The pay is pretty good and most jobs come with excellent benefits. You will not have to worry about working weekends or holidays. Forget about working those graveyard shifts because most dental offices keep regular business hours. Now you need to know the roles that the dental assistant plays.
When you become a dental assistant you should be prepared for several different job duties. You may never have to fill all of the positions, but it never hurts to know how to do them just in case someone calls in sick, quits or is going on vacation. Most employers do not have an extra employee just floating around waiting to be put to work.
You will have to know how to be a receptionist, a book keeper, a lab technician and an x-ray technician, in addition to your dental assistant duties. Of course these will not all be at the same time, or at least you hope not.
The dental assistant training will prepare you for many of your job duties. The best training will be on the job and you will get a better feel for what a typical day will be like. The health care assistants act as the patient liaison with the dentist. You will come in, greet the patient and perform the basic cleaning.
You may also take the x-rays. Some dental assistants will help with oral surgery and will work in the lab doing dentures and molds of teeth. Your exact job duties will vary but you will not have to do it alone without training. The dentist will oversee any type of work that you do and there will be experienced people around you to make sure that you are performing your job duties correctly.
You have probably realized by now that there are plenty of dental assistant training courses out there in the real world. You have to make the decision on whether or not to become a dental assistant. Perhaps a few incentives will encourage that decision.
The healthcare system is in dire need of qualified individuals. There are many open positions and not enough people to fill them. These open positions will mean that employers are willing to pay more for qualified help. Is that not a great enough incentive?
