A Day in the Life of a Dental Assistant

A Day in the Life of a Dental Assistant

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.

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Rated 5 Stars on Google

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2022-04-30
This class has been great. The instructors are amazing and Allison is always responsive if you have any questions or concerns. Jerika gave the best lectures, and made studying for the finals fun.
Lourdes R
Lourdes R
2022-04-30
Helps you understand things well & makes lab time fun
katherine konopka
katherine konopka
2022-01-02
The instructors from dental reflections are amazing ! Allison gets you ready for your next step in life
Jaren Kay
Jaren Kay
2021-12-30
Such a great school to learn the basics of dental assisting all the instructors are super helpful and will go out of their way for you. I would def recommend it to anyone who wants to be a dental assistant.
Rene H
Rene H
2021-01-28
I’m so glad I found this program! The small class size made it easier for me to focus and get the one on one help and attention I needed to learn as much as I could! Allison and all of the instructors did everything they could to make sure we would succeed in the field and find jobs. Even after graduation I know I can turn to Allison for questions or advice. If you’re looking for a dental assisting program I couldn’t recommend this one enough!!
Bailey Thomas
Bailey Thomas
2020-05-20
This program is one of the best dental assisting programs in the area! Chassiti and Allison do an amazing job teaching this course and providing all the necessary learning that is needed to be an outstanding dental assistant. They go above and beyond and are always willing to help out, even months after you finish the course. The program is reasonably priced, there is a lot of one-on-one and hands-on experience with the instructors. Small class sizes allow you to really succeed and get any questions answered. I would definitely recommend anyone thinking about doing this program to do it! 10/10!!
Raina Shaw
Raina Shaw
2019-12-14
Going to this program was the best decision I’ve ever made!! The instructors are so awesome and fun to work with and they program is really easy to fit in a schedule. I cannot wait to start my career path all thanks to this program and the lovely instructors.