Are you considering being a dental assistant, but not sure what they do exactly? Here is what you can expect in a typical day as a dental assistant.

Morning Meeting

The day will start with a morning meeting where you are briefed about what kind of treatment plans are on the schedule for the day. If you are in a large office, you will likely be assigned trays to prepare for each patient that meets the needs for their treatment of the day. For example, if a patient needs to have a root canal, then you will prepare a tray of root canal instruments for the doctor. 

Equipment Preparation

There is a lot of preparation that needs to be done for the equipment in the dental office. This ranges from simply turning items on so they are ready to go, or doing specific tasks that need to be done for the equipment to work during the day. 

For example, the ultrasonic scaler may need to be refilled for the day. The autoclave machine will need the sterilized instruments taken out of it from the night before, and have those properly put away. Equipment lines may need to be flushed out to start the day to ensure that there is nothing left inside them. 

Room Preparation

Every room will need to be prepared prior to a patient coming into it. The tray of instruments need to be placed in the room, and everything that is going to be touched should be covered in barrier tape. This is to prevent germs from spreading on commonly touched surfaces, and to keep the dental equipment clean and sanitary. 

Patient Seating

The assistant will bring the patient back to a room for their treatment plan, where they will be seated in the dental chair. They'll have a bib placed over them to prevent liquids from getting on their clothes, and you'll ask them questions to update information about their health history to verify if there are any changes that need to be known.

Hygienist Or Doctor Assisting

The assistant will sit in with the patient and is responsible for handing instruments to the hygienist or doctor. As you gain experience with the staff members and the procedure, you'll eventually learn to anticipate what is needed and have it ready to use. 

Room Cleanup

When the patient is finished, the assistant has the responsibility of getting the room ready for the next patient. This involves taking equipment back to the autoclave machine to be sterilized, replacing contact tape from those touched surfaces, and replacing coverings.

Does this sound like a job that you want to have? Consider signing up for a dental assistant training program so that you can jumpstart your career. Look into a place like Chairside Dental Academy for more information.