Find a Job

Potential income and the ability to find a job are two key factors to be considered when looking at career choices. Certainly, length of education, cost of education and the difficulty of entry to academic programs is also important. However, with the average career lasting seven or more years in today's population, the far more important factor is what it is like to work in the job everyday. The job outlook for dental assistants and dental hygienists is strong. The income is good, and education requirements for entry can be completed in as little as one year. Both of these careers offer the opportunity to work with dentists and patients in a variety of technical, clinical, educational, and customer service functions.

Establishing a good reputation and relationship with patients is the key to success for a dental practice. Not only does the trust factor allow patients to continue to return, the opportunity to see them repeatedly allows for the best possible treatment and follow-up to avoid the kind of dental problems that are so easily prevented through proper care.

The dentist or dentists must see a number of clients each day while the dental assistant and dental hygienists are typically the first contact for patients when they arrive and as they leave the office. A number of procedures as well as the information that must be communicated with patients will come through the dental assistant and hygienist as they perform procedures.

Most of the procedures dentists perform are handled with the help of the dental assistants and hygienists, either performing four-handed dentistry or assisting with keeping a patient's mouth clear, being ready with instruments to hand off to the dentist or in applying and removing dental materials that are used in treatment. Following a procedure, the equipment must be properly sterilized and disinfected in preparation for the next procedure.

It is easy to see how good dental assistants and hygienists are valuable members of a dentist's team. In fact, this team environment can be one of the most rewarding aspects of working in the field. Certainly, a solid support staff helps the dentist create and maintain a great reputation with their patients and the community at large.

Assistants tend to have a normal full time work week. Their days are filled with assisting the dentist, dealing with patients and doing office administrative tasks. They are treated like normal employees and usually receive all the perks, including medical benefits. A dental hygienist feels more like a contractor, coming in when they have appointments scheduled. They come in to perform certain procedures and then leave. A growing trend is that some larger dental practices have started to provide evening and weekend hours to accommodate their patients.