So after I finished my Externship I asked the doctor if I could sit down with him to discuss a job opportunity. The lead assistant, the doctor, and I sat in his office and discussed pay and my job duties. He said since there was an assistant leaving (it happened to be her last day) there was a job opening. I was offered about the same pay as I was making at my office job which was not a big deal as I would get a raise after my certification and after my 90 days. Unfortunately, the next week the doctor was off for Thanksgiving so I had a whole week off but I was beyond excited! I had a job before I was even done with school! The job duties he told me I would have would be cleaning rooms, sterilization, and some front desk help. This kind of bummed me out but I realized I have to start somewhere and I knew this was going to give me some time to learn more in school before actually working with patients chairside. This was it! The beginning of my career!
Week 3 of School
Week 3 was x-rays! The physics and the technical part of this week was intense. We had to learn the bisecting angle and how to prevent overlapping etc. During lab we took an FMX on Dexter. The size 2 plate was broken so we had to use a size 1. It was almost if not entirely impossible to get the apex of the tooth in any x-ray. To make things worse Dexter has the worst teeth. But I managed to get it done and I really enjoyed it! I have yet to take a PA on a patient but I am sure they will allow me eventually.
My instructor loves to take pictures of all of us.
Externship Cont… First Time Chairside
The lead assistant had to leave early so the doctor had me assist in a filling. He told me about it early in the morning so I was super stoked about it all day. When the patient arrived and I saw that it was a 13 year old child who had 5 cavities I started to get nervous. However, I couldn’t have asked for a better patient. He had a BIG mouth a tiny tongue that he just relaxed. I didn’t even have to retract his tongue during the procedure. At the time I had nothing to compare him to but I later realized after dealing with some high maintenance patients that I was extremely lucky! We managed to get the procedure done. I was rather horrible but it was my first time and we all start somewhere. I was scared to use instruments other than the HVE and air/water syringe. Since I didn’t use the saliva ejector I sucked up soft tissue in the HVE at least 10 times. I am a lot more capable and my abilities and instincts as a DA have surely increased.
Week 2 of School
The week of OSHA training. We got our PPE and learned how to protect ourselves against the spread of diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis. Pretty boring and repetitive but a very important part of dental assisting. 
During lab we learned how to properly brush and floss and to teach patients how to do so. We also took a pink pill that showed all the plaque that we missed on our teeth. It was very eye opening to see how well I thought my oral hygiene was.
Externship
As a part of getting my EFDA certification I am required to fulfill 55 hours in a dental office as an extern. The school I attend provides me with tools to successfully find an office that will provide me with those hours. I went into several offices that I really wanted to be a part of during my lunch hour and handed out these information folders I created. Inside was my resume, a cover letter explaining why I was giving them the folder, and information on the program I am in. The school I am going to is about 2 hours away from my home town so it is difficult to find an office that isn’t already connected to the extern program at the local community college. I decided to also send out a few emails with just the cover letter and my resume to the offices I wasn’t completely sure about. Fortunately, I got a call that same night! One of the offices I sent an email to was interested and wanted me to come in. I was unsure about the office because it seemed to focused a lot on cosmetic dentistry. That didn’t stop me from going in and meeting the staff. I went in the next day and met the doctors and office manger. Everyone was very nice and the office was beautiful and clean! We discussed hours and wages? Yeah…wages! We decided the following week was when I would start my externship!
skipping forward…
First Day at Externship:
I walk in…wait side note …. Continue reading “Externship”
On my way to EFDA! Week 1-
Most of the people in my class had enrolled way in advance. So since I enrolled with less than a week from my first day I had a lot of catching up to do. I had to learn the first 4 chapters of the text book to be ready for my test. The beginning was what you would expect anatomy and physiology of the head and neck, dental laws, and tooth numbers and surfaces. During lab we learned how to chart and the different classifications of cavities. Charting is ridiculously complicated. After practicing a few times I could get it down but it is not what I want to do on the daily. Fortunately, most offices have digital software that basically charts for you.
Education
So I am currently enrolled in school. I was well aware that finding another job opening as a dental assistant without experience was going to be like finding a piece of hay in a needle stack hahah. After about 6 months of working as an office manger I thought I was going crazy. A very stagnant mind numbing job was all I needed to get my ass in gear! One super slow Monday I researched dental assisting schools. I found an accelerated 8 week school that was accredited and had wonderful ratings. The only problem is that it was almost 2 hours away. That wasn’t going to stop me! I filled out my application and paid the down payment and that was that. As of today I am over half way done! Stay tuned as I will be making a post about each week and what I learned.
A big thank you to the DAAPB staff for being supportive and patient with all of us students! You are loved and appreciated.
Why Dental Assisting?
After my roommate moved out I realized that the bills to live in a house were EXPENSIVE! The job I had at the time wasn’t cutting it. I was making less than the cost of my bills so I needed a new job. I had worked in the restaurant industry for 2 years and I was tired of it. I was looking for job as a receptionist. I saw an ad for a dental assistant position (no experience required) so I applied. The next day I got the call set up an interview. At the interview they gave me a tour of the office so I knew I had gotten the job. Sure enough I started the next Monday. The job was at an oral surgeon’s office. I was beyond excited because I had my first job with benefits and an extreme raise in pay. I would be chair side assisting after training. Little did I know training was 3-6 months. I was given tasks such as sterilization of instruments, turning over rooms, and making night calls. I loved the atmosphere of a dental office and knew it was where I wanted to be. I loved talking to the patients and making them feel comfortable. The job didn’t work out at that office…. but I finally had a sense of what I wanted to do with my life.
DA Life Change 