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Dental Assisting: A Career As A Dental Assistant

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Dental Assisting

Are you struggling to find a career that you might like? A question people always ask is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Most of the time we freeze up and don't have an answer to this question. No One wants to pick the wrong career considering that is going to be what they do everyday for the rest of their lives. There are many excellent careers out there to choose from. You can choose something in the medical field, or a trade such as auto mechanics and cosmetology, or you can be something as serious as an astronaut. Choosing a career is all up to you and what you really enjoy doing. The career I found myself interested in is dental assisting. A dental assistant is the person who assist the dentist with whatever …show more content…
Without the assistant the dentist would not be able to help the patient as effectively. The dental assistant is the person who provides the dentist with the instruments and equipment needed to get the job done. It is the assistant's job to seat the patient and get them ready to see the dentist. At this point it is also up to the assistant to make sure the patient is comfortable and calm. Once the dentist gets finished with their job, it is then the dental assistant's job to clean up behind them. The dental assistant wipes down and sterilizes the operation room, and all of the used instruments. The assistant then needs to set the operation room back up for the next patient. A dental assistant has to move fast and make sure everything is done correctly so they can get the next patient in and out on time. Sometimes a dental assistant also handles the patient's payments and scheduling appointment times. Basically a dental assistant becomes the dentist right hand man. They have to work together to keep the business well organized. Without the dental assistant the dentist job would be …show more content…
There is much more to the mouth then people realize. Assistants learn a large variety of oral anatomy. Two of the most important parts of oral anatomy is knowing each individual tooth, and the many different nerves in the mouth. It is important to know each tooth individually, because each tooth is different. Each tooth has a different cut and pattern in it. Each tooth has a number starting from one through thirty two. Your teeth are categorized by molars, pre-molars, cuspids ”canine teeth”, and your incisors. This is how dental assistants and dentist identify which tooth will need to be worked on or looked at. There is a wide range of nerves in a human mouth. Each nerve is connected to a different set of teeth. Using the nerves is how the dentist and dental assistant numbs a patient's mouth so the patient can have a painless operation. If a dental assistant fails to learn the nerves, the assistant will not know where to insert an anesthetic to numb the patient's mouth. This is only the beginning of the oral anatomy that a dental assistant has to learn. Once a person starts learning oral anatomy, they will be amazed at how many parts are in the mouth that they never knew

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