Is dental assistant a requirement?

[Jobe]

I am planning to do an internship at a dental office as a dental assistant.
I do not have any experience but the doctor is willing to train me like 3 times a week.
It is not a paid position.
Is working as a dental assistant a requirement for dental schools?
Do you guys think this is a good practice and worth it to spend my entire summer as a dental assistant?

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[bjhath]

I am planning to do an internship at a dental office as a dental assistant.
I do not have any experience but the doctor is willing to train me like 3 times a week.
It is not a paid position.
Is working as a dental assistant a requirement for dental schools?
No, most schools require shadowing, but not assisting. However, working as an assistant will fulfill shadowing hours. Make sure you keep track of how many hours you assist/shadow.
Do you guys think this is a good practice and worth it to spend my entire summer as a dental assistant?
Yes, I do think your time will be well spent assisting. You will get a real good idea if dentistry is for you along with great experience.

See my answer above. Good luck!

 

[JamesOSU]

I am planning to do an internship at a dental office as a dental assistant.
I do not have any experience but the doctor is willing to train me like 3 times a week.
It is not a paid position.
Is working as a dental assistant a requirement for dental schools?
Do you guys think this is a good practice and worth it to spend my entire summer as a dental assistant?

I wouldn't be an assistant if I wasn't going to be paid. What's that about? He's paying the other assistants... if you're doing the same job, what gives? He's getting a free assistant that he doesn't have to pay $12/hr, sounds like he's taking advantage of you.

If you do get paid I don't think it counts for shadowing, though I could be wrong on that (anyone know that?).

 

[little127]

I agree you should be paid. I work as an dental assistant, was trained in-house, and am being paid.

It does still count as hours because you are still getting experience. I've checked

 

[USU24]

I think it is different because the dentist is not training this person to work there he/she is training them to be a dental assistant. If you were going to some kind of training program you would be paying to be there. Anyways I would think it would be worth your time for the experience alone.