Questions to Ask Dental Assistant Interview
Questions for a dental assistant candidate to ask at interview: how the floor is actually staffed, which duties are yours, what the hours really are, and how pay, certification and training are handled.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How many operatories run at once, and how many assistants are on the floor?
Why ask it
Two numbers that tell you the pace of the job before anyone describes it. Six rooms with two assistants is a very different week from four rooms with four, whatever the posting said.
Would I be chairside with one dentist, or moving between providers?
Why ask it
Working with a single dentist means learning one set of preferences quickly. Floating between providers means learning several and being interrupted, which some assistants prefer and some find exhausting.
What procedures would I be assisting on in a normal week?
Why ask it
The honest answer separates a general practice from one doing heavy surgical or implant work. It also shows you what you would actually learn here, which matters most early in a career.
Which tasks are mine, and which belong to the hygienist or the front desk?
Why ask it
Boundaries in small practices are often informal, which is how assistants end up answering phones and chasing claims between patients. Ask for the list of what falls to you when someone is out.
Would I be taking radiographs, and what certification do you need me to hold?
Why ask it
Requirements are set by the state or country and vary considerably, so a practice that is vague about this may be vague about compliance generally. Also ask who pays if you need the credential.
How is sterilization handled during a full schedule, and who does it?
Why ask it
This is the task that gets squeezed when a practice runs behind. If turning over instruments for six rooms falls to one assistant between patients, you have just learned what your day feels like at three o'clock.
How many patients does each provider see in a day?
Why ask it
The clearest measure of workload available in an interview, and easy for them to answer. Compare it to the number of assistants, because that ratio is the job.
What time does the first patient arrive, and what time do people actually leave?
Why ask it
Posted hours and real hours differ in most practices, usually by the half hour before opening and the hour after the last patient. Ask what happens when a procedure runs long at the end of the day.
Is there a lunch break that actually happens?
Why ask it
A blocked lunch in the schedule is not the same as an uninterrupted one. Asking plainly gets a plain answer, and the reaction to the question is informative on its own.
What does the day look like when you are running half an hour behind?
Why ask it
You want to hear the practical mechanism: an assistant who seats and preps, a hygienist who helps, a schedule with catch-up time. If the answer is that everyone works faster, that is the culture.
Who would I report to, and who sets my schedule?
Why ask it
In many practices this is an office manager rather than a dentist, and knowing who decides your hours matters more than the org chart suggests. Ask to meet that person before you accept.
What would training look like in my first month?
Why ask it
Look for a named person to shadow, a written list of provider preferences, and time to learn the software. A practice that expects you to be productive on day two is telling you they are short-staffed.
Do you pay for continuing education or for expanded function certification?
Why ask it
This is one of the largest differences between employers in this field, and it directly affects what you can earn later. Ask whether the time is paid as well as the course fee.
Are scrubs, loupes and personal protective equipment provided?
Why ask it
Small costs individually, real money over a year, and a fair indication of how the practice treats staff generally. Ask specifically about N95 fit testing and eye protection.
How is pay set here, and when would the first review happen?
Why ask it
You want the range, whether it is hourly or salaried, how overtime works, and a date rather than a promise of review at some point. Vagueness about the first raise usually means there is not one.
What benefits are there, and when do they begin?
Why ask it
Waiting periods, retirement matching, paid time off, and whether dental care for staff is covered. In small practices these vary widely and are often negotiable.
Is any part of pay tied to production, and how is that calculated?
Why ask it
Ask how it worked out in the last few months rather than for the formula. Production bonuses in a practice with an unpredictable schedule can be worth much less than they sound.
How long have the current assistants been here, and why did the last one leave?
Why ask it
The most useful question in the interview and the one most likely to produce a pause. Steady tenure in a small practice is a strong sign; a run of short stays deserves a follow-up.
What would make you say someone had done well in their first ninety days?
Why ask it
Forces a specific answer about expectations, and you can compare it to what they said the job involves. It also gives you the words to use if you take the job and want a review.
What are the next steps, and when should I expect to hear?
Why ask it
Closes the interview cleanly and gives you a date. It also tells you whether they are still interviewing, which is useful if you are weighing another offer.
Interviewing at a dental practice
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
What to notice while you are there
- The sterilization area. Whether it is clean, organised and adequately sized tells you how the practice runs under pressure.
- Whether the schedule board is full, and how far out they are booked.
- How the staff speak to each other in front of you, and whether anyone looks harassed.
- The age and state of the equipment, particularly the chairs and the imaging.
- Whether the dentist is present in the interview at all, which says something about how staff are viewed.
- Whether anyone offers to show you the operatory you would be working in.
Order the conversation
First interview: the work
Duties, staffing, schedule, training, who you report to. These are the answers that decide whether you want the job, and they are easier to get before money enters the conversation.
Once they are interested: the terms
Pay range, hours, overtime, benefits, certification costs, uniform. If they raise compensation first, answer honestly with a range and move on rather than avoiding it.
Before you accept: the people
Ask to meet the assistant you would work beside and the office manager. Ten minutes with them tells you more about the daily reality than the whole formal interview.
Signs to weigh carefully
- An unpaid working interview lasting more than a short observation. Ask whether it is paid and what tasks are involved.
- Being unable or unwilling to say why the previous assistant left.
- Duties that expand as the conversation goes on: assisting, sterilization, phones, insurance, ordering, all in one role.
- Vagueness about radiography credentials or licensing requirements.
- Pay quoted only as a range with the top figure conditional on production.
- Pressure to decide the same day.
If you are new to the field
Say what you can already do
Suction, isolation, taking impressions, sterilization protocol, the software you have used. Specifics from a training programme or an externship count, and vague enthusiasm does not.
Ask what they train and what they expect you to arrive with
Practices differ on whether they will teach a new assistant chairside or want someone who can seat and prep from week one. Knowing which this is prevents a bad first month.
Take the practice that teaches you
Early in a career the variety of procedures you assist on and the willingness of the dentist to explain what is happening are worth more than a slightly higher hourly rate.