Dental assistant interview questions

What this hire must get done

Write the scorecard before you interview, then hire against it. Set the bracketed targets from your own numbers.

What to tell candidates before the interview

Say the hard parts plainly. People who wouldn't stay drop out early, and the ones who stay knew what they signed up for.

• Show the posted schedule: [days and hours], [evenings or Saturdays], and how often you ask assistants to cover at nearby offices, including how that drive is paid.
• Say plainly that the job means contact with blood, saliva and aerosols, that you provide protective gear, and that OSHA has you offer the hepatitis B vaccine series at no cost within ten working days of starting, unless they've already had it or can't take it.
• Name the duties that need a state credential in your offices, such as x-rays, say you'll verify each one on the board's site before day one, and say whether you pay for the course.
• Tell them your rule: a room never gets turned over short to save time, and you'd rather the dentist run late.

How to run the interview

1. Same questions, same order. Ask every candidate the questions below and the same follow-ups. It is the only way to compare people fairly.
2. Two interviewers. An owner or manager and someone who does the work. Take notes on what the candidate says, not on how you feel about them.
3. Score right after each answer. 5 sounds like the strong answer, 3 like the mixed one, 1 like the weak one. Use 2 and 4 for answers in between.
4. Rate alone, then compare. Compare candidates question by question, and talk only after everyone has scored. Big gaps are worth a conversation.

1. Behavioral · Chairside flow

   Think of the last crown prep you assisted on. Walk me through it from seating the patient to walking them out: what did you have ready, and when?

   The last real procedure, step by step, shows whether they work a step ahead of the dentist or wait to be asked.

   Follow-ups

   • What did the dentist ask for that you didn't have ready, and why not?
   • What did you check on the impression or scan before the patient left?
   • What did you tell the patient on the way out?

   5Strong

   Names each stage in order and what was ready before it: the tray to that dentist's preference, suction and retraction, the impression or scan, the temporary as their state allows, and after-care instructions. Can say how they learned that dentist's habits.

   3Mixed

   Has the sequence right, but describes passing what the dentist asked for rather than having it ready.

   1Weak

   Can't walk through a specific procedure, or says only that they 'assisted'.

2. Situational · Chairside flow

   You're covering at another of our offices for a day, with a dentist you've never worked with. The first patient is due in [15] minutes. What do you do?

   In a group, assistants cover other offices. This shows whether they find out how that dentist works before the first patient or learn it by getting corrected.

   Follow-ups

   • Who do you look for first, and what do you ask?
   • What do you check in the room before the patient comes in?
   • What do you do when the dentist wants something set up differently halfway through?

   5Strong

   Finds the dentist or that office's lead assistant and asks about the schedule, tray setups and preferences. Checks the room, supplies, where the emergency kit is and how that office's sterilization area runs. Adapts without fuss and writes down what's different for next time.

   3Mixed

   Sets up a clean, complete room their home office's way, and adjusts smoothly once the dentist corrects them, but didn't ask ahead.

   1Weak

   Stands by until someone gives directions, or sets up their own way and argues when it differs.

3. Situational · Infection control

   The dentist is behind and tells you to seat the next patient now, but you haven't finished disinfecting the room. What do you do?

   Pressure from the dentist is where turnover steps get skipped. You want the assistant who holds the line and still helps the day move.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you say to the dentist, word for word?
   • How do you make up the time without cutting a step?
   • What would you do if this happened every day?

   5Strong

   Finishes the turnover to protocol, including the disinfectant's contact time from its label, before seating. Tells the dentist calmly how many minutes it needs, makes up time by having the tray and chart ready or asking a coworker to greet the patient, and raises a pattern with the practice manager.

   3Mixed

   Finishes the turnover properly and seats the patient a few minutes late, but says nothing, so the dentist doesn't know why the room is late.

   1Weak

   Seats the patient in a room that isn't finished, or cuts the contact time to keep the dentist happy.

4. Technical · Infection control

   The sterilization technician is out, so you're processing instruments between your own patients. Talk me through what happens to a used cassette until it's ready for the next tray.

   Assistants in a group fill in for sterilization on short-staffed days. Knowing the order, and how you'd know a cycle failed, is the difference between safe and lucky.

   Follow-ups

   • What protective gear do you put on, and why that gear?
   • How do you know a pouch is safe to open in front of the next patient?
   • What would make you pull a load and tell the practice manager?

   5Strong

   Carries it covered to the dirty side and puts on utility gloves, mask, eye protection and gown. Cleans, dries, inspects, packages with an indicator and labels it, runs the cycle, checks the readout and indicators, and stores it dry. Keeps dirty and clean apart and logs the load.

   3Mixed

   Gets the order right and uses the right gear, but can't say how they'd know a cycle or a pouch failed.

   1Weak

   Skips cleaning before sterilizing, handles sharp instruments in exam gloves, or lets clean and dirty items share a counter.

5. Situational · Infection control

   While breaking down a tray after a filling, a used explorer goes through your glove and breaks the skin. The patient is still at the front desk. What do you do?

   An exposure handled late or kept quiet can cost the assistant their health. OSHA's rule also has the office identify the source patient and ask their consent for testing, which is far harder once they've gone home.

   Follow-ups

   • Who do you tell, and how soon?
   • Why does it matter that the patient hasn't left yet?
   • What would stop someone from reporting a small stick, and what would you say to them?

   5Strong

   Stops, does the first aid your exposure plan lists, and tells the person who manages exposures right away, before the patient leaves, so the office can follow its plan for the source patient. Fills in the incident report and goes straight to the medical evaluation the office arranges.

   3Mixed

   Does the first aid and reports it right away, but doesn't think of the source patient still at the front desk, or isn't sure where the exposure control plan is kept.

   1Weak

   Keeps working and says nothing, or calls a small stick not worth reporting.

6. Situational · Staying in scope

   Say you work in a state that requires a permit to polish teeth, and you don't hold one. The dentist, running late, asks you to polish a patient's teeth while they finish next door. What do you do?

   Polishing rules vary by state, so the question states the premise. It tests whether the assistant protects the patient and the dentist's license when the person asking is the boss.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you say, word for word?
   • What do you offer to do instead?
   • What if the dentist says everyone here does it?

   5Strong

   Declines right away and respectfully, offers what they can do to help, like setting up the next room or taking the x-rays their credential covers, and tells the practice manager if it's asked again. May ask how to earn the permit if the office wants that duty.

   3Mixed

   Declines and offers other help, but when the dentist says everyone does it, lets it drop without telling the practice manager.

   1Weak

   Polishes anyway because the dentist asked, or doesn't know which duties need a permit.

7. Technical · Staying in scope

   Walk me through the duties you did at your last office that needed a state credential, and which credential covered each one.

   Rules differ by state, so you want an assistant who knows where their own papers end, not one who assumes.

   Follow-ups

   • Where would you look up what an assistant may do in [our state]?
   • When does each credential you hold need renewing?
   • What would you check first if you moved to an office in a different state?

   5Strong

   Names each regulated duty they did, such as x-rays, polishing or sealants, with the certificate or registration that covered it and when it renews. Names the state dental board, or DANB's state lookup, as where they'd check.

   3Mixed

   Knows their x-ray credential and its renewal, but is unsure which other duties need one, or hasn't looked at how our state's rules differ.

   1Weak

   Did regulated duties without knowing whether they needed a credential, or can't say what they hold.

8. Situational · Calming patients

   A patient who canceled twice is finally in your chair for a filling. Their hands are shaking, and they tell you the last dentist didn't stop when they asked. What do you do before the dentist walks in?

   The minutes before the dentist arrives decide whether a fearful patient stays for treatment and comes back.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you say to them first?
   • What do you tell the dentist, and when?
   • What do you write down for the patient's next visit?

   5Strong

   Listens and says the fear makes sense, explains what will happen, and agrees on a stop signal the dentist will honor. Briefs the dentist before they walk in, offers the comfort measures the office uses, and notes what helped in the chart for next time.

   3Mixed

   Is warm and reassuring and tells the dentist the patient is nervous, but doesn't set a stop signal or record what helped.

   1Weak

   Tells them to relax, or says nothing to the dentist.

9. Behavioral · Follow-through

   Tell me about a crown or denture visit where the lab case wasn't ready, or nearly wasn't. How did you learn about it, and what happened?

   A missing case sends a patient home after taking time off work. You want the assistant who checks ahead, not the one who finds out with the patient seated.

   Follow-ups

   • How did that office track lab cases?
   • Who did you call, and what did you tell the patient?
   • What did you change afterward?

   5Strong

   Describes checking the next day's cases against the schedule, catching the gap early, calling the lab and the front desk, and rushing or rebooking before the patient arrived. Changed a habit or the tracking sheet so it didn't repeat.

   3Mixed

   Handled it well once the patient arrived, apologizing and rebooking, but had no habit of checking ahead.

   1Weak

   Found out with the patient in the chair and blames the lab or the front desk.

10. Behavioral · Follow-through

    Tell me about a time you realized you'd made a mistake on a patient's visit, like a wrong shade in the note, a missed x-ray or an instrument missing from the tray. What did you do?

    Everyone makes chairside mistakes. You want the assistant who tells the dentist and fixes the record properly.

    Follow-ups

    • Who did you tell, and how soon?
    • How did you correct the record?
    • What do you do differently now?

    5Strong

    Owns the specific mistake, told the dentist promptly, corrected the record with a dated addition rather than changing the original, then built a habit so it doesn't repeat.

    3Mixed

    Owns it and fixed it properly, but only after someone else noticed, and the lesson is vague.

    1Weak

    Can't name one, hid it, or changed the record so no one would know.

Work exercise: tray setup and sterilization walk-through

In an empty operatory, give each finalist an invented schedule for the day, one dentist's written tray preferences and clean, unused instruments. In [20] minutes they set up for the first visit, turn the room over as if a patient just left, and talk through how they'd take a cassette through your sterilization area without running a cycle. Plant [two] problems in that schedule, such as a crown visit with no lab case checked in. No patients, no used instruments, and only supplies your policy lets a candidate handle.

Use made-up materials, never real customer work, and keep it to the time shown. Follow your own safety rules for anything hands-on.

Reference check questions

Tell finalists you'll call a former manager, and get their permission first. Ask about what they did, not whether they were nice.

• When the schedule ran behind, did you ever see them cut a step in room turnover or instrument processing? How did you know?
• How long did it take them to work smoothly with a new dentist, and how complete were their procedure notes?
• What did patients, especially nervous ones, say about them?
• Would you rehire them, and is there any duty you wouldn't have let them do alone?

Questions to skip, and what to ask instead

Ask only what the job needs. Questions that touch age, health, family or pay history can break federal, state or local law, even when you mean well.

• SkipAny history of hepatitis, HIV or other infections we should know about?

  AskDon't ask about infections or health before an offer. Tell every candidate the job involves contact with blood and saliva, that you supply protective gear, and that you offer the hepatitis B vaccine series at no cost to staff with this exposure.

• SkipAre you planning to get pregnant? You'd be around x-rays.

  AskDon't ask. Explain your radiation safety practices to every candidate the same way, and let anyone who wants details ask for them.

• SkipIs your back going to be a problem, sitting hunched over a chair all day?

  AskAsk everyone the same way: the job means sitting chairside and turning over rooms for most of an [eight]-hour day, with fine hand work. Are you able to perform these duties, with or without reasonable accommodation?

• SkipHow much did your last office pay you?

  AskThis role pays [range], plus [any extra pay for an x-ray certificate or DANB credential]. What range are you looking for?

Common mistakes when hiring a dental assistant

• Hiring the fastest turnover

  An assistant who turns a room in record time may be skipping contact time or the cleaning step before sterilization. Speed only counts once the steps are all there, which the exercise and the reference question about running behind will show you.

• Assuming another state's papers carry over

  An x-ray certificate earned in one state may not count in yours. Texas, for one, requires its own board-issued radiology certificate before an assistant positions or exposes dental x-rays. A DANB certificate is one way to qualify there, but the assistant still applies to the Texas board and passes its jurisprudence assessment. Look up the credential on your board's site before the first patient.

• Leaving sterilization to the technician

  In a group, the sterilization technician is sometimes out. An assistant who has never processed instruments either backs up the rooms or guesses. Test it in the exercise even if every office has a technician.

Dental assistant interview FAQ