A Quick Dental Assisting Certification Can Help You Through Challenging Times

The key to keeping a stable career and remaining marketable for employment is to diversify your skills. But sometimes you just might not want to "start everything over." There's a good middle ground to all of this that can help you prepare for a sudden job change. You never know if you'll need it, but it's nice to know you can get started and finished pretty easily and quickly. Dental assisting is an industry that needs people now, will pay them well for steady work, and only requires a basic certification for entry-level employment.

Would I make a good dental assistant?
Dental assistant careers are exciting and challenging jobs that are never the same from one day to the next. If you are a people person, enjoy meeting and helping people with their dental health care and making beautiful smiles, then a dental assistant career could be for you. And you can get certified to do the job fairly quickly.

People who are in dental assistant careers must be reliable, work well with others, and have good manual dexterity. In some states, dental assistants must be licensed or registered for additional clinical duties.

What will I earn as a dental assistant?
Dental assistants reported their median salaries in 2007 were between $30,000 and $35,800. It's a steady workload, but it pays well for how quickly you can get into the industry. Many dental assistants find flexible scheduling to be a real upside of this career. This is especially important if you’re working another part-time or full-time job. Once you're in the industry, you may feel you need to earn more. Many dental assistants do this by signing up for additional certifications.

How do I get started in a dental assistant career?
Many times to just get started in a dental office, you’ll only need to finish a quick 9 month certification course.

Does the industry actually need new dental assistants?
Absolutely. The job outlook for dental assistant careers is excellent – employment in this field is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2016. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that it will be the third fastest-growing occupation for which a degree isn't required.

What will I be doing after I graduate?
There are two types of dental assistant careers: clerical and clinical.

Clerical dental assistants perform regular health care office tasks such as scheduling appointments, receiving patients, filing records, and sending bills and records to patients and insurance agents. It's a "desk job," but you'll definitely be on your feet during the day.

Clinical dental assistants perform non-invasive dental treatments such as flossing, assisting dentists during treatment with suction and water devices, preparing instruments, helping with X-rays and bite impressions, and other post-treatment duties. You'll basically be working all over in different areas of the dental office.

So don't worry about job losses – earn a quick dental assisting certificate for a smart career boost! It's better to be ready than unsteady.