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*AurorasEnvy*
Apparently I can't send PMs, so......
I had a question for you, since I know you are a dentist. And I hope you don't mind. As you know from a previous post I am looking into a major career change. I am very interested in being a rad-tech, but you got me thinking. Mostly about jobs. There are only a few programs where I am (Boston), and those programs are highly competitive (around 25 admitted each year). I could apply to the 3 programs (3 different schools), but there is no guarentee I would even get in to any of them. And it would be 3 years from now before I am even done. Which is fine, should I get in, but finding a job worries me. So, another field I am interested in is either dental assistant or hygentist. I am begining my research on this, and am finding that these are in-demand jobs. I think I have a pretty good understanding of what each person does. But I wanted to get your professional opinion. I found a 9 mo program for dental assistant certificate. Is this typically what a dental assistant has, versus a degree? Is there a possibility for mobility, such as continuing with school to become a hygentist? Or is this backwards thinking?
I greatly appreciate your professional opinion.
Re: *AurorasEnvy*
No problem! I know TN acts funny for me too, but not an issue. Like I was saying about my MIL...I know the market for rad tech is oversaturated in her area, but I don't really know if this is the case everywhere or not. And it's not that she couldn't find a job...it's just that after 5 years she still works 2 part time jobs, one regular shift and one third shift (and you can imagine how fun that is). Plus pretty much every holiday, ever.
The nice thing about getting into the dental field is that chances are you are going to work in the "private" sector - most dental offices are essentially small businesses. I didn't go to school for 8 years to work nights, weekends, and holidays =] Not to say this the case everywhere, though - in reality, I do work one night during the week until 7pm and one Saturday a month from 8-12pm. But no holidays!
Anyways, as far as saturation goes - it varies by area, so I'd check it out in your local area. If you want an explanation straight from the horse's mouth, here it is. An assistant is someone who primarily helps the dentist. They set up & break down rooms, take xrays, sterilize instruments, take impressions, sit with the dentist during procedures to hand them things/suction, etc. Expanded duty assistants can make temporary crowns, help adjust final crowns/bridges for cementation, help adjust dentures, help adjusting fillings after they are placed, do lab work...the list really goes on. Every dentist does different procedures - not every dentist likes to do extractions, grafting, root canals, etc. And every dentist does things a little different than the next guy. And then every dentist has their limits on what they let/have assistants do, and what they do themselves. I guess what my point is, an assistant will have a different experience & different duties depending on what type of office they work at. A hygienist updates health history forms, takes xrays, cleans the teeth & gums, etc. Not as much variation here.
As far as education goes - it varies. It used to be the norm for hygienists to obtain a 4 year bachelor's degree in dental hygiene. Most of these programs have gone by the wayside however, in favor of associates programs that take less time. Most people take their gen ed requirements, and then do the clinical part of the hygiene program. However, most girls I talk to have to wait at least 1-2 years (if not more) to get into the clinical portion of the program because the waiting list is so long. The program near where I live has recently gone from a system where whoever was waiting longest got in, to a merit based program where grades are also taken into consideration. Might be something to check into. Hygienists need a state license to practice hygiene & administer local anesthetic.
For assistants, really anything goes. I am not sure about your state, but in Wisconsin assistants don't technically need any training or any certificate/license to work. I've seen training programs that are a year long to programs that are only 10 Saturdays. Two of the best assistants I know were hired off the street and knew absolutely nothing about teeth and were just trained on the job. Some of the worst assistants I've worked with did a year long assistant training program. I truly feel with this job, either you have it or you don't - and it doesn't really have to do with your spit sucking skills or how well you can sterilize instruments. It might not seem like it by reading the job description, but you are working in a fast paced environment and you really have to have some common sense & know how to think on your feet when things aren't going perfectly. It is not a good fit for someone nervous & timid, sometimes you just got to get in there and get it done. You can't "teach" those type of skills to anyone - but if someone has those skills, all the other duties will be easy to teach them. And this is probably going to make me sound like a conceited ***, and I don't know if it is because everyone in my social circle is well educated or just generally intelligent, but some assistants I have worked with have been so stupid I felt like every day I worked with them put me into an earlier and earlier grave. You'd think after telling someone something for 6 months they'd get it. You think if someone kept forgetting how to do the same thing over and over they'd keep the "cheat sheet" you wrote them in their pocket instead of just throwing it into a drawer. Not to say they weren't super nice, but like I said they just lacked the I.Q. to really "get it". They lacked the sense of urgency - if we are running 20 minutes behind, you better not be casually strolling about the office getting the rooms ready for the next patient - you need to haul ass! Some people just don't get that.
Recently we hired a guy who is in his last year of undergrad (studying biology) and wants to go to dental school, just help out with sterilization in the office. One day we had an extra emergency patient and we just sent him in to assist the other doctor. Since then he's done it a few more times. He's a smart & savvy guy, and because of it he's picked it up faster than most people, and he also knew absolutely nothing about teeth or dentistry when he started. You can't teach smart & savvy. All these things apply to hygienists as well.
The other thing goes back to what I said about job duties - every office is different in what they have their assistants do and how they do it. Certainly none of those programs really teach any advanced assisting skills, either. So in my opinion, a dental assisting certification basically teaches you the bare minimum. That being said, not every office might hire you with no experience whatsoever.
Either way, I might call your dentist office up and ask if you could come job shadow for a day to get an idea of what it is hygienists and assistants do and what it is really like. Talk to someone who actually works the job & knows the market. Maybe you'll be lucky and find someone who is looking for an assistant and willing to train you. =] Hope that helps, please let me know if you have any other questions!
SO I was pretty tired last night when I wrote that....I didn't mean to imply or suggest anything, I guess my main point was that the right person doesn't necessarily need to get certified in assisting!
Also, a lot of girls who are waiting to get into hygiene school/clinicals assist. It's a great way to learn how an office works, will make your clinicals a bit easier, and make you more attractive as an applicant if you are a hygienist that also knows how to assist.
Wow. Thanks so much for all of your insight! This is really helpful. As luck would have it, I have a dentist appointment in a few weeks and I plan to speak with my hygentist. She has been so awesome and she seems to genuinely love her job. Do you find that the assistants like/love their jobs? I think that job satisfaction is an important factor in this as well. I will have to see what my options are and make some decisions soon. You've given me a lot to think about. I'm sure I will have more questions in the near future.
Edit: I did look into job postings and saw that a requirement for dental assistant, besides experience, was radiology. Some even said "four handed dentistry." Hmmm....
Well I guess like anything else, job satisfaction probably varies but in general I would say yes. Not only are you invaluable to the dentist you are working for and are an integral part of a team (my assistant is out sick today and it's very obvious when you are down a person!) so I feel like most assistants feel like they are important and know that they are missed when they aren't there.
As far as actually being hired without any training, that could be a little bit tricky. When they say they want "experience" they don't just mean taking dental assisting courses, they likely mean actually working at a dental office. A lot of offices try to hire people by word of mouth when they can. Randomly the assistant helping me today, who had no experience when she started, came in to interview but wasn't hired initially. They felt she had a good personally but just wanted someone with experience. Well, the doctor didn't like the experienced assistant they hired, personality wise, so when they eventually fired her they hired our current assistant. I do feel like it would be easier if you knew someone. Otherwise, it never hurts to apply. The worst thing that happens if that they never call you or they interview you and don't hire yOu. I do think if you said the right things in your cover letter they might at least give you a call. Saying something like you are looking for a career hange to a meaningful and fulfilling job, that you thrive working in fast paced envoronments, and you enjoy working in customer service because you are essentially dealing with the public and conversing with patients all day long. If you are interested I could always help you out with your resume/cover letter!
Thanks. I would really appreciate any help you can give me, and maybe take a look at my resume. I have 16 years of retail experience, so I am definitly no stranger to working with and talking with people all day.
I was wondering if I could get your email so we could discuss this a little easier. I am definitly going to have questions, and you're my best source. I'm thinking I want to try and get into an office, and if I need to take some courses and whatnot, I am good with that. I'm going to start by having a conversation with my hygentist when I go in.
Or you can send me an email: madrouin04@yahoo.com
Sure thing - my e-mail is SamanthaRuizDDS@gmail.com
Talking to your hygienist would be a great place to start. Depending on how well you know her or feel comfortable around her, you could let her know that you are serious about wanting to get into the field. Hygienists know other hygienists who work at other offices that may or may not be hiring =] That's how we hire most people. I would also ask her to ask her boss if it would be okay if you came in and job shadowed one day at the office, to really get an idea of what you would be getting into.