Dental assistants perform a variety of patient care, office, and laboratory duties, often working chairside with dentists. Dentist assistants will perform such tasks as keeping the patients comfortable and their mouths dry, sterilizing and organizing the dental tools, performing office duties, teaching patients, even taking dental x-rays.
Dental assistants are not the same thing as dental hygienists, who are licensed to perform certain clinical tasks. Most dentists assistants learn their skills on the job--they do not need to go to a dental assistant college--although a growing number are trained in dental assistant classes offered by community and junior colleges, trade schools, technical institutes, or the Armed Forces.
The need for dental assistants in the workforce is growing, and is expected to keep growing. They work normal work weeks of 35-40 hours, making anywhere from $10-$20 per hour. There are close to 300,000 dental assistant jobs in the US . People who are reliable, work well with others, and have good hand dexterity make great dental assistants.
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