Hiring guideRead at source, 29 September 2026

How to Hire Dental Assistants and Dental Hygienists: Where to Find Them, What the Ad Must Say, and How Fast to Call

To hire dental assistants, check your state’s rules first (requirements for assistants, radiography and expanded functions vary by state), then advertise to assistants at other practices and new graduates of dental assisting programs with the pay, the days worked and the practice type in the first line, offering to pay for any certification you need. Hygienists must be licensed in every state, so the ad leads with pay, schedule and appointment length and the application confirms an active license. Call within a day.

Who you are hiring: two roles, two labor markets

Dental assistants and hygienists work side by side, but the hiring is different. Most dental assisting programs take about a year, and BLS says states typically do not require a license for entry-level assistants; a hygienist needs a degree and a state license. That changes where you look, what the ad leads with and how much room you have to train.

Two things follow. Assistants have more openings a year, so you are competing on volume and on keeping the ones you hire. Hygienists are fewer and licensed, so you are competing for people who already have a job, often part time at more than one office. BLS notes that some hygienists work for more than one dentist because practices hire them for only a few days a week.

How to hire dental assistants

Check your state’s rules before you write the requirements

What an assistant may do, and what credential each duty needs, is set state by state. BLS says states typically do not require licenses for entry-level assistants, but some require licensing, registration or certification, and duties such as radiography and expanded functions like coronal polishing need an assistant to be licensed, registered or certified. Look up your state in the Dental Assisting National Board’s state requirements directory and confirm with your state dental board before the ad goes up. If your state lets you hire an assistant who earns a radiography credential after hire, say you will pay for it. That one sentence opens the job to career changers and new graduates.

Where to find dental assistants

• Assistants at other practices. Most experienced assistants are employed. They move for the doctor, the schedule and the pay, so an ad that names all three reaches them.
• Dental assisting programs. BLS says most programs take about a year and lead to a certificate or diploma. Find accredited programs near you in the Commission on Dental Accreditation’s program finder, and offer externship placements; the student you train is often the easiest hire you will make.
• Your own front desk and sterilization staff. Someone who already knows the office and wants chairside work may be your next assistant if your state allows on-the-job training.
• Adjacent patient-care roles. Medical assistants, pharmacy technicians and CNAs who want daytime, weekday hours already understand patient care and infection control.
• Referrals. Assistants know other assistants. Ask your team first.

What the dental assistant ad must say

An assistant checks four things: the pay, the days and hours, the kind of practice, and whether the job is chairside only or includes expanded functions. Put them in the first two lines. An example: “Dental assistant, general practice, Monday to Thursday, 7:30 to 4. $24 to $27 an hour depending on radiography and experience. We pay for your radiography certification.” Use your own rate and schedule; some states and cities also require a pay range in the posting (see pay transparency laws by state). The full template is on our dental assistant job description page.

Screening questions for a dental assistant application

• Which credentials do you hold? (Radiography, your state’s assistant registration or certification, DANB certification, none yet.) Use this to sort, not to knock out, unless your state requires the credential to start.
• How many years of chairside experience do you have?
• Which days can you work?
• When could you start?

How to hire dental hygienists

A hygienist runs their own schedule of patients, and the license is non-negotiable: BLS says every state requires dental hygienists to be licensed, and most require a degree from an accredited program plus written and clinical exams. Because the license is a legal requirement, it is a fair knockout question.

Where to find dental hygienists

• Part-timers at other practices. A hygienist who works two days for one dentist and two for another may want a third practice or a better one. Advertise the part-time schedule you actually have instead of waiting for a full-time candidate.
• New graduates. Find accredited dental hygiene programs through the CODA program finder and build a relationship with the ones in your area well before graduation. Say “new graduates welcome, with mentoring” in the ad if you mean it.
• Your temp hygienists. If a temp covers your column regularly and your patients like them, ask whether they would take a permanent schedule.
• Social job ads. Most hygienists are employed and not reading job boards. A local ad in the feed reaches them on the day they are thinking about a change.

What the dental hygienist ad must say

Hygienists compare practices on more than pay. Lead with the pay and pay model (hourly, daily or with a production bonus), the days worked, the appointment length, and whether an assistant helps with setup, charting or radiographs. An example: “Dental hygienist, 3 or 4 days a week, no Fridays. 60-minute appointments with assisted hygiene on Tuesdays. $48 to $54 an hour.” Use your own figures. The full template is on our dental hygienist job description page.

Screening questions for a hygienist application

• Do you hold an active dental hygiene license in this state, or will you by your start date? (Knockout.)
• Which days can you work, and are you looking for full time or part time?
• How many years have you practiced? (New graduates welcome, if true.)
• When could you start?

Verify the license with your state dental board before the first patient. For other clinical roles, see our healthcare recruiting hub.

Speed: call within a day, and consider a paid working interview

An employed assistant or hygienist who applies to you is often talking to other practices the same week. Text the applicant within minutes to confirm you received the application and offer an interview time, then have the office manager or dentist call within a day. Many practices finish with a working interview, a few paid hours in the operatory, which shows how someone works with your team and patients. Pay for it; our working interview guide explains why.

What it costs to recruit dental staff on social

Boostpoint’s 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark (891 managed Meta campaigns, 1,334 campaign-months) does not report dental roles as a family of their own, so the fair reference is the sector that includes healthcare employers: healthcare and senior living campaigns ran a median of $15.42 per applicant, with the middle half between $7.89 and $39.61 and a 16% apply rate. Across all campaigns, the apply experience explained 70% of the variation in cost per applicant; campaigns where under 5% of clickers finished the application paid $53.77 per applicant, and those above 35% paid $1.61. Costs are what advertisers paid for advertising only; cost per applicant is not cost per hire. Full figures are on the benchmark page.

Keeping them: the first 90 days

• Keep the schedule you advertised. A dropped day or surprise Saturday is a quick way to lose a new hygienist who has other offers.
• Give assistants a next step. Pay for radiography or expanded-function training where your state allows it, and show the pay difference it earns.
• Pair every new assistant with a lead assistant for the first weeks, so they learn the dentist’s preferences and the office’s systems from a person.
• Check in at 30 and 90 days. Ask what is harder than expected while there is still time to fix it.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 and May 2025 median annual wage (dental assistants, SOC 31-9091; dental hygienists, SOC 29-1292); BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Dental Assistants and Dental Hygienists; Dental Assisting National Board, state requirements; Commission on Dental Accreditation, program finder; Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark. Read at source 29 September 2026.