What to expect from a career as a Dental Assistant
Dental assistants can start their career with an introductory certification that provides them with basic but detail-oriented skills in relation to the dental profession itself, and various other interpersonal skills. Dental assistant jobs often require students to go a dental assistant school or complete a dental assistant program. Dental Assistant salary is averaged over $40,000 in New Jersey as reported by the U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics.
What do Dental Assistants do?
The need for dental assistants continues to increase as dental surgeries become more accessible to patients. A career as a dental assistant can be highly rewarding and be used as a steppingstone in your in dentistry. With great projected growth, career advancement opportunities, and stable income potential the future looks excellent oral care professionals! Dental Assistants can be viewed as the nurse of a dentist’s office. Their role is very similar to that of a medical assistant. Dental assistants can schedule appointments, prepare patients and rooms work areas for treatments and procedures while also preforming tasks that are specific to the density field such as sterilizing dental instruments, assisting in dental procedures, and instructing the patient on dental hygiene.
What you can Learn From a Dental Assistant Program
Assembling a dental tray for each procedure
Explaining the responsibilities of a Dental Team
Morphology and Locations of permanent and primary teeth
Dental Charting Systems and terminology
Pharmacology as it relates to Dentistry
Assisting in Medical Emergencies in a Dental Office
Identifying Dental Instruments
Educating patients on oral care and plaque control
Assisting in various dental procedures
And More!
Future Opportunities and Career Advancement
Finding a Dental Assistant School can be as easy as a simple google search. Considering the fact that the demand for dentists has always been high, it is possible that more than one dental assistant is hired by the dentist to perform technical and administrative duties. Employment opportunities are present in both the public and private sectors, including dental clinics, dental insurance companies, community colleges, and high schools, and in businesses that produce and sell dental hygiene products..You can use a dental assisting program as a stepping stone and continue to gain an associate or advanced degree in dentistry that includes recognition from the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) and the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). It allows dental assistants to perform more specialist roles that include maxillofacial surgery for tooth removal procedures, dentofacial orthopedics, and orthodontics tasks for teeth straightening and application of braces, periodontics for treatment of gums, prosthodontics for tooth replacements and various child-related dental health issues.
