rss
twitter
    Find out what I'm doing, Follow Me :)

Sunday, August 19, 2012

All About Being a Dental Assistant

By Kristin Kagawa


From a general sense, most of the people find little distinction between a dental assistant and a dental hygienist. Looking at the difference in job titles, it's easy to see that hygienist is a more specific term in comparison to the general reference of assistant. Where the dental assistant is accountable for more generalized duties within the private or group practice, or perhaps in specialized practices, along the lines of oral surgery and orthodontics, the hygienist will perform procedures on patients with negligible supervision.

While the dental assistant will conduct four-handed dentistry, there are other office duties which require their attention, for instance putting patients at ease at the office, booking appointments, tracking the medical history of patients, coaching patients on appropriate dental practices, billing, inventory, phones and various administrative functions.

A lot of the dental hygienist's time is spent with patients. They're executing procedures and reporting their outcomes to the supervising dentist. This one on one work comes with a significantly greater potential to involve legal ramifications, which is why the training is a lot more challenging, regulation is much tighter, then again, the pay is approximately double that of an assistant.

Dental assistants are commonly paid a lot less than hygienists. However, the assistant job usually comes with health benefits. More than seventy-five percent of dental assistants receive health benefits from their employers while fewer than half of the dental assistants were getting health benefits.

Another fundamental distinction starts at the outset with the educational requirements. Students attracted to either position need to have at least a high school diploma. The high school student thinking about either career is wise to take the college preparatory courses, including health, biology and chemistry.

The dental assistant can complete a minimal program averaging 12 months in order to obtain their accreditation. With over 250 accredited courses available, it is essential to be assured that the course undertaken is approved by the American Dental Association (ADA).

Not like the dental assistant, the hygienist requires a full college education, either an associate's degree or a bachelor's. So, 2 to 5 years of higher education are often required. In general, this position is much more upwardly mobile when compared to the assistant. Those with objectives of career advancement opportunity usually follow this path.

A dental hygienist is a governed positions, and a license is necessary. There aren't many formal requirements for a dental assistant to start out working in the field. A license generally won't be necessary unless the duties involve performing dental x-rays. Otherwise, a state exam approved by the ADA Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations will result in certification upon successful completion. On-the-job training and further specific training will make the dental assistant position one through which advancement may also happen.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment