Dental Assistant Major, Links and Resources

Dental Assistants
Job prospects should be excellent. Dentists are expected to hire more assistants to perform routine tasks so that they may devote their own time to more complex procedures. Most assistants learn their skills on the job, although an increasing number are trained in dental-assisting programs; most programs take 1 year or less to complete.

Dental Assistant Brochure
What Do Dental Assistants Do? What Are the Advantages of a Dental Assisting Career? Where Do Dental Assistants Work? What Education/Training Does a Dental Assistant Need? What Is a Dental Assistant's Earning Potential?

Career as a Dental Assistant
Duties of Dental Assistants. Education Requirements. Working Conditions. Employment Outlook. Estimated Earnings

Career Planning: Dental Assistant
Dental assistants provide different types of patient care, office duties, and laboratory duties. They do not perform the same tasks that dental hygienists are licensed to perform.

Dental Careers
The dental assistant is the dentist's "right arm", taking on significant responsibility as a member of the dental health care team. Assistants greatly increase the efficiency of the dentist in the delivery of oral health care and are valuable members of the dental care team.

Career Information - Dental Assistants
Dental assistants perform a variety of patient care, office, and laboratory duties. They work chairside as dentists examine and treat patients. They make patients as comfortable as possible in the dental chair, prepare them for treatment, and obtain their 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 trays of instruments for dental procedures, and instruct patients on postoperative and general oral health care.

Dental Bazaar - Careers Assistant
A career as a dental assistant offers many challenges. In addition to assisting the dentist during a variety of procedures, other specific tasks dental assistants may perform include taking and developing dental radiographs (x-rays), sterilizing instruments and equipment and taking impressions of patients’ teeth.

Dental Lab Technician
Career: Dental Lab Technician. A Day in the Life

Dental hygienists
Most dental hygiene programs grant an associate degree; others offer a certificate, a bachelor’s degree, or a master’s degree. Dental hygienists rank among the fastest growing occupations. Job prospects are expected to remain excellent. More than half work part time, and flexible scheduling is a distinctive feature of this job.

Occupation Information: Dental Hygienist
Dental hygienists use preventive, educational and therapeutic methods for controlling oral diseases to help patients achieve and maintain oral health.

Dental Assistant - Career Brief
Dental assistants held about 267,000 jobs in 2004. Most worked in dentist's offices while others worked in physicians' offices, educational services, and hospitals. About one-third of all dental assistants worked part-time, sometimes working for more than one dental practice.