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Dental Lab Tech or Assistant??
Started by therealsquat
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Assist. If you find a dentist that is actually willing to teach you, I think you will be surprised at all the hands on you will get. Not to mention familiarity with equipment, instruments, and I'm sure a ton of xray experience.
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Be a dental assistant. More money. Better related to the job. Enough said.
It all depends on what is stressed at your school. Some schools stress lab work and the tech would be helpful. I personally would have liked to have dental tech experience more so than assisting. For UT Houston this would have made the first year a lot easier.
I've spent the last year working in a lab and am very grateful for that experience. You get to see the way a lot of different dentists do things. Some are meticulous, some are sloppy. Some prep teeth immaculately, others not so much. Aside from gaining the obvious lab skills, I think its exposed me to a lot of different ways to do dentistry and given me a better idea of whats out there, which I wouldn't have gotten just working for one dentist. Also, the lab I work at hosts CE courses which I get to go to for free and has been amazing. If you can find a lab like this in your area I would highly recommend trying to get hired on there.
Either will look good on your application and will demonstrate an interest in the field. I would apply to both, and select the one that gives the best hours and pay. In the end, you're seeing an aspect of the profession from a different side either way. I can see pros and cons to either of the two.
