Student Spotlight Honoring Dental Assistant Recognition Week

We love our dental assistant students at Carrington College and in honor of them, we would like to celebrate Dental Assistant Recognition Week by highlighting Andrea Carrillo, who is a new student to Carrington College Stockton but isn’t new to the dental profession.

Andrea has been working at a dental office helping to process and clean a variety of instruments. She has also received an X-Ray technician certification and can take and develop patient’s X-rays.

However, what makes Andrea special is her drive to help others. Andrea is deaf. She remembers clearly how difficult it was for her when she went to the dentist’s office.  Without an interpreter, she was unable to hear when the dentist would warn her that something may hurt. She would also not hear the dentist say that it wouldn’t hurt so she often wondered if or when she would feel pain. Getting her wisdom teeth out was just traumatic, so she set her sights on helping others feel more comfortable throughout the process.

Soon Andrea will have the training to sit chair-side assisting the dentist, but more importantly, she will be able to help deaf patients understand what is happening. Her goal is to help them gain the same peace of mind that patients without limited hearing have while visiting the dentist.

Andrea is also proud to help set an example for her children, other deaf people, and really anyone else, that you can achieve your dreams through hard work and dedication. That is what makes Andrea such a stellar example of a Carrington College student.

Learn more about our Dental Assisting program.