Getting a dental assistantship

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stefanels

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Anyone know how an international dentist can get a dental assistant's job in California and what are the pre-requisites?
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I asked the same question a while ago but not too many answered. I searched the web and this is what I found:
1) One doesn't need to be a RDA (registered) to be a dental assistance, though many jobs ask for one. I suppose the pay is also higher. We are looking at $7-$10 vs $10 to $15/hr.
(correction ... I underestimate the salary by about 25%)
2) Most requires X-ray license. This is a 3-4 days class follow by an exam.
3) To become a RDA, one must go to school. And no .... the dental degree doesn't count. Length of program varies, it can be as short as 10 months, but 2 years is more typical. After graduation the student must pass a RDA test.
(correction ... the 2 year class is for an associate degree)
- tengu
 
thanks for the info tengu...the bench test cancellation came as a surprise...and now I have to look into other avenues..
every place I called asked me if I had an Xray License...and not alot of places offer that course...But Im sure Ill find one.

Any idea what sort of other related jobs can one do without having a US dental license?!
 
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Guys where can you get this X ray license? I'm located in Los angeles and could anyone pl tell me if any college or university has that course ( esp the 3 /4 day one )...?
 
how can i land my self with an assistantship...they ask for an Xray course ...but when you go for an xray course they expect you to be already working at some office...cus you have to bring your own patients and one part of the exam is conducted at your office.
 
Originally posted by stefanels
how can i land my self with an assistantship
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When there is a will there is a way. My will on this one is 8+ hours of web surfing and a dozen phone calls. And that we are (plus some poor guinea pig friends of ours) willing to drive 150 miles each way for the class.

...they ask for an Xray course ...but when you go for an xray course they expect you to be already working at some office... and one part of the exam is conducted at your office.
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Not entirely true. I just signed up an x-ray class for my wife which does not require an active dental office employment.

http://www.scc.losrios.edu/~dentalce/xraycourses.html

There are several others which require two X-rays be taken outside of the classroom. However those could be taken in any dental office.

Cost is typically from $200 to $500. At the end of the class there will be a written exam and issuance of x-ray certificate.

Stay away from those FOR PROFIT schools such as Brymen. If there is no mention of tuition, and you have to fill a personal info form before a SALESPERSON will call you back, chances are those schools do not have your education on top of their priority.

cus you have to bring your own patients
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That's what husband and ex-boyfriends are for :p

- tengu

p.s. my wife just interviewed a DA job that pays $18 to $22 an hour (though I doubt she will get the job).
 
Hi,

To work as an assistant all you need is an x-ray license. They pay around $14/hr.
RDA, you do not need to go to school, but you have to prove that you have been working as an assistant for one year, and also need an coronal polish license. The payment here can go up to $25/hr :clap:
 
tengu pl post here if ur wife gets the DA job.
 
wow thats quite a good money.....
whats this RDA stuff ?????
when i went for a DA job i was not asked all that , all i told them was i am a foreign trained dentist and they gave me job , that is in NYC, may be it works different in different places .
but iam paid not so high but have to do lot of work, do DA 's really get paid that high ?????????
 
A qualfied DA makes this kind of money. But I think that in some cases is not enough.
RDA is a registered dental assistant.
 
thanks for the caution there tengu!!

I recently found out that they have an Xray course at UOP and at Dental Specialties Institute (cupertino) as well... and the one at dental sp. institute starts sept 20th.
 
Heyy Stafenals,

Can you please give more info on this...like a website where I can find more about the Course details.Are you planning to attend any of the mentioned schools?

I would very much appreciate your help.
ThankYou.
 
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Are such programs only in California? I havent seen any such programs in other places. Does any one living outside California done any X-ray course. Any info would be helpful to all of us.
 
hey guys,

i live in the nj area and have been working as an assistant from the past year.

one thing u guys can try is calling form the yellow pages.there is always someone who needs an assistant.

u can start from $7 an hour and work ur way upto$12-13/ hour without a x-ray license.

also look for ad's in the local newspapers. my 2 cents for what its worth.

good luck
 
hi
iam a dentist from india .could u plz help me how should i appoach 4 a dental assistant job .iam under h4 dependent visa\
my mail id is [email protected]
thanx
smiledesigner
i live in the nj area and have been working as an assistant from the past year.

one thing u guys can try is calling form the yellow pages.there is always someone who needs an assistant.

u can start from $7 an hour and work ur way upto$12-13/ hour without a x-ray license.

also look for ad's in the local newspapers. my 2 cents for what its worth.

good luck [/B][/QUOTE]
 
Heyy Stafanels,

Thanks a lot on your info.I am also planning to attend a short course if available.

All the best to everyone.
 
Originally posted by xuhaifeng
pls. what's the sarary a DA can expect?
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In California it is anywhere from $8 to $25, depending on experience, type of work and who the employer is.

The super low salaries are usually offered by clinics own by foreign educated dentists. Disguisting practice of preying on one's own race/culture.

- tengu
 
hi smile designner where do u live?i think h4 visa doesnt allow u to work...its illegal to work under a h4 visa...i have read some posts by u.....dont demand info request when u need something.....as for the moderator she has helped so many on these forums...its not fair for u to judge her........u cannot expect custom made replies for your questions,when they were discussed a million times on the forums.....all u have to do is just look up,u will sure find ur ans
 
hey take it easy ,
the motive of this forum is to share the info and help each other , no squabbling please.......................

smile designer ,
as somebody has told earlier u can go thro the yellow pages , make a list of the dentists who r accessible or conviniently located to u , give them a call and ask them if any opening is available and leave ur phone number with them , if they want some help they will get back to u.
if possible prepare a resume .
hope this helps .
cheers
 
dont forget to mention ur status ,
with ur status its better to try with desi dentists , it works with them .
 
how should i appoach 4 a dental assistant job .iam under h4 dependent visa\
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normally if u dont have a work permit, then u can always volunteer to work which is not illegal.

itsme
 
I was just wondering if there are any males participating in this thread?? Cause I have noticed that it is extremely hard for a male to find a DA job,I finally did after many interviews and many patients find it amusing that I'm a male assistant. This job is definately female-dominant:(
 
hi tamer
are u getting paid working as an assistant or are u volunteering?i am also on the look out for a dental assistant job
 
Hi Shilpi,

I am being paid as an assistant,the wages arent bad at all,about 16$/hr.Alot of work but great experience for us foreigners:) The disadv. though of this is I dont have much time left for studying! Its a 8-6pm job,

Dont give up searching,I'm confident you'll get a job soon,there are always wanting DAs,try the local ads in the newspaper.If you could get an X-ray license that would be better.In my state(NC) I only had to sit for a really easy exam to get it.
 
Hey, I just remembered this. I friend told me that beign a foreign trained dentist you could practice in Florida as a dental hygienist, as long as you passed the Dental hygienist examination (written and practical) OR if you passed the NBDE part 1.

But you should verify that....
 
hi tamer
i applied for lot of DA jobs but no one even bothered to call be back.i dont know why:oops: ,did yoy mention in your resume the things you did as s dentist or only things that are necessary for an assistant?by the way i live inSC...i do think something is wrong with my resume'bcos i did mention in that i have done root canal treatments so on.......hey and how is ISABEL??
 
Hi, I was a dentist in my country. I'm a dental assistant now in MA. I didn't take any course here, and I don't have any certification here. I just called some dental office and told them I was looking for a job, and they just hired me.
 
Hi, Tamer,
In our office, there were 3 male DA. And our bosses like them, but two of them quit last month. One of them went to school. The other one went back to his country. But we still have one male DA in our office now. And doctors like him and gave him more trainning.
 
I think my wife's experience mirrors many others here. She has been looking for a DA job close to a month now. There are quite a few RDA/DA job openings in the newspapers. Every week she will fax her resume to about 3-8 offices, and usually 2-3 will call back for an interview. Several things I observed

- what's in the resume makes a lot of difference. It is more straight forward if one graduates from US, is a RDA, and have tons of DA experiences. But since most of us here don't, the resume has to show that the person has the skills for the job even though he/she is not a RDA (and done so without being cocky).
- The foreign dentists have to fight the NMIH (not made in here) discrimination. Frankly the dentists here have no idea what your competency level is, and given a choice they will rather hire someone from a RDA school. Even though most of the foreign dentists are way overqualified than RDA, they are not as apted to handle the rountine RDA job. A french chef does not flip burger as fast and as well as a McDonald kid.
- You have to convince them the DA job is not beneath you, and will not bolt at the first sight of greener grass.
- one will have greater success with dentists of the same race/culture. Unfortunately they also tend to pay lower.
- an X-ray license is almost a must, and a prerequisite for any above minimal pay.
- if they like you, they may ask you to work a day.
- Language and culture are big handicaps to some of us. The young kid who barely finishes high school and sleepwalks through 9 months of RDA school is in better footing than you :(

As for my wife she is still learning how to "sell" herself during an interview. Quite a change when jobs knock on her door back in her country. It has been a good learning experience.

- tengu
 
hi tengu
my experience is even worse no one even acknowledged my resume'and even bothered to give a call back...so i just send in a resume' and thats just it......
 
As I said the resume makes a difference. My wife's first draft yielded no call back, the second and third draft gave better and better results.

Did you also add a cover letter?

- tengu
 
no i dont have any cover letter....can u give me some ideas for the resume',did u mention the things that ur wife did as s dentist or just the things that are needed for a dental assistant?any ideas will be appreciated
 
Tengu your post was great!!!! And it definitivly proves what I've seen my friends go trough.

- A friend of mine went off to this DA interview, and the doctor asked her (in the hypothetical situation that she got the job):

- "What will you do if I made a mistake, like leaving caries behind in a preparation? "
- My friend (previously warned) answered: "Given that I'm a DA, I cannot interfere with the dentist's procedures."
- The doctor repplied: "Good!, that's the kind of answer I was looking for. You're only going to be a DA, so you cannot tell the doctor what to do and not to do."

Other friends of mine, had previously warned here about this situation. Doctors usually fear that a DA who's a foreign trained dentist, will be "judging" their procedures all the time, and might even make the mistake of talking out loud in front of the patient.

When you go to the interview, make sure you don't act like a "smart-ass" trying to let the doctor know you're the best dentist ever, 'cause they aren't interviewing you to be a dentist, but to be a DA.

Language is a bid deal to them (doctors here), of course it must be. Try with doctors within your same culture, its wayyy easier.
But as Tengu pointed out, doctors of our same race will usually try to get comfortable and pay less.

I've seen many friends of mine trying to get a DA job, and is not THAT easy. The one who has had the easiest time, is Latin but was born and raised here, so she's fully "americanized". And since she studied back in my country, her Spanish and English levels are equally good.

In her case, she has had the easiest time, 'cause of the language fluency and knows how to treat people both the "american" way and the "Latin" way; so she's very useful for doctors, she gets payed pretty good. And she just recently got the X-ray licence, so all this was before she even got it. Well, that's luck isn't it?

Anyway, from what I've seen, with friends. In the interviews act as humble as you can with respect of beign a dentist. But act as useful and practical with respect of beign a foreigner. Let them know that you'll keep your mouth shut.

good luck everyone.
 
Hi everyone

As i was looking for the DA job i found this thread to be very help full. I just needed to add few things.

Most of the Community colleges offer the RT course it is a self study course , it cost $ 400 But u need to be working at some place to take this course. Since it is a self study course they want u to pratice the x-ray at the place u r working at .

I just started this course and its really easy and i think i am going to finish the whole thing in 2 weeks.

Well to sit in the exam u need to show ur Director a full mouth series and that is pretty much all and the exam costs around 20$ so instead of doing it in some universty if u r intrested look in comunity colleges its cheaper and easier.
 
Originally posted by Bond
....so instead of doing it in some universty if u r intrested look in comunity colleges its cheaper and easier.
Click to expand...

While looking at Columbia University website, I remember reading that they have this Dental assistant course, for free, in the school. But that was about it. If any of you leave in the area, you can always visit their website and learn more about it.
 
Originally posted by pearle
Heyy Stafanels,

Thanks a lot on your info.I am also planning to attend a short course if available.

All the best to everyone.
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hii there my name is raj and iam a dental graduate from india and is on F1 visa i would like to have some information about the xray licence program iam from the chicago area is there anyone who can give me information regarding that specially the one with 3 to 5 days course i will highly appreciate it and one more thing can a person on F1 visa work in a clinic please help me out guys i will highly appreciate that. thanks a million
raj
 
No, I don't. I just happen to see it while check Columbia's website. Sorry,
:(
 
Hi Raj

I am sure u can work on F-1 but i guess only in the college u r in , and its only 20-25 hrs per week.

About the x-ray licence call the community college in ur area and tell them what u want to do they will tell u about the self study course.

I live in midwest and u have to have a X-ray license to work as a assistant so look up the laws in ur area or send ur CV out to dentist they might call u. Look for the Desi dentist they might help u.

Best of luck

BOND
 
we can get registered for the x-ray license course offered by the dental professionals of california by calling 1800-438-7887. its a 2day course.its easy to find a job if u have a x-ray license. good luck 2 everyone
 
Is there a way that a h-4 status individual can work as a dental assistant legally and i mean get paid and not volunteer?:confused:
 
hi shyam,
I am on a h4 too.I have gone for a few dent asst job interview, they are more then ready to hire me but the only problem is that legally we can not work .. and they have to pay under the table which they are not ready to.. at the end we can not get the job.. so I did not get any uptill now...so moral of the story is you have to find someone who is willing to pay you under the table and work as assistant...
 
Hi Kosha!
Thanks for the post, i'm facing the same problem...plus dont want to do anything stupid while i apply to various dds programs.
It is frustrating that after 5 yrs of dental schoo l& working for a couple of yrs after that we still can't legally work as "Dental Assistants" !!!???:wow: +pissed+
 
Originally posted by shyam
Hi Kosha!
Thanks for the post, i'm facing the same problem...plus dont want to do anything stupid while i apply to various dds programs.
It is frustrating that after 5 yrs of dental schoo l& working for a couple of yrs after that we still can't legally work as "Dental Assistants" !!!???:wow: +pissed+
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talking legally there is no law as far as i know here in the midwest which prohibit you from working as a dental assistant and simply anyone can work as a dental assistant without any license but the thing is that you need a work permit:( .
 
What i meant was specifcally for folks on a H-4 status since its illegal to work on that status.
Also a dental assistant's postion does not qualify for applying for a work visa status or a h-1 which could enable us to change status and work legally on it. Its different of cource if youre a student on a F-1 or a permanent resident since there this question does not arise.
 
well i have been trying for the last 3 months trying to get a job as a DA in toronto. i faxed my resume to different clinics but never got a single response so far. so i was wondering if there is any foreign dentist working as a DA in canada, why dont you share your experience here? i'd really appreciate it. peace...
 
hi my name is zeeshan . well i been working as da in ny for last one yr . i got the job caz i was doing my externship in maxillo in saint johns hospital . the thing is that if u work as dental assistant u really learn alot . from extraction to rct , crwon prep and post i mean almost every thing is changed here in usa. the basic concepts r the same but we should know the techniques ppl r using here . i would recommend all foreing dentist to seek the job as da in usa. as far as getting the job is concerned well make ur resume, the only thing that dentist want here is that dont show them that ur over qualified for the job as assistant . just talk less during the interview helps a lot . resume sure shot has a big deal to do with getting the job. salary is good some where fro 28000 to 35000/ annum . one thing for getting the job is that be confident in interview . dont show that u dont know how to take Xrays and techniques . most ppl ask u about the set up of endo instruments . well read the books before the interview. best of luck for all of u . regards
 
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