How to become a dental aide or assistant
Official title: Dental aide/assistant
Also called: Dental aide, Dental assistant, Dental attendant, Dental clinical assistant, Dental nurse assistant, Dental surgery assistant, School dental surgery assistant, Dental aide, Dental attendant, Dental surgery assistant
Dental aide/assistant performs limited clinical duties under the direction of a dentist, including equipment preparation and sterilisation, preparing patients for treatment, assisting the dentist during treatment, and providing patients with instructions for oral healthcare procedures. He/she may perform administrative duties such as scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes.
Main tasks
- Providing care, support and treatment to patients and residents of medical, rehabilitative and residential care facilities as per treatment plans established by medical, nursing and other health professionals
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: $32,400 a year. The middle half earn $27,600 to $39,264 a year.
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
How much does a dental aide or assistant earn in Singapore?
Median full-time pay is $32,400 a year (Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg)). The middle half earn $27,600 to $39,264.
Will AI change the work of a dental aide or assistant?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg): Resident Occupational Wages (Occupational Wage Survey) (June 2024 (data.gov.sg update 2026-04-01)), Singapore Open Data Licence v1.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026