Dental Assistant Salary and Job Description

Everyone is afraid of going to the dentist once in a while, but most of us have to put off our desire to run away as we are led toward the dentist chair by a kindly and reassuring face. The person that leads us to our place is the dental assistant. Dental assistants often make our visits to the dentist tolerable as they are masters of making the entire trip enjoyable rather than excruciating and often scary. They are currently enjoying the growing trend of being hired faster than most medical assistant owing to the increasing awareness of people towards dental hygiene.

The dental assistant’s job is all about being straightforward and having a good eye for details. They need to be able to think for themselves when they are at the clinic. Unlike most jobs that have a detailed job description, much of the jobs a dental assistant does aren’t learned in school. Like dealing with the paperwork and scheduling patients for follow up check ups. In the end, the job that an assistant does in the dental office needs to be organized and well maintained. They are all around assistants for the dentist because they can perform clerical as well as dental work. In some clinics, the dental assistants are allowed to perform cleaning on patients that don’t need complicated procedures. Most of the time, they are beside dentists, preparing the casts, the machines and handing out the instruments to be used on the patients. Once the procedure is done, they clean and sterilize the equipment for next use. The clerical dental assistant then keeps a record of the procedure and schedules a follow up for the patient.

The dental assistant can work in clinics, public health centers, wellness hospitals and even dental schools. In most states, dental assistants do not need any formal education to apply in a dental office, but without education, the room for advancement is extremely limited. Schooling in order to become a dental assistant generally takes only one year to complete, so it wouldn’t hurt your chances in enrolling for a year in a community college that offers a training program.

Most dental assistant training schools only require their enrollees to have a high school diploma or equivalent same goes through with medical billing and coding technician. Applicants must have a strong background in science courses such as biology and chemistry. The school you choose should be accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) as programs that are approved by them are qualified to impart practical knowledge on their students which include teaching laboratory skills as well as theoretical skills.  Look out for private schools that offer 4-6 month courses as the CODA does not recognize these programs as a formal institution of learning. While one can earn a certification in just a year’s worth of schooling, a 2 year course can result in an associate’s degree. The reason why most students end up taking an educational program is because earning education allows them a higher salary. Most dental assistants earn about $33,000 a year, making it a viable career option for many people.