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Career Tips & Advice

Chairside Heroes: Dental Assistants

Concorde Staff

Concorde Staff

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Updated February 24, 2015. The information contained in this blog is current and accurate as of this date.
Dental Assistant Recognition Week 2015

The next time you open your mouth for your dental assistant, remember to thank that person for his or her dedicated service. March 1-7 is Dental Assistants Recognition Week when those who encourage you to brush and floss your way to better dental health are honored.
 

Much more than an assistant

Dental assistants contribute much more to the mission of dental health than you might realize. Besides telling you to "open wider," dental assistants support dentists and patients in many technical functions as an important communications liaison in the dentist-patient relationship.

What does a dental assistant do?

Responsibilities can include:

  • Supporting the dentist during dental treatments and oral surgery
  • Taking and developing dental X-rays
  • Completing patient intake process, including asking about medical history and taking blood pressure and pulse
  • Functioning as an infection prevention specialist through the sterilization of instruments and equipment and standardizing infection prevention through a developed protocol
  • Ensuring patient comfort before, during and after dental treatments and surgery
  • Instructing patients in oral care following treatment and surgery
  • Educating patients in preventive strategies for maintaining oral health, e.g., tooth brushing, flossing, nutritional guidance, etc.
  • Taking impressions of patients' teeth as study casts
  • Mixing materials for teeth cast in some offices
  • Applying special treatments, such as topical anesthetic to gums or cavity-preventive substance to teeth
  • Serving as an office manager, utilizing a variety of software applications and office equipment
  • Client service communications support through scheduling appointments, answering the office telephone, processing billing requests, and paperwork, and ordering supplies
  • Providing direct patient care across all dental specialties, including orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, and oral surgery

 

Interested In How To Become a Dental Assistant?

Click here to explore Dental Assistant Programs near you!

 

A rewarding profession

Though there is only one week officially dedicated to those who provide such comprehensive support in dental office settings, there is daily satisfaction visible in the healthy smiles of every dental patient served.

Want to know more? Delve deeper into the world of dental assisting through the sources listed below.

Sources:

/dental-programs/dental-assistant

ada.org/en/education-careers/careers-in-dentistry/dental-team-careers/dental-assistant

shmoop.com/careers/dental-assistant/

Take The Next Step Towards a Brighter Future

Interested in learning more about our Dental Assistant program?

We have a Concorde representative ready to talk about what matters most to you. Get answers about start dates, curriculum, financial aid, scholarships and more!

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  1. Program length may be subject to change dependent on transfer credits and course load. Please refer to current course catalog for more information. Concorde does not guarantee admittance, graduation, subsequent employment or salary amount.

  2. Professional certification is not a requirement for graduation, may not be a requirement for employment nor does it guarantee employment.

  3. Financial aid is available to those who qualify but may not be available for all programs. Concorde does not guarantee financial aid or scholarship awards or amounts.

  4. Clinical hour requirements and delivery may vary by campus location and may be subject to change. Concorde does not guarantee clinical site assignments based upon student preference or geographic convenience; nor do clinical experiences guarantee graduation, post-clinical employment or salary outcomes.

  5. Registration and certification requirements for taking and passing these examinations are not controlled by Concorde, but by outside agencies, and are subject to change by the agency without notice. Therefore, Concorde cannot guarantee that graduates will be eligible to take these exams, at all or at any specific time, regardless of their eligibility status upon enrollment.

  6. Externships are a non-paid in-person learning experience, whose length and location may be subject to change. Concorde does not guarantee externship placement, graduation, post-externship employment or salary outcomes.