Dental Assisting

A Job with Responsibility

If you like helping people, enjoy working with your hands as well as your mind, and want a job with responsibility, a career as a dental assistant may be for you.

The dental assistant is the dentist’s "right arm”. Assistants greatly increase the efficiency of the dentist in the delivery of oral health care and are valuable members of the dental-care team.

What are the Advantages of a Dental Assisting Career?

Variety: Dental assistants have one of the most diverse and interesting of all positions in a dental office. The dental assistant performs a wide range of tasks requiring both interpersonal and technical skills. Dental assisting is a real challenge, demanding versatility and a willingness to assume responsibility for many different tasks.

Flexibility:  Career options include both full-time and part-time positions. Since dental assistants are in demand, they may have some flexibility in choosing their hours.

Excellent working conditions:  Dental offices are interesting, pleasant, people-oriented environments in which to work.

Personal satisfaction:  Dental assisting involves contact with people, and with this personal interaction comes the satisfaction of knowing you’ve really helped someone by providing a valuable health service.

What Qualities are Needed?

A person pursuing this career must possess outstanding interpersonal skills, manual dexterity, and excellent personal grooming and hygiene.

Job Opportunities

Since dental offices employ many dental assistants, employment opportunities in this field are broad. Positions are available in private and group practices for general dentists as well as in specialty practices such as oral surgery, orthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, and pediatric dentistry. Other sources of employment include public health dentistry, hospitals, dental school clinics, and insurance companies.

The Dental Assisting program combines theory and practice, offering a comprehensive and practical education to students. Dental assisting students take what they learn in the classroom and implement those skills in a lab setting. Students gain vital hands-on experience that will prepare them for success when they enter the workforce.

Accreditation

The Dental Assisting program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and has been granted the accreditation status of "Approval". The Commission is a special accrediting body recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Post-Secondary Accreditation and by the United States Department of Education. The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at telephone number: 312-440-2698 or at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago Illinois 60611.

All graduates are eligible to complete the Dental Assisting National Board and meet all requirements to be registered in radiology and expanded functions by the South Dakota Board of Dentistry.

To be accepted into this program, the American Dental Association requires all applicants to have a high school diploma or GED.

Recommended Background Courses

Although not required, the following courses would be beneficial to this course of study prior to attending Lake Area Technical Institute: Health, Science, Biology, Computer, and Human Relations.