Dental Assistant Training Class

A Typical Day As A Dental Assistant

Dental assistants perform a range of duties in a dental practice that help dentists with patient care. For the most part, they specialize in one of three different areas of the dental practice, patient care, laboratory, and office duties. Here, we will be taking a look at a typical day as a dental assistant in each of the three areas of the practice.

A dental assistant who provides patient care generally assists the dentist when he/she is performing procedures on patients. Duties begin with making sure that the patient is seated comfortably in the dentist’s chair and ready for the doctor’s attention. He/she will obtain the patient’s dental records from the file room and make them available to the doctor.

While the dentist is working on the patient, the assistant hands him the needed instruments and helps keep the patient’s mouth clear by applying suction and/or rinsing as needed. Following treatment, the assistant passes on information about postoperative care general oral maintenance.

Between patients, the assistant will sterilize instruments and prepare the tray for the next procedure. In some cases, the assistant may be asked to make impressions, expose x-rays, remove sutures, apply anesthetics to the gums, or provide fluoride treatments to prevent cavities. They may also remove excess cement from fillings and put rubber dams in the mouth to isolate teeth for individual treatment.

A typical day for a dental assistant in the laboratory includes making casts from mouth impressions, cleaning and/or polishing appliances, and fashioning temporary crowns for implantation by the dentist.

Dental assistants who handle office duties generally schedule appointments, act as a receptionist, maintain treatment records, take care of billing and receiving payments, order supplies and materials as needed to keep the practice operating.

Depending on the size of the practice, one or more dental assistants may be employed whose duties are limited to one or two of the different areas of the practice. In a smaller practice, one assistant may have the responsibility of performing any or all of the duties as listed above.

A typical day as a dental assistant is usually very busy. While one may not be permitted to perform certain duties in certain states because of licensing requirements, most are provided with the necessary training and registrations to perform the duties needed by the doctor in his/her practice. Patient care, laboratory work, and office duties are all part of the typical day as a dental assistant.