Dental Virtual Assistant Cost Calculator
This dental virtual assistant cost calculator puts a new in office hire next to a DentalCareWorks assistant for the same hours. It counts wages, payroll taxes, benefits and the cost of hiring and training, so you see the full first year cost of each.
The role you want covered
Drag a slider or type a number to change it.
Enter 5 to 60.
Mean hourly wage for receptionists in offices of dentists, BLS, May 2023. Enter what you pay.
Enter $7.25 to $100.
About 35% of wages at private employers with 1 to 49 workers, BLS, June 2026.
Enter 0 to 60.
Job ads, interview time and training hours for one new hire. An example; use your own number, or 0.
Enter $0 to $20,000.
DentalCareWorks is $10 an hour, with no long term contract and no setup fees. Your practice pays no payroll taxes or benefits on the assistant.
First year difference with a virtual assistant
$38,011
65% less than an in office hire
First year cost
- Wages $42,453
- Taxes and benefits $14,858
- Hiring $1,500
The same hours at $10 an hour. No setup fees.
- In office, per month
- $4,901
- Virtual assistant, per month
- $1,733
An estimate for planning, not a quote. Wages vary by city and role, so enter what you pay or would pay.
Where these numbers come from
- Wage. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, offices of dentists: receptionists and information clerks in offices of dentists earned a mean of $20.41 an hour in May 2023. Billing roles and dental assistants earn more; enter your own figure.
- Payroll taxes and benefits. BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, by establishment size: in June 2026, private employers with 1 to 49 workers paid $9.76 an hour in benefits on $27.88 in wages, about 35% of wages. That covers paid leave, insurance, retirement, supplemental pay and legally required costs such as Social Security and Medicare.
- Hiring and training. An example. Count job ads, interview time and the hours your team spends training a new hire.
- How it adds up. In office: wage × hours × 52 weeks, plus the benefits rate, plus the hiring cost. A virtual assistant: hours × 52 weeks × $10.
What an in office hour really costs
The wage is only part of it. Employers also pay Social Security and Medicare, unemployment insurance, paid leave, and any health insurance or retirement plan they offer. BLS data for June 2026 put those costs at about 35% of wages at private employers with fewer than 50 workers.
Then there is hiring. Job ads, interviews and the weeks a new team member spends learning your software all cost money, and they come back every time someone leaves.
What you pay for a virtual assistant
One flat rate of $10 an hour. No long term contract, no setup fees, and no payroll taxes or benefits for your practice to pay on the assistant.
Choosing the hours to compare
Compare the hours you actually need covered, not a full time week by habit. Many practices start a virtual assistant on one or two roles, such as verification and confirmations, and add hours as the assistant learns the office.
Part time, one role
Ten to twenty hours a week on insurance verification or recall calls is a common starting point.
Full time, several roles
Forty hours covering phones, scheduling, verification and claims follow up covers most of the phone and screen work of a front desk seat.
Your own wage
Enter what you pay or would pay for the role. Billing roles and dental assistants usually earn more than receptionists.
Dental virtual assistant cost questions
What does the calculator compare?
The yearly cost of the same hours worked by an in office hire, with wages, payroll taxes, benefits and any one time hiring cost, next to the same hours from a virtual assistant at $10 an hour. Monthly figures are on the pricing page.
Why does the in office side include benefits?
Because an employer pays them on top of every hour of wages. Leaving out payroll taxes, paid leave and insurance makes an in office hire look cheaper than it is.
What does the hiring cost cover?
Job ads, the time spent screening and interviewing, and the hours your team spends training a new hire. The default is an example; enter your own figure or set it to zero.
Are there other fees with DentalCareWorks?
There are no setup fees and no long term contract, and you can cancel anytime. See pricing and how it works.
Talk with us about your front desk and back office
A short discovery call to map the work your team wants off its plate, and how a dental virtual assistant would handle it.