A Career As A Dental Assistant

A career as a dental assistant is one that you can feel proud of and will enjoy going to work on a daily basis. And if you don’t like traditional schooling, you are in luck as most of your training will be in an office environment. Not all of your training, but most. You will need to find a college or vocational school offering a dental assistant training course. There are certain requirements that you will need to meet in order to be accepted into one of these schools.

No dental office can function properly without the dental assistants. As a dental aide you will be responsible for office duties as well as patient interactions. Your training will prepare you for these tasks. I can’t stress enough how important this training is so that you are competent enough to handle your daily duties.

Certification as a DCDA has become increasingly important so that potential employers know that you are ready for the job. Your training courses and clinical work will prepare you for certification and the daily tasks your job will require.

You should be well versed in the subjects of chemistry and biology. Your changes of being accepted into a training school are higher if you maintained good marks in these subjects while in high school. These subjects are important to any health care career, and being a dental assistant is no different. Being knowledgeable in scientific subjects will help you more than you may realize in your job.

Patients will most likely not be your only responsibility. You will need to have a foundation in office work. Depending on the practice you work for you might be required to help with managing the office. If the office does not function correctly then everyone might as well go home!

Not as big of an issue as it used to be, you will need to have an understanding of how to use a computer and applications. No office is without a computer and billing system these days. So if you aren’t prepared, be sure to spend some extra time training on general computing knowledge.

You should know that the educational requirements laid out here are not just for employers benefit. The National Dental Assisting Examination Board also requires that you meet specific training requirements. To get certified, you have to be approved to take the examination by this board. In the end it is worth it. You will have a job you feel good about, confident about, and enjoy day after day.