Fame

Face it: There is no Dental Assistant Hall of Fame. You can show up on time, provide the dentist with instruments you haven't dropped on the floor, and keep the patients' charts straight—and you still won't get a gold star or a gift card to a nice restaurant. In fact, we haven't heard of any off-the-charts amazing dental assistants. Your job is to make the dentist look good, not to hand out autographs.

On the other hand, the local dental grapevine might find out how good you are. You might hear from other practice managers who need fill-in help. You might even get more hours at your current job. However, the autograph hounds still won't be chasing you down the office hallway.