dental assisting

[Erhatstil]

this may be a dumb question but i see a lot people who have dental assisting on their resumes/apps and was wondering how you get certified for that? comm college?

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[ZenoVT]

I don't think you need to get certified to dental assist. You do however need an X-Ray Certification to image the patients. Then again it's really up to your state regulations, so you might want to check what the policies in your state are.

 

[Enso]

You can find 6-8 week programs to get certified. I'm thinking of going that route myself.

 

[Contach]

You can find 6-8 week programs to get certified. I'm thinking of going that route myself.

is this like night class? or an online course? or is it liike 8-5 school monday to friday? how intense is this certification course?

 

[Enso]

is this like night class? or an online course? or is it liike 8-5 school monday to friday? how intense is this certification course?

The assisting program I'm looking at in Florida runs Tues and Thurs nightly from 6pm-10pm. Another cool thing I noticed is the course takes place out of a dentist's private practice so you get legit "hands-on experience."

If you're in Florida just PM me and I'll give you some extra details.

 

[Erhatstil]

i'm in ny and it appears that the certifications require graduating from an accredited dental assistant program that are offered at community colleges. it looks like this would take a semester or two to complete. unless i can find an easier way to do it, i would feel uneasy about spending more time/money in school to become an assistant while i'm trying to get into dental school.

 

[chund]

south carolina has no reqs.. except for x-rays and to prophy.. 2 yrs work exp in office and magically you are allowed to prophy. Who knows?

 

[theguy23]

It depends on the practice. Some dentists will hire you without any certification. They pay you much less but once you get your feet wet and tell them you are applying to dental school they'll train you on x-ray, cord packing, temp crown fabrication, etc.

There is a crash course for expanded duties dental assisting which teaches the aforementioned and some other stuff at Florida I am going to (just so I can get more money). It is in January and all together its 4 days.

Good luck!!!

Personally I hate it, but dental assisting is kinda like this:

Imagine you're a kid and you're watching another kid play with these toys. The only thing you can do is watch and hand him other toys from the pile of toys next to you as he askes for them. When he is done playing with his toys you have to clean them all up and go set up some more toys somewhere else for him to play with while you watch again.

 

[Hawkeye7685]

You can always take an online course with a company like Penn Foster. It's slightly expensive but it allows you to go at your own speed. I believe when I asked about it they said it could be done in around six months. The course comes with online materials, as well as books and actual dental materials that allow you to get accustomed to dentistry. However with no hands on experience it will still probably be pretty hard to get a job. But the dental anatomy info and everything else can't hurt for grad school.

 

[Kabocha1]

Look into finding some jobs before you spend a bunch of time and money on a training program. I just happened to get hired while I was at my dentist's office getting a filling and I asked if they were hiring. I'm not saying this happens all the time, but if I lucked out on the first try, it can't be that uncommon. Anyway, I do agree that assisting is not the greatest job in the world, and if I weren't still waiting for interviews/acceptances, I'd have a hard time sticking with it. Hopefully it's going to pay off! BTW I live in Wisconsin, and I don't know what regulations other states have. We don't seem to have any!

 

[Californian]

Question: is dental assisiting a big plus on admission? is it even worth doing it? im debating rite now...

 

[rewJW]

Certification for obtaining an x-ray license and CDA varies state to state. I am not sure if RDA varies as well or if it is standardized across the country. In New Jersey you have to take a 70 hour course before you can apply to take the dental assistants' national board or NJ state test (different tests, qualify you for the same thing) and if you pass it, you then apply for your x-ray license. I'm in the class now- I'm doing it for personal experience and to get paid more for the time I'm working at my dental office until I (hopefully) leave for dental school next summer. I've said this in a few other posts but I believe the hands-on experience I've gotten assisting will be invaluable in d-school, regardless of if it helps me actually get into d-school.

 

[mflinchb]

I have considered doing dental assisting as well. I have done some assisting at a free clinic where I live but now they're going through some sort of change so they're not sure if it'll be "legal" anymore so I kind of wanted to get certified. Has anyone heard any good reviews about this Penn Foster program or any other programs that you can do online? I saw a couple late-night ones in FL and CA but I'm from IN and a lot of schools only offer fall/spring courses and i'm already consumed with intense pre-req's (aren't we all)

 

[RMPredent2009]

I am an assistant in NY and it is not necessary to be certified to work in a dental office. I went through a lot of training that the office required but I am able to take xrays and work one on one with patients without certification. I'd say it is definitely worth it to assist not so much to boost your application but to learn more about procedures and working with patients than you can by observing.

 

[Wax n Relax]

I would say that assisting really helped in my application and interview process. Its not that i had alot questions about me assisting, but it gave me confidence with my application. I was able to show my dedication to the profession, the knowledge of dentistry i had attained so far, as well as some hands on experience with the profession (manual dexterity, patient interaction, etc. ). Its one thing to say i have shadowed 500 hours in an office, but when you shadow you dont necessarily have to know what going on per say. When you assist you have to know the procedures and how to deal with patients. Overall, i fell that it was a wise choice on my part. It gave me a jump start for dental school (Oral Anatomy Classes and Patient interaction as well). Hope that helps.

 

[Dentgirl09]

It depends on the practice. Some dentists will hire you without any certification. They pay you much less but once you get your feet wet and tell them you are applying to dental school they'll train you on x-ray, cord packing, temp crown fabrication, etc.

There is a crash course for expanded duties dental assisting which teaches the aforementioned and some other stuff at Florida I am going to (just so I can get more money). It is in January and all together its 4 days.

Good luck!!!

Personally I hate it, but dental assisting is kinda like this:

Imagine you're a kid and you're watching another kid play with these toys. The only thing you can do is watch and hand him other toys from the pile of toys next to you as he askes for them. When he is done playing with his toys you have to clean them all up and go set up some more toys somewhere else for him to play with while you watch again.

hahahhahahaha

 

[stlouisboi2002]

ceritification takes about 8 to 9 months at an accredited school

 

[toothy2112]

You can always take an online course with a company like Penn Foster. It's slightly expensive but it allows you to go at your own speed. I believe when I asked about it they said it could be done in around six months. The course comes with online materials, as well as books and actual dental materials that allow you to get accustomed to dentistry. However with no hands on experience it will still probably be pretty hard to get a job. But the dental anatomy info and everything else can't hurt for grad school.

I beg to differ. I think Penn Foster is the cheapest program I have seen. Its about 900$ for the course. Everyone I spoke with went to a big program costing 15k or a vocational school about 3k. They offer a work experience option but it can be hard to find a doc willing to hire you w/o hands on experience. IMO, it worked out for me since I already worked in the field. But the program is well worth it.

Otherwise, check with the dental board in your state. Some only require xray cert. etc. I just moved to Louisiana where there is a new school opening taking 10weeks to complete the course. Fri/Sat/Sun. So it just depends.

 

[toothy2112]

I think LA requires an xray cert . If you want to have an actual extended duty title you must attend a weekend class, pass the test. In my home state of CA you had to have an xray cert, pass a written and a practical, submit fingerprints, etc to be certified. But with the cert comes a bit more money as well as job duties. I am doing this to gain experience, before I go to dental school.

 

[Ateeb T Khan]

What is packing cord (when do u use it), whats the deal with pouring up models (explain)...

THanks

 

[fishy19]

What is packing cord (when do u use it), whats the deal with pouring up models (explain)...

THanks

packing cord is referring to pushing a piece of cord(think dental floss with a much wider diameter) in between the tooth and gum tissue. This is done after a tooth is prepped for a crown and before the impression is taken. The cord serves to push back the gums a little to give the lab a better impression. An alternative to this is a sort of paste that is loaded into a syringe that can be put between the gums and tooth, this paste usually has ingredients to prevent the gums from bleeding.

 

[fishy19]

What is packing cord (when do u use it), whats the deal with pouring up models (explain)...

THanks

ok and pouring up models refers making models of the teeth. After an impression is taken, you mix ground dry stone with water to make a liquid that goes into all the little grooves of your impression. when the stone hardens(like cement) the model can be taken out of the impression and you have an exact replica of the teeth. The model can then be used for making bleaching trays, nightguards, or the preliminary steps of a denture.

 

[PreDent08]

An alternative to this is a sort of paste that is loaded into a syringe that can be put between the gums and tooth, this paste usually has ingredients to prevent the gums from bleeding.

hemadin(spelling?) right?

 

[fishy19]

hemadin(spelling?) right?

I only know the brand name of the product we use. it's called expa-syl

 

[blondiegurlkg]

hemadin(spelling?) right?

Hemodent. The gingival retraction cords we use at my office also have hemostatic agents (astringedent and others) in them to stop bleeding. We let the cord soak in hemadent during the prep before packing. Works great!