What Can you Do as a Dental Assistant?
A dental assisting career is not only exciting but also rewarding. There is always something new to learn and a new technology to master. Innovation in the dentistry field is rapidly advancing, and as dentists embrace the latest techniques and technology, they need professional dental assistants to assist them in caring for patients. As a dental assistant, you will be responsible for maintaining patients’ records, prepping patients for exams, and providing patients with basic dental health education.
Reasons to Consider a Career in Dental Assisting
- It’s a gateway to other exciting and rewarding job opportunities
- The pay is attractive
- It has a bright job outlook, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Duties of a Dental Assistant
Dental assistants allow dentists to give more focus on patient health by taking care of administrative and technical duties. Every successful dentist will need a professional dental assistant in order to thrive. When providing dental assistance your duties will vary by practice and even by state. Generally, your main roles will be tackling administrative duties and prepping patients regardless of where you’re employed, but some responsibilities can vary. Other typical dental assisting responsibilities include:
- Sterilizing dental instruments
- Completing basic lab tasks
- Maintaining patient records
- Scheduling patient appointments
- Taking vital signs
- Assisting dentists by handing the instruments during procedures
- Providing patients with dental health and hygiene instructions
- Making patients comfortable in their dental chair
- Prepare patients for dental treatments and procedures
- Billing and record keeping
- Use suction hoses and other equipment to dry patients’ mouths
- Processes x-rays and complete other lab tasks under the supervision of the dentist
Other Tasks Dental Assistants are allowed to do Within the Office and with Patients
As a dental assistant, you will be allowed to perform lab tasks like taking impressions from the teeth of a patient under the direct supervision of a dentist. You may also prepare materials for creating temporary crowns or dental impressions. Depending on the state you will be working, you can also be allowed to perform the following procedures:
- Sealant application
- Coronal polishing
- Topical anesthetic application
- Fluoride application
In sealant application, you will paint a thin elastic substance over the teeth of patients to seal out food particles and bacteria to prevent teeth from developing cavities. Coronal polishing which involves the removal of soft deposits gives teeth a cleaner appearance. You can also be allowed to apply a topical anesthetic to a section of a patient’s mouth to temporarily numb the area before undergoing a procedure. Fluoride application is an anti-cavity measure where fluoride is directly put on the teeth.
What Type of Education do you need to become a Dental Assistant?
Dentists in the 21st century don’t take the time to train people with no prior dental experience to be dental assistants. As technology advances, high production levels are needed to meet the increased overhead costs. Trying to save a few dollars by employing untrained individuals slows down dentists, and eventually costs them more in production than what they would save on salaries. Therefore, dentists count on knowledgeable and skilled dental assistants to help them meet their professional goals. This explains the high demand for formally trained dental assistants.
Becoming a Dental Assistant is a Great Starting Point for your Career in Dentistry
As a dental assistant, you have several options to grow professionally and expand your career. If you love helping people and promoting wellness, you can easily broaden your role. There is a wide array of obligations for dental assistants as well as growth opportunities that can include everything from earning a certification to becoming a dentist.
Become a certified dental assistant: Being certified is a wonderful way for you to gain recognition and increase your earning potential.
Become a dental hygienist: Expanding your career to include other responsibilities such as teeth cleaning and advising patients has many benefits, including increased pay and flexible working hours.
Become a dentist: Because this is the most advanced role in dental practice, to become a dentist requires substantial educational commitment. You will need to go to dental school and pass a series of exams.
Becoming a dental assistant is a great starting point if you want to later expand and become a dental hygienist, dental laboratory technician, or a licensed dentist.
Are you interested in the dental field? If you want to earn an Associate of Applied Science in Health Science with a Concentration in Dental Assisting, ECPI University offers this program at an accelerated pace. For more information about signing up today, connect with a friendly ECPI University admissions advisor.
It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!
DISCLAIMER – ECPI University makes no claim, warranty, or guarantee as to actual employability or earning potential to current, past or future students or graduates of any educational program we offer. The ECPI University website is published for informational purposes only. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained on the ECPI.edu domain; however, no warranty of accuracy is made. No contractual rights, either expressed or implied, are created by its content.
Gainful Employment Information – Dental Assisting - Associate’s
For more information about ECPI University or any of our programs click here: http://www.ecpi.edu/ or http://ow.ly/Ca1ya.