Month: August 2016

Becoming A Dental Assistant

Dental Assistant

Becoming a dental assistant can be rewarding if you:

  • Enjoy helping people
  • Have a gentle touch
  • Work well with team members
  • Are detail oriented
  • Are trustworthy
  • Never stop learning

As you sit in the dental chair, are you nervous or calm? When a patient is in pain, they are usually a bit nervous.

Think about the dental assistant that YOU would want….

Patients like to feel heard when they explain their discomfort. They hope that you are knowledgeable and they need you to be kind and caring. Sometimes they will confide in you so they need to be able to trust you.

This is a place to learn more about how to become the best dental assistant you can be. We are always learning.

How can we help you? Comment below. Cathy M. MA, RDH EFDA

© 2016, DENTALTUTOR4ME.COM, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Dental Hygiene and Oral Health

A dental hygienist is knowledgeable in many areas of dentistry. The following is a list of some, but definitely not all of the tasks they perform. (Some require extra certification and depend on the laws of the state where you live.)

  1. Review a patient’s health history and medications
  2. Take vital signs
  3. Perform dental and perio charting
  4. Perform oral cancer screening
  5. Expose radiographs
  6. Remove plaque, calculus (tartar) and stain
  7. Apply sealants and fluoride
  8. Administer local anesthetic and nitrous oxide
  9. Educate patients on oral hygiene, nutrition and smoking cessation

There will be tutoring for RDH in 2017. If you need to review before the boards in the spring, please leave your comment below. Cathy M. MA, RDH, EFDA

© 2016, DENTALTUTOR4ME.COM, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED