Does a Dental Assistant sound like the perfect career for you? First things first: shadow the profession you have in mind before you make a commitment and invest your time and money. We wanted to give you the rundown of average job duties you will be performing throughout the day as a dental assistant so that you know what to expect.
Each morning when you get to work, you will be required to set up your operatories and prepare for the day. This may include gathering trays for each procedure and going through patient charts to understand what is needed to allow your day to run as smoothly as possible. Job duties may include procedures such as fabrication of temporary crowns, assisting with fillings and extractions, taking x-rays and impressions. Each procedure requires different setups and materials. Temporary crowns are fun because it allows you to sit in the driver’s seat (dentist’s chair), take charge and fabricate a crown for your patient to leave with the same day until their permanent crown comes back from the dental lab. You may get an hour for lunch to reset for the afternoon. Some offices work through lunch so they can leave earlier. At the end of the day, clean up and shut down procedures are required in the office. These duties may include sweeping and mopping operatories, taking out the trash, sterilizing instruments and preparing trays for the next day. A dental assistant may also do the ordering of supplies for the office. The nice thing is you will never get bored as you are always doing something different.
Multitasking is a must in dentistry and allows you to always be one step ahead of the dentist, knowing exactly what he/she needs next. Some days you may run behind and others ahead. You have to have patience and be able to go with the flow. If a patient has a dental emergency, the office needs to be able to accommodate that patient to help address whatever is going on. Teamwork is super important, as it allows you to help each other and make the office run more effectively overall. If you like a challenge and fast-paced work environment with endless opportunities, dental assisting is the perfect career for you!
To learn more about Columbus Academy of Dental Assisting check out our course descriptions or contact us to schedule a free walkthrough.
