Jmac,
I dental assisted for six months PT. First, it depends on the state. Some states require formal training in order for someone ot be a dental assistant. This means more schooling. In this case, you're outta luck.
Other states don't require this (like my area - MD, VA, Wash DC), but it is still difficult to find an office willing to hire someone with know experience. I spent a good month looknig through the papers. You'll find a plethora of dental assistant openings....but few willing to train OTJ. I would suggest applying to these first and see what happens. If these offices DO offer you a job, don't expect much in monetary compensation. But getting paid shouldn't be the primary reason for getting this job.
If this fails, the next step would be to find free clinics in your area. THere's a bunch on non-profit free clinics in DC that would be happy to have help in their dental clinics. A few drawbacks to this option are:
1) Don't expect to get paid. This will 99% ofthe time be a volunteer job.
2) The neighborhoods maybe a little shady
3) The facilities will most likely be old
Although, if you can go without the money, volunteering in a dental free clinic is a great idea: 1) dental experience 2) community/volunteer work
Hope this helps