What’s the Job Description for a Dental Assistant?

If you’re interested in the field of dental assisting, now is an excellent time to join this profession. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that there will be an 18% increase for dental assistants between 2014 and 2024. This is considered much faster than average with most professions only growing 7%.

Qualifications for Dental Assistants

In Virginia, a dental assistant is required to complete an academic program. They can also become certified through passing an exam which is administered by the Dental Assisting National Board.

Here are some of the duties you will be expected to handle as a dental assistant:

1. Preparing the Treatment Room

It will be your responsibility to ensure that the room where the patient receives treatment is in order. There are several prescribed procedures and protocols that must be followed while preparing the room. Specialized knowledge of such procedures is required to properly set up the instruments and sterilize the room.

2. Assisting the Dentist

During an operation or medical procedure, you will assist the doctor in several ways. You might be supplying the tools or instructing the patient. On occasion, you might even perform minor procedures on your own. You will also have to calm and assure nervous patients and make sure they do not cause complications to the procedure by moving or fidgeting.

3. Patient Care

You will be dealing with patients both before and after the procedure. In many cases, patients will naturally be under a great deal of stress. It is your job to comfort them, inquire about their particulars, address any questions they might have, and facilitate their smooth entry and exit from the clinic.

4. Sterilizing Instruments

This is a very important part of your duties. Without proper sterilization, patients can contract diseases and improper sterilization procedures can cause the entire clinic to be shut down. Sterilizations must be carried out daily and thoroughly.

5. Running Diagnostics

You will have to compile various patient reports, from radiography studies to polishing and trimming study casts. This will help the dentist make an informed decision with regard to patient treatment.

6. Patient Maintenance

In between procedures, some patient's ability to masticate will be compromised. In such cases, it will be your duty to assist them through temporary restorations, which can take the form of removable appliances.

7. Emergencies

During a medical emergency, it will be your job to make the process of providing assistance as hassle free as possible by maintaining CPR certification, emergency supplies of drugs, as well as oxygen, and keeping in contact with the patient's emergency contact relations.

8. Educating Patients

Patients who have just undergone or are about to undergo an operation, or suffer from a disease that needs constant care, will have to be carefully coached for handling their condition. This involves telling them about what foods to avoid, which medicine to take, and other healthcare related issues. You have to be able to explain the procedures or care instructions carefully and answer any questions the patient might have.

9. Maintaining Records

A large part of your duties as an assistant will involve preparing medical charts for all the patients and maintaining and updating the information regularly.

10. Patient Confidentiality

It will be up to you safeguard and protect the patient's personal information. You have to make sure any sensitive information is not divulged to the outside world. This could result in breach of confidentiality and cause serious problems for the clinic.

11. Hygiene

A medical clinic must conform to exact standards of cleanliness while maintaining a sterilized operation and treatment area. This means you have to take steps every single day, in the face of a parade of sick patients, to make sure the clinic environment is clean and safe. As assistant, you must use the latest techniques to help make the clinic an infection-free zone.

12. Maintaining Equipment

The clinic contains a lot of sensitive and expensive equipment that needs to be handled with care. It is the assistant's job to make sure the equipment is in sound working order and does not suffer from malfunctions. You must be aware of the manufacturer's instructions, be able to troubleshoot problems, and get in contact with repair personnel when needed.

13. Create Inventory List

You will need to make regular checks on stock supplies, plan for future needs, place orders with supply companies, and track their arrival and storage. Keeping track of all the receipts could also be your responsibility.

14. Attend Workshops

You will be required to attend medical events and workshops in order to keep up with the latest techniques and instruments available to the field of dentistry, while staying abreast of modern medical procedures and drugs related to the field.

Career Advancement Opportunities

If you’re interested in furthering your career prospects, becoming a dental assistant is a great way to begin your education and gain valuable experience in the field. With further study, certifications, and work history, you could find employment as an expanded function dental assistant (EFDA), a dental hygienist, or even a dentist.  

If you’re considering a career in as a dental assistant, consider ECPI University’s Associate of Applied Science in Health Science degree with a concentration in Dental Assisting. With a growing need for professionals in the dental field, this could be a great opportunity for you! Contact an ECPI University admissions advisor today, who can help you decide if this is the next step in your career path!

It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

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Gainful Employment Information – Dental Assisting - Associate’s
 

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