Who can be a Dental Assistant?
Many state-accredited colleges, universities, and other education providers offer dental assistant courses. These courses also have different duration periods of the training. However, completion of these courses is not enough for someone to be called a certified assistant depending on the state the person is in. For someone to become a dental assistant, he or she must be able to take an assistant course and be able to pass the exam given by the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB). Passing the exam makes you a certified dental assistant (CDA). Such a title can also be obtained by completing at least two years of on-the-job training as an assistant. Get more information about this article.
What does an Assistant do?
The assistant is in charge of taking care of the patients. They are responsible for communicating with patients, welcoming them, asking about their medical history, making them feel comfortable while the dentist is administering dental care. He or she hands the instruments to the dentist when dental treatments or operations are performed. He or she also assists the dentist by removing sutures and applying topical medications to patients' mouths. Making models of teeth from dental impressions is also part of the dental assistant's job. In addition, the sterilization of dental equipment and instruments and their conservation are included in their functions. He or she also answers phone calls and inquiries and schedules dental appointments for patients. Records and invoices are also maintained by a reliable assistant.
What are the future jobs of a graduate assistant?
Taking this course is one of the steps some take before becoming a licensed dental hygienist or even a dentist. A student of a dental assistant course can take a higher step and career level by continuing and furthering their studies in dentistry or being a dental hygienist. However, being an assistant has many jobs to do. One can become an assistant and have their individual practice with a dentist. He or she may also work together with a group of dentists who work with many more dental partners.
In addition to raising her bar by becoming a dental hygienist or dentist, she can take it a step higher through specializations in dental practices such as orthodontics, periodontics, and pediatric dentistry. He or she may also become involved in running the hospital's dental facilities to treat patients admitted to the hospital. Also, an assistant can get into sales by working with companies that sell dental equipment to different consumers, dentists, and other businesses.
He or she may also become involved with public health dentistry, educating students in public schools or people in unfortunate parts of the community with dental and health care. And being trained, having graduated as a dental assistant, she will be able to instruct or teach in dental assistant courses offered by some educational establishments.
