Dental assistants assist dentists in a wide variety of procedures. Not to be confused with dental hygienists. Duties of a dental assistant usually concern laboratory duties, office duties, and procedural duties.
Dental assistants’’ office duties may include scheduling appointments and obtaining patient records. Procedural duties may include assist in taking and developing x-rays, sterilizing instruments, handing dentists instruments during procedures, applying anesthetic, among others. Laboratory duties may include making casts and temporary crowns.
Dental assistants require no formal training beyond a high-school diploma. However, there are many training programs and associate’s degrees offered to help potential dental assistants receive the training they need to excel at their job. Be sure to look into the dental assistant programs being offered in current_location>.