Any Dental Assistants here?

[ConfusedOne]

Anyone know of any <1 year dental assistant training/classes? I know of bryman but that is more than a year i think. Thanks for your help

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[armorshell]

It really depends on what state you're in. For instance, in washington, no formal training is required for dental assisting, you just get on the job

 

[Dr. juju]

yea, you can volunteer in a doctor's office and usually they will train you, cuz afterall you're working for free. Then there is a high chance of hiring you afterwards... at least that's what happend to me

 

[crocko13]

yep... same here, just find a dentist to shadow and start doing things, eventually you may get hired as an assistant.

 

[RDHwife]

You should look in the yellow pages or online. If you are set on getting the formal training, I've seen programs as short as 2 months. Or, like everyone else has said, just walk into the office. That can be tricky though because everyone wants somebody with experience. When I was in that predicament, I told the DR. that I would work for free for the 1st month and then he started paying me once I actually knew how to do things.

 

[polarnut]

i took RDA training that lasted 9 months. i didnt do it to get a job, but to get my feet wet. needless to say, my starting pay was considerably higher $14/hr, as oppose to someone without any experience.

and i got to learn how to do many procedures that dentists wont find the time to teach you in an working environment.

and it looks great on your application.

 

[SFPredent]

I started dental assisting for a Dr. who liked to start with a clean slate, aka no training. The pay was **** at first but I learned so much it was so worth it. I worked part time (20 hours) per week for 1.5 years of college. He also paid for me to get my X-ray license and coronal polishing license. (Easy classes, very simple). Now I work full time for a cosmetic dentist in downtown SF and make bank, so it was totally worth it. I see adds on craigslist about once or twice per week advertising for a dental assistant with no training, keep an eye out for something like that. Best of luck, pm me with any questions.

 

[aggie.teacher]

I started dental assisting for a Dr. who liked to start with a clean slate, aka no training. The pay was **** at first but I learned so much it was so worth it. I worked part time (20 hours) per week for 1.5 years of college. He also paid for me to get my X-ray license and coronal polishing license. (Easy classes, very simple). Now I work full time for a cosmetic dentist in downtown SF and make bank, so it was totally worth it. I see adds on craigslist about once or twice per week advertising for a dental assistant with no training, keep an eye out for something like that. Best of luck, pm me with any questions.

I know in some states you have to be registered i.e. take a few tests and pay a lot of money. Here in Texas, I had to get a radiology, infection control, and jurisprudence test out of the way to be legal after my initial training grace period. Some dentists wouldn't hire me without that. but it's all about who you know in the end. That helps a lot