANB and CPR certifications and optional ones, such as CE or AADMD courses.
- Put your patients first
- How good you are with kids plays a big part in your success, so show it off. However, avoid generic terms and instead emphasize skills like patient engagement, active listening, and positive reinforcement.
- Talk about specific tools
- The more you know, the easier it is for potential employers to train you—so you should talk about all the tools and techniques you’re familiar with. This includes software (Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental) and your knowledge of dental composites, amalgam, types of cement, sealants, and impression materials.
- Don’t re-use your resume
- Pick a resume template that’s easy to update and give it a once-over before you apply. If the job description emphasizes patient management and preventative care over chairside assistance and sterilization, adjust your resume accordingly.
If you’ve completed a Dental Assisting Program at a community college or vocational school, you do have some experience—talk about relevant coursework, internships, and projects. If not, emphasize your background in working with people, such as volunteer work, childcare, or customer service.
A career summary is usually not needed for a pediatric dental assistant. If you do include a short objective section, tailor it to the job and talk about goals that align well with it, such as wanting to learn more in the field of special needs dentistry.
The part of your resume that contains your skills shouldn’t be longer than ten at most, so pick a good balance of technical and soft skills. This includes non-verbal communication and cultural sensitivity.
Stephen is the co-founder and CEO of BeamJobs. He started his career in data fulfilling the dream of little kids everywhere: working for an insurance company. He then moved on to work in edtech for a company called Chegg before venturing out to start BeamJobs. Things have come a long way after countless “learnings” (fancy word for mistakes), and BeamJobs has now helped 2.5M+ people create their perfect resume. Stephen and BeamJobs have been featured on awesome sites like Business Insider, Chicago Tribune, Dallas News, Baltimore Sun, the Daily Press, Zendesk, HubSpot, and loads more.
