What Will I Learn: Dental Assisting
Are you thinking about a career as a dental assistant[1]? Great choice! The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is projecting that employment of dental assistants will grow 18% from 2014 to 2024, which is much faster than the average[2] for all occupations.
Check out this video to see what you’ll learn in lecture and lab in Carrington College’s Dental Assisting program[3].
Did you know that oral health plays a big part in your overall health? That’s just one of the things you’ll learn on the Carrington College Dental Assisting program, but what else will you discover?
“We learn in lecture what we’re going to learn in lab that week; instructions on how to do things, techniques…” said student Macayla.
“Right now in lecture class, we’re learning about landmarks, and we’re learning how to take proper X-rays,” explained student Ariel.
To most of us a landmark is something to navigate by… and the same is true for dental assistants. But the landmarks our students learn about are the landmarks of the face and mouth.
“If we don’t know our landmarks, then we’re not going to be able to take our x-rays right. We’ve got to make sure we’re using the right equipment, we’ve got to make sure we’re angling it the proper way… that’s what we learn,” added Ariel.
“We get to work on each other as patients, and we get to floss, we get to coronal polish, we do all sorts of things,” student Marisa explained.
Dental Assisting program instructor Julie, said “We’re teaching them the basics to pass the state certification test. They’re learning how to assist the doctor; they’re basically the doctor’s other right hand, they’re his other set of eyes!”
Like most Carrington College programs, the Dental Assisting program includes an opportunity for students to learn out in the real world on an externship, before graduation.
“We learn mostly everything that we’re going to do in an office here, so when we go in [to the externship] we have an idea of what to do,” added student Macayla.
“Hands on training helps us by showing us the proper way of doing things. Seeing it here, using your hands, knowing how it works, knowing how it moves, it really helps us a lot,” said Ariel.
Learn more about the Dental Assisting Certificate or Associate Degree program[4] at Carrington College.
[1] Individuals seeking to enter this career field may be subject to screenings such as, but not limited to, criminal background checks and drug/alcohol testing prior to externship, to attain occupational licensure/certification or employment, and throughout their careers.
[2] Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 Edition, Dental Assistants, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/dental-assistants.htm (visited June 10, 2016).
[3] For comprehensive consumer information, visit carrington.edu/cc/da
[4] Program availability varies by location.