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It all depends on what you want out of it. A Dental assistant does as lot of the set-up and break down of rooms, you also mix cements and bases fro the doctor as well as take and pour up impressions. It is a great and very rewarding job to have. As a dental assistant you can expect to make 30-42k a year. A hygienist does the same thing all day long, they scrap and scale teeth. They do cleanings and scaling for the most part, they make more money then a dental assistant 50-60k a year, but they are contracted out so they pay for a lot of there own stuff so it's not as much as you think it is. Now if you want to get into ortho you can be an assistant or a doctor. Now being a doctor is great in terms of money, but you will be in school 4 years for dental school, then another 3 in ortho. So make a good choice do some research and pick what makes you happy.