In a dental office, a gap on the team shows up on the schedule the same day. Lose an assistant and the doctor slows down. Lose a hygienist and recall patients get pushed out. When the front desk turns over, calls go to voicemail and new patients book somewhere else.
When two dental assistants leave in one month
An office manager loses two assistants in the same month. The book is full for weeks, so the doctor works with one assistant and runs behind all day. The manager posts the job and reads applications at night after close. When she finally calls back, the people who looked right have interviewed somewhere else.
Other offices are hiring from the same people. About 53,000 dental assistant jobs open up each year, on average, in the Bureau of Labor Statistics projections for 2025 to 2035.
Dental assistant interview questions
Your office sets the questions. For an assistant, start with these:
- Credentials for your state: which ones they hold, such as radiography or expanded functions where your state allows them.
- Chairside experience: the procedures they have assisted with and the kind of practice they came from.
- Schedule: early starts, late days and Saturdays, if your office is open then.
- Patient care: how they help a nervous patient settle into the chair.
- Notice: the notice they plan to give their current office, so you know when they could start.
Where HireBus fits in your office
HireBus handles the steps before the working interview. You still choose who comes in and who gets the job.
- The ad: HireBus writes a job ad that covers the schedule, the pay, the kind of dentistry you do and the team they would join, then posts it.
- A phone interview before yours: Iris follows up with applicants and interviews them by phone with your questions. You read the answers before you give a working interview a spot on the schedule.
- The score: The RightSeat™ assessment scores behavior, experience and skills for the seat you are filling. Weigh it with everything else you learn.
- The next opening: Strong applicants you passed on stay on your bench. When the next assistant gives notice, always-on hiring means you already have people to call.
Dental office roles
- Dental hygienist: a state license, the appointment length you book, and how they talk with patients about care at home.
- Dental assistant: chairside skills, sterilization and room turnover, and the credentials your state requires.
- Front office / scheduler: a busy phone, insurance questions, and a kind voice when someone calls in pain.
- Treatment coordinator: walking patients through a treatment plan and payment options, then following up when they go quiet.
Questions practice owners ask
Does HireBus verify hygienist licenses or radiography certificates?
No. Iris asks about them and writes down what the applicant says. She doesn’t look anything up. Before anyone is hired, your office checks licenses and certificates, runs background checks and confirms your state’s rules.
Can front office and clinical jobs get different interviews?
Yes. Each opening gets its own questions. A scheduler interview covers phones, insurance questions and a full book. An assistant interview covers chairside work and the procedures your office does.
We only need one assistant. Is HireBus a fit?
Yes. The Starter plan is built for one active role. The pricing page lists each plan and the ad budget.
Should we still do a working interview?
Yes, if that is how your office hires. Iris’s answers help you choose who is worth one.
Founder & CEO of HireBus. Brandon took over his father's window cleaning business in 2012 and grew it past seventy employees in six seasons. He founded HireBus in Denver in 2021 with Rick Breden, PhD, an industrial and organizational psychologist. Read our story.
