Go into any dental office and you will see certified dental assistants carrying out a plethora of different dental assistant duties. They are the backbone of the entire office. The dentist may draw in the big check but it is the dental assistants who keep the office running in an orderly fashion. They are the frontline between irritated and frightened patients. They are the ones to soothe irate patients who may have had to wait three hours for a fifteen minute check-up. They have many job duties that vary each and every day.

A lot of dental assistant training occurs on the job, but the assistants education teaches them the basics of routine dental care and how to assist the dentist in his or her practice. They learn how to clean teeth and how to instruct the patient on good oral hygiene and basic oral care. They learn how to keep patient charts up to date, how to file charts and how to schedule appointments. Dental assistant schools also teach the dental assistant how to perform routine book keeping and how to man the front desk in case the receptionist is not available.

Dental assistant school tries to instruct the student on all dental assistant duties that he or she may have. Yes, they can teach you how to clean teeth properly, how to greet patients and how to make appointments. They can even teach you how to take x-rays. What they cannot teach you is how to deal with a screaming child who is terrified of the dentist or a waiting room packed full of overbooked patients. Those skills are also acquired on the job.

No one ever said that the dental assistant duties were easy. They are not and the people who think so have obviously not been in to a dentist's office recently and observed how hard the assistants work. They have a full load to carry. If you are an assistant, then you know the important role you play in that office each and every day. Without you the office would cease to function properly.

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