Understanding Dental Assistant Requirements

Before you can work in a dental office as an assistant, it is important to know the dental assistant requirements of your state. Each state is different when it comes to what they require of individuals in this position. Some states require dental assistants to graduate from an accredited two year program that is approved by the ADA, or American Dental Association. Other states are less strict and permit dental assistant schools with year long or eighteen month programs. Some have state exams that you have to pass in order to gain licensure. Others do not require state exams but the assistant still has the option to take the national CDA exam if available in their state.

As a dental assistant, it will be your job to help the dentist and dental hygienist with a number of different tasks. What you will be doing varies widely from office to office, and from state to state. You may schedule appointments, prepare equipment and rooms for patients, take impressions or molds of patients' teeth, collect patient data, take basic vital signs and much more. In some states, you are allowed to perform any task your supervising dentist asks you to do, while in other states your tasks are limited by your education. Hygienists usually have a higher level of responsibility than assistants, thus they make a higher salary.

It is important to have the right education and training before going to work as a dental assistant. Some of your education will take place in the classroom, while the rest will be taught on the job, or in a job simulation. So much of the training you need is hands on. This is why many dental assistant programs also have internships and work study programs with local dental offices. Students get to learn at the side of actual dentists and working dental assistants.

To find out more about dental assistant requirements by state, try an Internet search. You can probably find out your state's requirements online rather quickly. The ADA, or American Dental Association, is another destination where you can learn about jobs in the dental industry and various requirements. And, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics can give you national up to date information about dental assisting as a career. This includes job outlook and salary as averaged across the country.






 

Dental Assistant News:

 

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New local anesthesia course at LCCC - Wilkes Barre Times-Leader

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Wilkes Barre Times-Leader
Two sections of EURLocal Anesthesia for the Licensed Dental HygienistEUR will be offered. The first section will be held on Saturday, August 21 and Sunday, .

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North Penn Community Health Foundation Grant to Support Dental Programs, Education - Dentistry IQ

North Penn Community Health Foundation Grant to Support Dental Programs, Education
Dentistry IQ
The grant will support three sealant and fluoride varnish programs at the College's Dental Hygiene Clinic in Blue Bell, which will serve at least 120 .

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Quinn signs free dental care bill - ABC7Chicago.com

Chicago Tribune
Quinn signs free dental care bill
ABC7Chicago.com
Under the new law, temporary permits can be issued to dentists and dental hygienists from other states. The governor also signed legislation to create a .
Governor Quinn Signs Law to Increase Access to Free Dental Care and Promote .IGNN (press release)

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Photos released in Virginia visitor's killing - San Francisco Chronicle

MyFox Washington DC
Photos released in Virginia visitor's killing
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Kang, a father of three sons, had gotten his teeth cleaned earlier in the evening and had returned to his rental car with a dental hygienist when he was .
'He's Forever Lost to Us'Centre View
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ACHE Dental Clinic prepares for move - Carthage Press

ACHE Dental Clinic prepares for move
Carthage Press
Sarah West, a dental hygienist at the ACHE Dental Clinic, works in cramped quarters in the business' current location. The clinic will soon move to a newly .

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Community dental clinic reaches out to kids - Appleton Post Crescent

Community dental clinic reaches out to kids
Appleton Post Crescent
The mother of five said she learned of the clinic through her aunt, a dental hygienist, and it has been a blessing because it accepts BadgerCare .
Dental care clinic opens doors to pediatric patientsDentalPlans.com

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Dental Researchers Discover Oral Cancer Bio-Marker
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Dental Assistant Needed - Dental classifieds - Dentalclassified.com
Full time opening available for a compassionate, professional and highly ethical Dental Assistant to serve needy children and to be compensated fairly. There will be travel involved to towns in the surrounding area. ...


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Dental Researchers Discover Oral Cancer Bio-Marker
Detecting oral cancer in its earliest stages can save the lives of the nearly 40,500 people diagnosed annually. But early detection has been difficult. Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine researchers discovered a biomarker, called human beta defensin-3 (hBD-3), which may serve as an early warning. The defensin is present in all oral cancers and associated with the early ...


'DENTAL SOCIETY MIDWINTER MEETING' - Dentistry IQ

'DENTAL SOCIETY MIDWINTER MEETING'
Dentistry IQ
And you don't have to be an endodontist or dental hygienist -- just a traveler who has done time at out-of-town conventions and professional meetings -- to .
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