Training to Become a Dental Assistant

On-the-job Training in Dental Assisting

According to the US Department of Labor (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos163.htm) most dental assistants are trained on the job.

The trend in dentistry is for dentists to attempt to delegate as much as possible to dental assistants to perform routine tasks so that they may devote their own time to more profitable procedures.

For those trained in dental assisting programs, that training takes one year or less to complete.

A dentist who is training a dental assistant on the job has a variety of books that can be used for self-study by the assistant. See the page listing dental assistant training books on this site and you will note that there are a variety of texts from general books about dental assisting to books about dental office management and other specific subject areas. Some of them have accompanying CD-ROMs, and there are also workbooks available. A possible training regimen could include an assignment to the new employee to study certain chapters at home, and then perform some of the exercises in the dental assisting workbook.

Nature of Dental Assisting Work

Dental assistants perform a variety of patient care, office, and laboratory duties. They work chairside as dentists examine and treat patients. They make patients as comfortable as possible in the dental chair, prepare them for treatment, and obtain their dental records. Assistants hand instruments and materials to dentists and keep patients’ mouths dry and clear by using suction or other devices. Assistants also sterilize and disinfect instruments and equipment, prepare trays of instruments for dental procedures, and instruct patients on postoperative and general oral health care.

Some dental assistants prepare materials for impressions and restorations, take dental x rays, and process x-ray film as directed by a dentist. They also may remove sutures, apply topical anesthetics to gums or cavity-preventive agents to teeth, remove excess cement used in the filling process, and place rubber dams on the teeth to isolate them for individual treatment.

Those with laboratory duties make casts of the teeth and mouth from impressions, clean and polish removable appliances, and make temporary crowns. Dental assistants with office duties schedule and confirm appointments, receive patients, keep treatment records, send bills, receive payments, and order dental supplies and materials.

To find books about dental assisting, click here.

For more information about dental assisting as a career, click here.