Dental assisting is a rewarding career with benefits that soar beyond a paycheck. And demand is growing, so, now may be the best time to join this respected field. If you’re a people person who’s passionate about oral care, you could be work-ready in months with the right training program. What education do you need, and how long will it take? Let’s find out.
What Does a Dental Assistant Do?
A dental assistant supports licensed oral care professionals by managing a wide range of clinical and administrative responsibilities. On an average day, duties may include:
Scheduling Visits
Dental assistants know how much time treatments take, so they give the front office staff a hand with scheduling. You’ll help with the logistics, ensuring the right staff and equipment are available for the necessary procedures.
Greeting Patients
Seeing the dentist is stressful, so the first encounter patients have with staff can make or break their experience. As an ambassador of first impressions, you’ll greet patients, escort them to the treatment area and make them comfortable. A welcoming approach establishes trust and sets the tone for the entire visit.
Updating Medical Records
Before each visit, dental assistants update patients’ medical records, noting changes in medications and any new medical issues or medication allergies that may impact their treatment.
Preparing Treatment Areas
Dental assistants prepare the equipment and supplies the dentist needs before patients arrive. From setting up instrument trays to disinfecting shared equipment, they prevent the spread of infection and keep the schedule running smoothly.
Taking X-Rays
Dental assistants prepare patients for x-rays. Depending on their training, they can take and develop the film or assist a qualified hygienist who can.
Ordering Supplies
No one knows better what supplies to order than dental assistants. They keep track of inventory and place orders before supplies run out.
Chairside Support
Dentists need help managing tools during treatments. Dental assistants sit chairside, mixing filling materials, adjusting the light, and passing instruments while keeping a close eye on the patient.
Assisting in the Lab
Dental assistants spend time in the lab, cleaning and polishing dental appliances from partials to retainers. They also pour molds and take dental impressions for crowns, implants, and dentures.
Polishing Teeth
Polishing teeth is more than cosmetic. It removes surface stains, but it also smooths out imperfections in the enamel and discourages bacterial growth.
Sterilizing Equipment
No instrument that’s been in a patient’s mouth can be reused until it’s disinfected or sterilized. Using the best in chemical and heat treatments, dental assistants prevent the spread of infection by sanitizing equipment.
General Office Procedures
Dental assistants can handle clerical as well as clinical tasks. In their rare downtime, they may assist the office staff with tasks from filing to data entry. As the dentist’s liaison, they manage most referrals, sending and receiving clinical records as needed.
Patient Education
Whether it’s taking phone calls from anxious patients or teaching kids to brush, educating patients about oral care is a dental assistant’s most impactful responsibility. It’s a chance to bring better dental health to patients and help the next generation improve their oral wellness.
What Education Do You Need to Become a Dental Assistant?
Dental assistants have choices when it comes to their education. Some students choose to get a college degree, but many are turning to vocational schools for lifestyle-friendly programs. Practical, affordable, and no less comprehensive, diploma programs prepare you for the same jobs in half the time.
What Do You Learn During a Dental Assistant Program?
Dental assisting programs vary, but the best programs teach expanded functions, clinical skills beyond what lesser-trained dental assistants can handle. You’ll learn how to manage the daily tasks mentioned above and more, such as:
Clinical Charting
The rule in dentistry is that if it wasn’t documented, it wasn’t done. But charts are legal documents and clinical notes must be clear, objective, accurate and timely. Easier said than done, it requires the touch of a trained dental assistant with clinical expertise.
Preparing Instrument Trays
Dental assistants prepare equipment trays for procedures from fillings to root canals. In school, you’ll learn to identify the instruments used for examinations, cleaning, extractions, and oral surgery, plus how to arrange them properly for easy accessibility and to prevent cross-contamination.
Sterilizing Equipment
Keeping equipment sanitized is an important infection control measure that helps keep patients safe. Dental assisting programs cover the basics of microbiology, how pathogens spread and how to stop them. You’ll learn about the different methods of sterilization and how to safely use heat, pressure, and chemical sterilizers.
Performing Fluoride Treatments
Not all children drink fluoridated water, so topical fluoride treatments are a powerful tool for preventing cavities. A painless procedure, it’s one you’ll learn to perform on children, so they can experience a lifetime of better dental health.
Applying Sealants
A sealant is a thin liquid barrier applied over the teeth to protect them from bacteria. In a technical, multi-step process, you’ll work closely with dental hygienists to perform this essential service.
Applying Topical Anesthetics
Anesthetic injections prevent nerve pain during dental procedures, but the injections can be uncomfortable. To ease the pain, you’ll learn how to apply topical Lidocaine to the injection site.
Placing and Removing Matrices
Dental assistants position the matrix, the mold dentists use to create multi-surface fillings, and prepare the amalgam or ceramic filling material.
Fabricate and Cement Temporary Crowns
Temporary crowns are applied to a prepared tooth to protect it while the permanent crown is being made. Dental assistants learn to fabricate the crown and cement it into place.
Polishing Crowns and Restorations
Fillings initially have a rough texture. After shaping, they need to be polished with an ultrasonic device to smooth the surface, so it’s less irritating to the tongue and oral mucosa. Polishing crowns helps give them a more natural look. In a dental assisting program, you’ll learn how to polish teeth using the latest high-tech equipment.
Taking Alginate Impressions
Dentists need a mold of the patient’s mouth to create custom appliances like dentures. Dental assistants mix and pour the materials and take the impressions.
Obtaining Bacteriological Specimens
A dental infection may require antibiotics to treat, but because not all antibiotics kill all bacteria, the organism causing it must first be identified. As a dental assisting student, you’ll learn how to swab skin and exudate, obtaining bacteriological specimens that meet laboratory criteria so patients can be treated promptly.
Wound Care
Periodontal surgery may require deep incisions that require stitches or packing. Dental assistants are trained to apply and remove dressings and assist with stitch removal.
What Are the Benefits of Attending a Vocational School?
Why get a degree in dental assisting when vocational schools offer these benefits?
A Quick Start
Vocational school programs give students the skills they need in a fraction of the time of a degree program by focusing on practical skills. There are no prerequisites or elective courses, you’ll dive right in and be ready for your first job interview in a few short months.
But don’t be fooled by the length of vocational school programs. The curriculum is just as rigorous and includes the instruction you’ll need to succeed.
Seasoned Instructors
Some skills are best learned from people employed in the industry. That is why vocational schools invest in highly qualified instructors with first-hand experience that can fill the gap between classroom and real-world learning.
Flexible Schedules
Full-time students graduate faster, but if you can’t quit your job to attend day classes, why not attend part-time? You can learn at a slower pace and meet your personal goals while managing other responsibilities.
Small Class Sizes
If small class sizes appeal to you more than crowded lecture halls, you’ll enjoy the relaxed atmosphere at vocational schools. Instruction is personalized, and you’ll have time to connect with your peers. Few students fall behind academically.
Career Services
Vocational schools do more than educate. They work hard to place their students in rewarding jobs. By partnering with local dental practices, they create goodwill for their students who are often among the first to learn about job openings. Better vocational schools offer lifetime job placement services.
Why Be a Dental Assistant?
Jobs come and go, but dental assisting is a career with perks too good to ignore, such as:
Job Security
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs openings for dental assistants are projected to grow 11-percent in the coming decade. So, while opportunities evaporate in other fields, erased by technology and automation, the job outlook for dental assistants just keeps getting better.
A Team Environment
Dental assistants work in a supportive, team-based environment in which their skills and input are valued. Everyone works together toward a common goal, bringing the patients the best in oral health care.
Professional Respect
When was the last time you truly felt appreciated at work? Dental assistants, like most healthcare workers, hold positions of trust. The work they do is respected by their peers and their communities.
Personal Rewards
People are the happiest when they know that what they do matters. We all want to feel like we’re making a difference. As a dental assistant, you’ll have a meaningful impact on others’ lives and make connections with people that enhance your growth as a person. Every time you help a fearful patient through a difficult procedure or teach a child how to brush their teeth, you create your legacy.
Final Thoughts
All learning is honorable, but it’s not necessarily practical. As a dental assisting student, do you want to spend years in college or get a jumpstart on your career with a vocational school diploma? If you have a passion for oral health and the courage to take the first step, your new career is just months away.
The Dental Assistant training program at Meridian College provides extensive hands-on training including a school externship at a dental office where you will assist the dentist in treating actual patients.
Meridian College also has dedicated school instructors, which offer you training in dental assisting that you can use to get an entry-level position at a dentist office or dental clinic. You get to work in real world situations and use your training from classroom lectures to further your skill during lab work in dental assisting.
Contact Meridian College today to learn more about becoming a dental assistant.