A Bit Of Information About Dental Assisting... 

Dental assistants are worth their weight in gold! 

When you become a dental assistant you IMMEDIATELY become a very valuable person in the profession.  Dentists rely on their assistants so much that without you, a dentist is really quite helpless! You become an extension of the dentist’s hands, eyes and mind when you become a competent dental assistant. Such employees are loved and respected, not only by their colleagues at work but by the innumerable number of patients that become your friends over the years. This should become your aim.

Some assistants stay with their employers for their whole lifetime while others work for a few years and return to it on a part-time or full-time basis after starting their families.

Remuneration can vary from $25,000 to $75,000 per annum depending on the level of experience and qualifications you may have. Some dental assistants go on to become practice managers or do advanced studies and become dental hygienists, earning in excess of $120,000 per annum.  Is this a career you may like?

Dental assistants perform a variety of patient care, office, and laboratory duties. They work chair-side as dentists examine and treat patients. They make patients as comfortable as possible in the dental chair, prepare them for treatment, and obtain dental records. Assistants hand instruments and materials to dentists, and keep patients’ mouths dry and clear by using suction or other devices. Assistants also sterilize and disinfect instruments and equipment, prepare tray setups for dental procedures, and instruct patients on postoperative and general oral health care.

Some dental assistants prepare materials for making impressions and restorations, expose radiographs, and process dental x-ray film as directed by a dentist. They may also remove sutures, apply anaesthetics and cavity preventive agents to teeth and gums, remove excess cements used in the filling process, and assist in placing rubber dams on the teeth to isolate them for individual treatment.

Those with laboratory duties make casts of the teeth and mouth from impressions taken by dentists, clean and polish removable appliances, and make temporary crowns. Dental assistants with office duties schedule and confirm appointments, receive patients, keep treatment records, send bills, receive payments, and order dental supplies and materials.

As a dental assistant you will work in well-lit, clean environments. Your work area is usually near the dental chair, so that you can arrange instruments, materials, and medication, and hand them to the dentist when needed. Dental assistants wear gloves, masks and gowns to protect themselves from infectious diseases.

Most dental assistants work between 32 and 40 hours each week, which may include work on Saturdays or evenings as agreed with the employer.