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What are some jobs that will allowed me to spend time as dentist assisant

I am a Junior in High School. I am passionate about being a dental assistant and attractive helping outpatients take care and support. I want to help out my co-worker in however producing work area.

dentistry dental dental-hygienist
Thank you comment icon First thing is you have to know what area of dental field you're really interested to. Like for example, what field you want to assist? Is it oral surgery, cosmetic dentistry or prosthodontic, etc. You have to earn high school diploma first before pursuing dental assisting career. che hicarte
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Jay’s Answer

Hi Zacquran,
In order to become a dental assistant you would need to pass these 3 steps:

1. Earn a high school diploma
2. Graduate from an accredited program. There are about 250 programs offered in the U.S.
3. Pass a state-specific certification exam.

A lot of the requirements depend on what state you live in. This career provides you a lot of job opportunity and doesn't require a college degree. You still would need to graduate high school, graduate from a program and ear a certificate. This will require time and effort but can provide you with a lifelong career. Nothing good comes easy!

Best,
Jay
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Svanika’s Answer

Hey! I suggest you reach out to the general dentist that you go to now. Your dentist has watched you grow up most of the time if you go to the dentist biannually. If you don't have any previous experience or higher-level education, such as getting a dental assisting license, ask your dentist if you can shadow them. They will most likely take you in because they were in our shoes at one point, and they know you personally. You could do this with your orthodontist as well if you had braces or have some connection to them. It's pretty rare for a dental clinic to just take you in if the dentist doesn't know who you are or have any mutual connections with you, so I would suggest contacting your dentist or friends or family dentist before contacting random local clinics.

Starting by shadowing, staying consistent, and expressing gratitude will help build a professional connection. Staying consistent and coming in frequently to watch your dentist and helping out in any way that you can, shows your passion for the field. When you build rapport with your dentist, they will be more than happy to teach you four-handed dentistry, sterilization, dental terms, and instrument names. That will give you the best -- in my opinion-- experience as a dental assistant without going through dental assistant certification as a younger student.

From this experience with a general dentist, you can ask them to connect you with a professional in a specialized field of dentistry that you would like to explore more like periodontics. That doctor would be more considerate if they hear from a dentist or orthodontist that they know. The dentist will probably put in a good word for you if they had a good experience shadowing/ working with you.

I was able to get my radiographer license my senior year of high school and worked full-time in a dental office as an in-office-trained dental assistant. I could only do this because I shadowed the office during my junior year.

Overall, it's all about communicating with different dentists and getting your foot in the door. Sometimes shadowing can get boring and tedious, but it's all about showing your passion for dentistry so that the dentist can trust that their efforts to teach you all of these things will not go to waste. Good luck!
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ANDI’s Answer

Enlisting in the Navy as a Corpsman is a great option! You could be trained in the field during your 4 year enlistment and receive tuition assistance to further train during your service or after your discharge!
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Shelbie’s Answer

It is great that you are asking this question early as many programs and employers like to see experience. Consider pursuing an apprenticeship or laboratory assistant role in dentistry. I have added a link below as a starting point to gather more information.

https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/dental-laboratory-assistant/
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