NOC 33100: Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants
What dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants do
Dental assistants assist dentists, dental hygienists and dental therapists during the examination and treatment of patients and perform clerical functions. Dental laboratory assistants assist dental technologists and technicians in preparing and fabricating dentures and other dental devices. Dental assistants work in dentists' offices, community health centres, clinics and in educational institutions. Dental laboratory assistants are employed in dental laboratories.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Dental assistants
- Prepare patients for dental examination and assist the dentist during examinations and dental treatments
- Sterilize and maintain instruments and equipment
- Prepare dental instruments, fillings compound and various dental materials
- Take and develop X-rays
- Polish teeth and clinical crowns and apply fluoride and sealant
- Take preliminary impressions for diagnostic casts
- Educate patients concerning oral hygiene
- Perform clerical duties such as prepare invoices, process payments, schedule patient appointments, record dental procedures performed and order dental and office supplies
- May perform intra-oral duties such as remove sutures, take and record vital signs, apply desensitizing agents, topical anaesthetic, anticariogenic agents and coronal whitening, fabricate, place, and remove temporary crowns and restorations, and apply and remove rubber dams
- May also perform pulp vitality testing as well as periodontal screening and recording.
- Dental laboratory assistants
- Prepare plaster models and moulds from dental impressions
- Prepare wax bite-blocks and impression trays
- Cast gold or metal alloys for bridges and denture bases
- Pack plastic material in moulds to form full or partial dentures
- Mould wax over denture set-up to form full contours of artificial gums
- Make orthodontic bands from gold, silver, stainless steel or other metals
- Finish metal framework of dentures and polish and buff dentures to obtain natural finish.
Job titles under NOC 33100
27 job titles are classified here, including ceramic denture moulder, certified dental assistant, certified intra-oral dental assistant.
- ceramic denture caster
- ceramic denture mechanic
- ceramic denture moulder
- certified dental assistant
- certified intra-oral dental assistant
- chair-side assistant - dental
- dental aide
- dental assistant
- dental clinical assistant
- dental laboratory assistant
- dental laboratory bench worker
- dental laboratory technician assistant
- dental technician assistant
- denture bench moulder
- denture finisher
- denture framework finisher
- denture packer
- denture setter
- denture trimmer-polisher
- denture wax pattern former
- intra-oral dental assistant
- licensed dental assistant
- occlusion rim former - dentures
- orthodontic band maker
Employment requirements
- Dental assistants require completion of an eight-month to one-year college or other program in dental assistance or completion of secondary school with on-the-job training
- Registration with a regulatory body is required in all provinces except Quebec and Ontario.
- Certification by the National Dental Assisting Examination Board is required to perform intra-oral duties in all provinces except in Quebec, where intra-oral duties are not performed by dental assistants.
- Dental laboratory assistants usually require secondary school and up to two years of on-the-job training.
Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants wages in Canada
Low, median and high hourly wages from Job Bank’s 2025 wage data. Annual figures assume full-time work (1,950 hours a year).
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Canada | $21.00/hr | $27.00/hr | $35.00/hr |
Toronto ON | $18.00/hr | $25.00/hr | $34.00/hr |
Montréal QC | $20.00/hr | $25.00/hr | $30.00/hr |
Vancouver Lower Mainland region, BC | $22.50/hr | $31.00/hr | $35.00/hr |
Calgary AB | $23.00/hr | $33.00/hr | $37.00/hr |
Edmonton AB | $29.00/hr | $34.00/hr | $38.00/hr |
Ottawa ON | $21.00/hr | $29.00/hr | $35.00/hr |
Winnipeg MB | $22.00/hr | $27.00/hr | $31.00/hr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $21.00/hr | $26.00/hr | $30.16/hr |
Hamilton Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula region, ON | $18.00/hr | $27.00/hr | $30.00/hr |
Kitchener-Waterloo Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie region, ON | $25.00/hr | $28.00/hr | $30.00/hr |
London ON | $23.00/hr | $27.00/hr | $36.00/hr |
Halifax NS | $21.12/hr | $24.73/hr | $30.78/hr |
Victoria Vancouver Island and Coast region, BC | $29.00/hr | $31.00/hr | $37.00/hr |
Saskatoon Saskatoon–Biggar region, SK | $19.00/hr | $29.00/hr | $35.25/hr |
Regina Regina–Moose Mountain region, SK | $25.00/hr | $32.50/hr | $40.00/hr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Newfoundland and Labrador | $18.00/hr | $22.00/hr | $30.00/hr |
Nova Scotia | $20.00/hr | $25.00/hr | $32.00/hr |
New Brunswick | $22.00/hr | $25.00/hr | $30.00/hr |
Quebec | $21.00/hr | $26.00/hr | $30.16/hr |
Ontario | $20.00/hr | $26.00/hr | $34.00/hr |
Manitoba | $22.00/hr | $26.50/hr | $33.76/hr |
Saskatchewan | $22.00/hr | $30.00/hr | $37.00/hr |
Alberta | $24.00/hr | $32.00/hr | $38.00/hr |
British Columbia | $24.00/hr | $31.00/hr | $36.00/hr |
Using NOC 33100 for your resume or Express Entry profile
- IRCC asks you to make sure the main duties listed for your NOC match what you actually did at your job. If they don’t, look for another unit group whose duties do.
- Describe your own work in your own words. Recruiters and ATS software look for concrete tools, results and scope, not text copied from the NOC.
- Applying from outside Canada? Run your resume through the Canadian resume format checker to catch things Canadian employers don’t expect, like a photo or date of birth.
- Use the job title the employer’s posting uses. The 27 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
- Dental hygienists and dental therapists (NOC 32111)
- Dental technologists and technicians (NOC 32112)
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants?
Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants are NOC 2021 unit group 33100. Example job titles in this group include ceramic denture moulder, certified dental assistant, certified intra-oral dental assistant, dental assistant.
What TEER is NOC 33100?
NOC 33100 is TEER 3 (College or apprenticeship (under 2 years)). Usually requires a college program or apprenticeship of less than 2 years, or more than six months of on-the-job training. TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 work counts as skilled work experience for Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class programs.
How much do dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $27.00/hr, about $53,000 a year full-time, with a range of $21.00/hr to $35.00/hr.
Related occupations
Sources: Statistics Canada, National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank wages (2025). Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. OfferJetAI is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Check IRCC’s NOC guidance before you apply.