Health profession. I enjoy working with people and I like the "team

atmosphere" approach of a dental office. Dental assisting is becoming an

exciting career as dental laws are changing and the role of the assistant is

increasing in regards to patient care. There are also many jobs available for

dental assistants and also a wide variety of options. Dental assistants can choose to work in private practices, insurance companies, federal and state funded health programs, public health departments as well as teaching community colleges or universities.

It is possible to become a dental assistant with no formal training. However most job duties would include in cleaning treatment rooms, setting up rooms for procedures and basic dental assisting.

There are one year traing programs available for dental assistants. To enter these programs a high school diploma or GED is required. This is a full time program. Classes are usually from eight a.m. to five p.m. Monday thru Friday. In the last eight weeks of the program, students are assigned to work in local dental offices to gain additional experience. A min

Currently, there is a high demand for good dental assistants. As time goes on, the role of the dental assistant is changing. Almost every year it seems as if they have an increased role with patient care. For example in the past four years it has become legal for dental assistants to polish teeth. The range of duties varies from state to state.

The salaries of dental assistants varies depending on job experience. You can have on the job training, however you cannot do expanded functions if you don't go through a training program. On the job training starting salary is from 14,000 - 16,000 dollars annually. The expected salary in three to five years is 18,000 - 19,500 dollars annually. For certified dental assistants recent graduate would earn between 20,000 - 21,000 dollars annually. The expected salary in three to five years would be 23,000 - 25,000 dollars annually. Salaries also vary depending on what type o f dentist you work with. Specialist usually pay more. Especially Orthodontist and Endodontist. This is usually because they have a lower overhead and higher fees for services rendered. Most dentist offer a good benefit package in addition to salaries. The packages usually includes paid vacations, 401-K retirement, profit sharing, uniform allowance and sick days. Again this varies among dentist.

As shown in previous paragraphs, dental assisting does provide a variety of options for this field of work. However, before choosing dental assisting as career, it would be helpful to observe in a local dental office to see if it is really something you want to do.

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