If you ask any Dental Assistants about their job profile, you’re most likely to get the same answer- no two days are the same! Why is that so?
Well, that’s because every individual entering a dental clinic has a unique issue. And since dentistry is not a one-size-fits-all approach, a certified Dental Assistant has to stay prepared to handle a completely new situation every single day!
Sounds interesting enough for you to join Dental Assistant Schools in California, and take up DA as a career option?
Great! Now, let’s follow this article till the end to know what a normal day in the life of a dental assistant looks like. This will help you understand the variety of roles and responsibilities involved in this role, and also determine if that’s a good fit for your career goals.
The Daily Life of a Dental Assistant
- Mornings
As a dental assistant, you may be required to open and close the dental office. Your total work hours depend on the practice. But usually, a typical workday would range from 8 A.M to 5 P.M.
Here’s what your morning would look like after opening the office-
– Prepare the examination rooms for the scheduled morning appointments.
– Give a thorough check on the patient’s schedule for that day.
– Arrange all the medical records of the scheduled patients.
– Make sure that all the dental instruments are properly sterilized.
– Prepare the procedure room and arrange the necessary dental instruments accordingly.
– Make sure that procedure rooms are clean, and sanitized.
Also, remember that you need to get over all these things before the arrival of the first patient. If a patient needs to wait just because the procedure rooms or instruments aren’t ready yet, it can cause a delay in all the subsequent appointments on that day.
That’s the reason why candidates enrolling in dental assistant training programs are being trained in real-time dental settings. This makes them aware of the required pace that they need to achieve to work in an actual dental office.
- Mid-Morning to Noon
You won’t get time to sit or slack on a busy day! That’s how it is in the dental scenario. Anyways, throughout the morning until noon, you will have to greet incoming patients as they arrive and escort them to their respective examination rooms.
Next, you’ve to help the patients settle down and make them put on the patient’s bib. Along with it, you have to ask them about their medical history to update their records.
During the examination: The dentist or hygienist might call you during the examination. You will have to hand the necessary instruments to your senior to streamline the process. You may also have to use a suction hose to keep the patient’s mouth dry and clean.
After the examination: After the examination is done, you will have to explain to the patient how to take good care of their teeth. You’re also responsible for scheduling the patient’s next appointment date and assisting with any questions regarding payments or other procedures.
- Mid-day to Late Afternoon
It’s a busy day at the office, remember? So, after you’ve had your lunch, you’ll resume assisting patients again. Along with this, you might even have to put your radiography skills to the test!
However, that’s not all! You might also have to assist the dentist in providing anesthetics to numb the patient’s affected area. And all along the procedure, you’ll have to keep track and summarize things that the Dentist notes or the issues that the patient experiences.
It’s not over yet! A candidate having a dental assistant certification in California will also have to assist the front desk staff! They may help in processing the invoices and payments; contact patients to confirm their appointments; send reminders; look at insurance bills, etc.
Think that’s enough? Absolutely not! Before leaving the office and calling it a day, you will have to perform a thorough audit of your office. This will include checking whether all the instruments and supplies are present in stock and also noting down things that need restocking.
Reputed dental assisting schools in California like MDS Dental Assisting Academy offer a holistic training module for the candidates. This makes them accustomed to the real-world dental office setting, along with giving them an idea of what a normal day in their lives would be after they pass out from the institution.
To Conclude
Dental Assistant, as a career option, is indeed rewarding and offers numerous opportunities to showcase your skill set. However, you also need to consider the fact that you might have to be the Jack of all trades as that’s what your job role would demand from you!
So, if you’ve decided to be a dental assistant, prepare yourself mentally, and choose to enroll yourself in certified dental assistant programs from reputed institutions to have a fulfilling career graph!