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Dental Assistants
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CheckoutCareers.com
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Dental Assistants
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Assist dentist, set up patient and equipment, and keep records.
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Degrees
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Abilities
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Near Vision| | The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
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Oral Comprehension| | The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
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Finger Dexterity| | The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects. |
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Oral Expression| | The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
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Arm-Hand Steadiness| | The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position. |
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Manual Dexterity| | The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects. |
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Speech Recognition| | The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
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Flexibility of Closure| | The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material. |
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Deductive Reasoning| | The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
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Time Sharing| | The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources). |
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Control Precision| | The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions. |
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Problem Sensitivity| | The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
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Speech Clarity| | The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
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Category Flexibility| | The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. |
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Inductive Reasoning| | The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
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Information Ordering| | The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). |
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Extent Flexibility| | The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs. |
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Written Comprehension| | The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
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Written Expression| | The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. |
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Selective Attention| | The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted. |
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Memorization| | The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures. |
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Visualization| | The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged. |
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Depth Perception| | The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object. |
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Multilimb Coordination| | The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion. |
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Number Facility| | The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly. |
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Originality| | The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem. |
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Perceptual Speed| | The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object. |
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Speed of Closure| | The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns. |
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Wrist-Finger Speed| | The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists. |
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Far Vision| | The ability to see details at a distance. |
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Fluency of Ideas| | The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity). |
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Trunk Strength| | The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing. |
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Mathematical Reasoning| | The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem. |
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Visual Color Discrimination| | The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness. |
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Auditory Attention| | The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds. |
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Hearing Sensitivity| | The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness. |
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Glare Sensitivity| | The ability to see objects in the presence of glare or bright lighting. |
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Rate Control| | The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene. |
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Response Orientation| | The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part. |
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Gross Body Coordination| | The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion. |
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Reaction Time| | The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears. |
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Stamina| | The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath. |
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Static Strength| | The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects. |
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Dynamic Strength| | The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue. |
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Speed of Limb Movement| | The ability to quickly move the arms and legs. |
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Gross Body Equilibrium| | The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position. |
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Dynamic Flexibility| | The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs. |
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Interests
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Social| | Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. |
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Realistic| | Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others. |
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Enterprising| | Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business. |
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First Interest High-Point| | Primary-Rank Descriptiveness |
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Conventional| | Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow. |
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Investigative| | Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally. |
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Artistic| | Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules. |
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Second Interest High-Point| | Secondary-Cutoff/Rank Descriptiveness |
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Knowledge
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Medicine and Dentistry| | Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures. |
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Customer and Personal Service| | Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
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Clerical| | Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology. |
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Chemistry| | Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods. |
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Computers and Electronics| | Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming. |
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English Language| | Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
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Psychology| | Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders. |
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Mechanical| | Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance. |
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Public Safety and Security| | Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions. |
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Administration and Management| | Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. |
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Production and Processing| | Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods. |
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Communications and Media| | Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media. |
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Education and Training| | Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects. |
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Biology| | Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment. |
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Engineering and Technology| | Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services. |
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Mathematics| | Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. |
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Law and Government| | Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process. |
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Economics and Accounting| | Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data. |
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Sales and Marketing| | Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems. |
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Sociology and Anthropology| | Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins. |
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Design| | Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models. |
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Philosophy and Theology| | Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture. |
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Therapy and Counseling| | Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance. |
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Foreign Language| | Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation. |
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Telecommunications| | Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems. |
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Personnel and Human Resources| | Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems. |
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History and Archeology| | Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures. |
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Physics| | Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes. |
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Transportation| | Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits. |
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Building and Construction| | Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads. |
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Fine Arts| | Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture. |
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Geography| | Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life. |
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Wages
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| District of Columbia | $38,160.00 |
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| North Carolina | $32,500.00 |
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| South Carolina | $28,060.00 |
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| Virgin Islands | $26,100.00 |
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Related Careers
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Dental Hygienists| | Clean teeth and examine oral areas, head, and neck for signs of oral disease. May educate patients on oral hygiene, take and develop X-rays, or apply fluoride or sealants. |
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Nonfarm Animal Caretakers| | Feed, water, groom, bathe, exercise, or otherwise care for pets and other nonfarm animals, such as dogs, cats, ornamental fish or birds, zoo animals, and mice. Work in settings such as kennels, animal shelters, zoos, circuses, and aquariums. May keep records of feedings, treatments, and animals received or discharged. May clean, disinfect, and repair cages, pens, or fish tanks. |
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Orthodontists| | Examine, diagnose, and treat dental malocclusions and oral cavity anomalies. Design and fabricate appliances to realign teeth and jaws to produce and maintain normal function and to improve appearance. |
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Prosthodontists| | Construct oral prostheses to replace missing teeth and other oral structures to correct natural and acquired deformation of mouth and jaws, to restore and maintain oral function, such as chewing and speaking, and to improve appearance. |
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Radiologic Technicians| | Maintain and use equipment and supplies necessary to demonstrate portions the human body on x-ray film or fluoroscopic screen for diagnostic purposes. |
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Radiologic Technologists| | Take x-rays and Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT or CT) scans or administer nonradioactive materials into patient's blood stream for diagnostic purposes. Includes technologists who specialize in other modalities, such as computed tomography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance. |
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Surgical Technologists| | Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, or other surgical personnel. May help set up operating room, prepare and transport patients for surgery, adjust lights and equipment, pass instruments and other supplies to surgeons and surgeon's assistants, hold retractors, cut sutures, and help count sponges, needles, supplies, and instruments. |
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Skills
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Social Perceptiveness| | Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
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Reading Comprehension| | Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
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Active Listening| | Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
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Active Learning| | Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
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Equipment Maintenance| | Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed. |
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Instructing| | Teaching others how to do something. |
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Time Management| | Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
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Coordination| | Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. |
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Equipment Selection| | Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job. |
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Writing| | Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. |
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Learning Strategies| | Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things. |
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Operation and Control| | Controlling operations of equipment or systems. |
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Service Orientation| | Actively looking for ways to help people. |
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Critical Thinking| | Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
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Speaking| | Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
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Persuasion| | Persuading others to change their minds or behavior. |
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Monitoring| | Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |
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Operation Monitoring| | Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly. |
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Troubleshooting| | Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it. |
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Management of Material Resources| | Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work. |
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Judgment and Decision Making| | Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
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Operations Analysis| | Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design. |
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Complex Problem Solving| | Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. |
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Negotiation| | Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences. |
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Installation| | Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications. |
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Repairing| | Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools. |
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Technology Design| | Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs. |
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Quality Control Analysis| | Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance. |
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Science| | Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems. |
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Management of Personnel Resources| | Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job. |
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Systems Evaluation| | Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system. |
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Mathematics| | Using mathematics to solve problems. |
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Systems Analysis| | Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes. |
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Management of Financial Resources| | Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures. |
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Programming| | Writing computer programs for various purposes. |
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Tasks
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| Prepare patient, sterilize and disinfect instruments, set up instrument trays, prepare materials, and assist dentist during dental procedures. |
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| Expose dental diagnostic x-rays. |
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| Record treatment information in patient records. |
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| Take and record medical and dental histories and vital signs of patients. |
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| Provide postoperative instructions prescribed by dentist. |
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| Assist dentist in management of medical and dental emergencies. |
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| Clean teeth, using dental instruments. |
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| Pour, trim, and polish study casts. |
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| Apply protective coating of fluoride to teeth. |
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| Instruct patients in oral hygiene and plaque control programs. |
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| Make preliminary impressions for study casts and occlusal registrations for mounting study casts. |
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| Fabricate temporary restorations and custom impressions from preliminary impressions. |
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| Schedule appointments, prepare bills and receive payment for dental services, complete insurance forms, and maintain records, manually or using computer. |
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| Clean and polish removable appliances. |
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Tools
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| Air compressors |
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| Compressors |
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| Amalgam carriers |
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| Bands for dental matrix |
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| Matrix bands |
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| Chemical or gas sterilizers |
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| Chemiclaves |
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| Combination furniture sets for dental procedures |
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| Dental units |
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| Cosmetic dentistry curing lights or accessories |
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| High-intensity lights |
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| Light curing units |
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| Dental amalgamators |
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| Amalgamators |
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| Dental articulators or accessories |
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| Articulators |
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| Dental bite blocks or wings or tabs |
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| Bite blocks |
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| Dental burs |
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| Burs |
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| Dental cutting or separating discs |
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| Dental cutting instruments |
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| Dental dam supplies |
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| Molar clamps |
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| Rubber dam forceps |
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| Rubber dam punches |
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| Rubber dams |
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| Dental depth gauges |
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| Apex locators |
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| Dental elevators |
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| Root elevators |
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| Dental examination chairs or related parts or accessories |
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| Dental chairs |
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| Dental filler contouring instruments |
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| Filling instruments |
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| Dental film processors |
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| X ray film processing machines |
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| Dental finishing or polishing discs |
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| Prophy angles |
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| Dental finishing or polishing kits |
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| Polishing kits for dentures, acrylics, and porcelain |
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| Dental forceps |
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| Cotton forceps |
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| Extracting forceps |
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| Hemostatic forceps |
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| Splinter forceps |
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| Tongue forceps |
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| Dental formers |
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| Vacuum formers |
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| Dental hand pieces or accessories |
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| Dental handpieces |
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| Electric endodontic handpieces |
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| Electric general dentistry handpieces |
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| Electric surgical handpieces |
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| High-speed handpieces |
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| Rotary handpieces |
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| Slow-speed handpieces |
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| Dental hygiene instruments |
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| Electronic calculus detectors |
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| Dental impression trays |
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| Impression trays |
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| Dental instrument sharpening accessories |
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| Instrument sharpening devices |
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| Dental laboratory air abrasion units |
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| Air abrasion units |
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| Dental laboratory casting machines or its parts or accessories |
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| Denture model presses |
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| Dental laboratory lathes or accessories |
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| Bench lathes |
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| Dental laboratory model trimmers or accessories |
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| Model trimmers |
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| Dental laboratory vacuum units or supplies |
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| Computerized pressure/vacuum casting systems |
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| Power vacuum mixers |
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| Dental lasers |
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| Caries detection aids |
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| Dental laser systems |
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| Dental matrices or sets |
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| Posterior matrices |
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| Dental operatory retraction cords |
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| Gingival retraction cords |
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| Dental probes |
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| Dental explorers |
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| Double-ended probes |
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| Single-ended probes |
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| Dental pulp or vitality testers |
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| Pulp testers |
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| Dental radiology film |
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| Bitewing film holders |
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| Dental retainers |
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| Retainers |
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| Dental saliva ejectors or oral suction devices or supplies |
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| Evacuator systems |
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| High-velocity evacuators |
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| Saliva ejectors |
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| Dental scalers or accessories |
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| Scalers |
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| Dental scissors |
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| Collar scissors |
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| Crown scissors |
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| Dental spatulas |
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| Dental syringe accessory kits |
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| Needle holders |
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| Dental syringes or needles or syringes with needles |
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| Aspirating syringes |
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| Cartridge syringes |
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| Needles |
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| Dental tooth separators |
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| Orthodontic separators |
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| Dental tweezers |
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| Dental wedges or sets |
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| Wedges |
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| Dental x ray apparatus parts or kits or accessories |
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| X ray machine cones |
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| Dental x ray units |
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| Intraoral x ray equipment |
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| Panoramic x ray equipment |
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| X ray machines |
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| Dry heat or hot air sterilizers |
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| Thermal disinfectors |
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| Electronic blood pressure units |
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| Electronic blood pressure devices |
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| Electrosurgical or electrocautery equipment or accessories or related products |
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| Electrosurgery units |
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| Medical gas cylinders or related devices |
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| Oxygen tanks |
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| Medical radiation dosimeters |
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| Radiation dosimeters |
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| Medical radiological shielding aprons or masks or drapes |
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| Lead aprons |
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| Protective shielding equipment |
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| Thyroid collars |
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| Mercury blood pressure units |
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| Manual blood pressure cuffs |
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| Orthodontic appliance clasps |
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| Headgear |
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| Orthodontic brackets |
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| Orthodontic pliers |
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| Band seating pliers |
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| Crimping pliers |
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| Dental pliers |
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| Intraoral detailing pliers |
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| Offset utility pliers |
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| Straight utility pliers |
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| Torqueing pliers |
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| Wire countering pliers |
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| Orthodontic setter bands |
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| Orthodontic band pushers |
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| Orthodontic band slitters |
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| Periodontal curettes |
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| Gracey curettes |
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| Universal curettes |
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| Personal computers |
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| Steam autoclaves or sterilizers |
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| Autoclaves |
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| Steam cleaning equipment |
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| Steam sterilizers |
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| Sterilizers |
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| Teeth cleaning devices or accessories |
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| Air/water syringes |
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| Ultrasonic cleaning equipment |
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| Ultrasonic sterilization units |
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Technology
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| Accounting software |
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| Intuit Quicken |
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| Data base user interface and query software |
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| Dentrix software |
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| Kodak SOFTDENT |
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| The Systems Workplace TDOCS |
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| Electronic mail software |
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| Internet browser software |
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| Web browser software |
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| Office suite software |
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| Microsoft Office |
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| Spreadsheet software |
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