The dental field has a multitude of opportunities. The number of different jobs, each with its own functions, sparks the chance for a distinct, personalized career path. Each individual has a suitable role highlighting their specific skills. The dental field encompasses many specific occupations -- dental hygienist, dental technician, and dental assistant-- all of which allow freedom in a personal career path.
There are numerous paths one can travel in the dental field. With a number of specific titles, candidates have a variety of options in their specific career path (“Dental Laboratory Technician.”). However, the typical start-up to a dental career is simple. Assisting in a dental lab prior to collegiate practice offers insight on the reality of a dental career and can be used as a test-run to see if one is truly suited for the field (“Preparing for Dental School: Shadowing”). Shadowing also creates good connections that help with future employment. In terms of education, many dental occupations only require an Associate's Degree. “[Dental students] receive their education through academic programs at community colleges, technical colleges, dental schools or universities. The majority of community college
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They aid in superficial duties assigned by the dentist. “Dental assistants help dentists with various tasks like sterilizing instruments and equipment, taking and developing dental x-rays, taking impressions of patients’ teeth, and scheduling appointments” (“Working in Dentistry”). They perform extensive handiwork necessary for dentists to adequately care for their patients. In addition to helping the dentists, assistants also serve the patients. “As a dental assistant you must ease the patient's fears and make him or her more comfortable in the examining room” (Geshelin). Dental assistants function as a mediator between the dentist and the
It is 8:40 p.m. of Tuesday night and I'm leaving the King Fahd General hospital driving home with John Mayer melodies bringing peaceful and relaxing vibes into the car compartments.
Professionalism in the dental profession refers to our responsibilities and obligations that exists throughout our entire dental career. “Professional competence is the habitual and judicious use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical reasoning, emotions, values and reflection in daily practice for the benefit of the individual and community being served (Kirk, 2007).” A health professional must be able to regulate their own behavior and comply with a code of ethics in professional practice. Fundamental principles of professionalism include primacy of patient welfare, social justice and patient autonomy (Kirk, 2007).
For some reason even though I've taken a hiatus from assisting, I always come out with a very nice picture. It makes me feel really good knowing that I still got it! The dentist has an overall positive attitude towards patients. every now and then the patient will act very anxious or aggressive and the dentist will take notes and warn me of ways that we handle certain situations sometime she could come off as being a little bit blunt
The best description of a dental hygienist is a professional whose main job is to teach their patients necessary oral hygiene skills and provide great dental care. They perform various tasks around a dentist’s office such as applying fluoride treatments, removing plaque and stains, taking x-rays, removing sutures, placing temporary fillings, and evaluating the patient’s overall health (“Dental Hygienist” Coin Career). Dental hygienists do not just work in a dental office, but they also can work at schools, nursing homes, health clinics, and many other dental settings. Close contact is necessary when doing this job. Working with people is an everyday thing in this profession, so one must be able to communicate and get along with their clients very well. Having certain traits such as excellent hand-eye coordination and great motor skills are very important to posses since dental hygienists work on their patients mouths (Porterfield 4). Communication is vital since dental hygienists are constantly teaching patients how to hav...
Having shadowed a dental hygienist prior to that of a dental assistant I didn’t know what to expect their job to be. Although I did assume a dental assistant’s job consisted of handing instruments to the doctor during the various procedures so I was surprised to see just how many responsibilities they have. Each dental clinic has different expectations of what they require their dental assistant to do in my shadowing experience they were responsible for: preparing the room prior to the patients arrival, greeting the patient upon arrival and inviting them into the operation room, confirming dental history with the patient, briefing them on the procedure they are about to have and what to expect, answering the clients questions to the best of their abilities, assisting the doctor in the procedure and aiding with any tasks required of you, when the patient is ready to leave helping them to look presentable and explaining what to expect after that kind of procedure, updating and verifying dental records, and sanitizing and sterilization of the room and all instruments after departure of
Dental schools often look for new students with a high GPA, excellent recommendations, and a high score on the Dental Acceptance Test taken in junior year of college. Dental school provides class courses such as anatomy, microbiology, biochemistry, physiology, clinical sciences, and laboratory techniques. When taking these courses, students learn local anesthesia, periodontology, or they learn the study of oral disease, health, and radiology.The first two years of dental school are typically dedicated to learning the pri...
Dental assistants mainly help as BLS states, “Dental assistants provide support to dentists as they work on patients.” (“Dental Assistants.”). Dental assistants help the doctor work on the patient's mouth. Sometimes the doctor tells the assistants what to do and the assistant does most of the work and the doctor will come back after the work is done to check the patient's mouth.
When most people think of dental hygienists, the first and only thing they think about it cleaning and whitening teeth. However, that is mainly what dental hygienists do, but they also learn to do a lot more than that. According the occupational outlook handbook, hygienists clean teeth, examine patients for signs of oral diseases such as gingivitis, and provide other preventative dental care. They also educate patients on ways to improve and maintain good oral health. As explained on American Dental Association, the dental hygienist...
I believe this career matches me because for one I love being around people and I love helping others when they are in need meaning I can help them with better teeth I can take them out of pain I can give them a better smile then they had before. I also loved the salary they had. I can major in this career and I can help my parents out I can give back to them and thank them for everything they’ve done for me. I also talked to the people at my dentist and they told me about how much they love their job and one of the ladies there actually graduated from TSU and she majored in Dental Hygiene. She told me ...
Growing up I can’t say I ever knew right off the bat I wanted to work in the dental industry. I wanted to be a soccer player or an artist of some sort. I have a very big extended family with awesome careers. Which kind of got me thinking, what do I really want to do? Two of my uncles and one of my cousins are dentists. So of course they were talking to me a lot suggesting the dental field.
I promptly educated myself on dental hygiene and I feel there are a lot of advantages becoming a hygienist. One of the best features about a dental hygiene career is, you only need an associate's degree. That’s two years of prerequisites and two years in the program if you get selected. There is a process you have to exceed to get into the program. The process is based on GPA, interviews
The duties of a dental assistant vary from what state or dental office they are employed in but most of the time, their duties are the same throughout any office. They are among the most
According to the book, “Clinical Practice of the Dental Hygienist”, a dental hygienist is a dental health specialist whose primary concern is the maintenance of oral health and the prevention of oral disease. A career as a dental hygienist provides a wide range of challenges where in the dentist office, the dental hygienist and dentist work together to meet the oral health needs of their patients. There are many things that dental hygienists do that you may not realize when you think you are just going in to get your teeth cleaned.
The duties of a dental assistant are among the most comprehensive and varied in the dental office. The dental assistant performs many tasks requiring both interpersonal and technical skills. Obviously, they assist the dentist during
They then should look over the charts at the patient’s situation with their teeth and see what medical treatment they need. They then bring the patient in and perform the treatment. Lastly, they charge the patient for the certain treatments, like the cleaning, and then for say a filling, they will charge them separately, and then the patient will leave. Soon after, they will start all over again. Furthermore, there are a lot of skills required to be a Dental Hygienist, but yet simple ones.