According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Record and review patient medical histories. | 97% |
| Feel and visually examine gums for sores and signs of disease. | 96% |
| Examine gums, using probes, to locate periodontal recessed gums and signs of gum disease. | 95% |
| Clean calcareous deposits, accretions, and stains from teeth and beneath margins of gums, using dental instruments. | 95% |
| Provide clinical services or health education to improve and maintain the oral health of patients or the general public. | 93% |
| Chart conditions of decay and disease for diagnosis and treatment by dentist. | 91% |
| Expose and develop x-ray film. | 90% |
| Attend continuing education courses to maintain or update skills. | 89% |
| Maintain dental equipment and sharpen and sterilize dental instruments. | 89% |
| Apply fluorides or other cavity preventing agents to arrest dental decay. | 89% |
| Maintain patient recall system. | 88% |
| Feel lymph nodes under patient's chin to detect swelling or tenderness that could indicate presence of oral cancer. | 86% |
| Administer local anesthetic agents. | 78% |
| Remove excess cement from coronal surfaces of teeth. | 76% |
| Conduct dental health clinics for community groups to augment services of dentist. | 59% |
| Place and remove rubber dams, matrices, and temporary restorations. | 55% |
| Make impressions for study casts. | 55% |
| Remove sutures and dressings. | 54% |
