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Dental Assistant Degree

Dental assistants provide various types of patient care, office duties, and laboratory duties. They do not perform the same tasks that dental hygienists are licensed to perform. The tasks of dental assistants include patient care, as well as office and laboratory responsibilities. As they stand beside the patient's chair, their responsibility is to try and make patients as comfortable as possible. They also prepare patients for any potential treatments and acquire past dental records. Dental assistants supply dentists with the necessary materials and instruments to perform dentistry, and they suction the patient's mouth to ensure that it is dry and clear. Other responsibilities include preparing trays of procedural instruments, sterilizing and cleaning instruments and apparatus, notifying patients about postoperative and basic dental health, preparing supplies for making impressions and restorations, taking oral x-rays, removing sutures, cleaning up excess cement from a filling, and applying topical anesthetics to the gums and teeth.

Curriculum for Dental Assistants

Course work varies for a dental assistant program based upon selected educational venue, but often include courses in dental assisting procedures, office emergencies, dental materials, dental x-rays, office procedures, dental nutrition, head and neck anatomy and pharmacology. Students are also required to take courses in the basic biological sciences and take specialized courses that cover the fundamentals of dental assistants ranging from patient care and infection control to radiography and dental treatment preparations. Students are also provided with computer training and preparatory coursework to prepare for Dental Assisting National Board examinations (DANB). Students are also often required to fulfill a clinical rotation in one or two dental offices during their educational program. Students receive intensive instruction in basic dental operatory and laboratory skills and dental terminology. All of the training and coursework is designed to prepare students for employment as Registered and Certified Dental Assistants in private practice, specialty dentistry, hospitals, clinics and dental schools.

Career Opportunities for Dental Assistants

Various career opportunities are available to graduates of dental assistant programs. Positions to which graduates may advance with experience and additional training include those of dental product sales representative, insurance auditor, manager, supervisor, educator, and RDAEF. Dental assistants perform interesting and challenging duties as a valued and valuable member of a professional dental health care team. Professional dental assistance is in high demand, and this profession offers considerable flexibility in choosing a work environment that is suitable for the specialized areas pursued within your program. Dental assistants are needed in private dental offices, hospital dental clinics, health maintenance organizations, nursing homes, community clinics, school-based dental clinics, insurance companies/claims, the armed forces, government agencies and dental product sales all over the nation. Dental assistants held approximately 267,000 jobs in 2005, the majority of these positions being in dentist's offices, while others being in physicians' offices, educational services, and hospitals. About one-third of all dental assistants worked part-time, sometimes working for more than one dental practice.