They make patients as comfortable as possible in the dental chair, prepare them for treatment, and obtain dental records. Assistants hand dentists the equipment, and also sterilize it and other instruments. Some assistants may take and develop dental radiographs, and make impressions of patients' teeth for study casts. Dental offices are interesting, pleasant, people-oriented environments in which to work. Dental assisting involves people contact, and with this personal interaction comes the personal satisfaction of knowing you've really helped someone by providing a valuable health service.
Dental assistants can begin their careers without a college degree.
The best way to become a dental assistant is to receive formal education. Studying in an accredited program provides education that is based on the latest procedures and techniques. People who have been trained on the job or have graduated for non- accredited programs are eligible to take the National Certification examination after they have completed 2 years of full time work experience as dental assistants. Dental assistants held about 183,000 jobs in 1994. Almost 1 out of 3 worked part time, sometimes in more than one dentist s office.