Dental Assistant

Duties and Responsibilities:

Dental assistants assist the dental operator (dentist or other treating dental auxiliary) in providing more efficient dental treatment, by preparing the patient for treatment, sterilizing instruments, passing instruments during the procedure, holding suction devices, exposing dental radiographs, taking impressions, and fabricating provisional crowns. Dental operators can focus more time on the procedure; the dental assistant then effectively becomes the operator's extra hands.

Salary: $22,000 - $53,000

Education:

In some states, dental assistants can work in the field without a college degree, while in other states, dental assistants must be licensed or registered. Dental assistants are required to meet the minimum certification to work in the field. There are many things that dental assistants must consider while working in the field and arguably the most important is infection control

Reflection:

I wouldn’t like to be a dental assistant because I would not get paid that much. Not only that but I don’t like being an assistant in anything. For example, when we do a project I don’t like being the assistant, I like to be the one who presents.