2013 New Jersey dental assisting salary survey

2013 New Jersey dental assisting salary survey

(National averages or percentages are in the parentheses to allow for comparison)

• Most common hourly rates: $18, $25 ($18)
• % who earn $30 or more an hour: 15% (6%)
• % who last received a raise more than a year ago: 57% (56%)
• % who believe raises occur at fair intervals: 42% (41%)
• % who would recommend dental assisting as a profession: 76% (73%)
• % who envision continued employment as a dental assistant three years from now: 67% (71%)

Selected comments from New Jersey:

• I have found that dental assisting rates are reasonable only in a hospital or a non-private office. Doctors in private practice are not paying assistants what they are worth, and it’s sad because we work so hard.
• Salaries in New Jersey begin at $10 for noncertified DA to $30 for CDA, RDA.
• Doesn’t pay well, poor medical insurance, no paid time off or vacation, just below full-time hours, costly to keep up with licenses. Workplace environment exposures are at high level.
• The more you know the better your salary in New Jersey.
• The income levels are fair depending on the office you work in. Specialty offices pay more.
• The economy is hurting our practice. There has not been any recovery in New Jersey.
• Right now in New Jersey, dental assistants who are licensed to operate X-rays are not allowed to operate a CBCT even though it's similar to an X-ray machine. I think it's ridiculous.
• New Jersey is very expensive; dental assisting salaries should be adjusted according to New Jersey cost of living.
• I would like to see expanded function allowing buccal infiltration anesthesia and minor excavations and filling on smaller classifications of caries. A new category of dental practitioner as a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant should be available for the dental profession
• New Jersey is very strict on dental assistants’ scope of practice. I wish I could do more.
• I can only speak from my experience in the state of New Jersey but I think more people are becoming assistants just because they don't want to go to college, and I see that most new assistants are not taking pride in their jobs.
• Dental treatment is declining due to the economy, which makes the field uncertain for the future. People look dental treatment as an option not as a necessity.

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