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The dental assistant program is designed to mold students in becoming entry-level dental assistants, equipped with the basic set of knowledge and skills expected of them. The program includes a variety of classroom and laboratory classes which all tackle the duties, responsibilities, and working environment of the dental assistant.
The program engages the students to a number of classes that incorporates knowledge and skills relevant to the dental assisting job. The classes are usually done in classrooms and some classes are held in laboratories. Lab work classes are usually about the various tasks done by dental assistants in the lab, such as making temporary casts of teeth and mouth or making crowns.
They may also take classes on the different equipment used and know how they work. Such equipment may include mirror drills, x-ray machines, retractors and other cleaning and operating instruments. Chair side procedures will also be an important class since all dental operations are going to happen on a dental chair. Some schools offer classes on radiology. Radiology generally refers to x-ray techniques, how to position patients for x-ray, and how to read and develop x-ray graphs.
Most concepts that will be taught are related to the anatomy and physiology of the oral cavity. The structure of the teeth, mouth, gums, and other supporting organs, as well as how they develop through time will be a focus and will become fundamental throughout the duration of the program. Different dental diseases and malformations will also be covered as well as measures on how to prevent and treat them.
As part of the job of dental assistants is to be office assistants, classes on how to manage and perform administrative duties and tasks will also be part of the program. Students will learn different necessary procedures done on the front desk such as scheduling appointments and making phone calls. They will also need to learn about how to process insurance records and making billing statements. Some schools offer computer work classes on how to use well-known computer programs applicable in the office. Furthermore, they to be familiar with different terminologies and jargons used in the dental industry because they will be handling patient records that more or less contain these words.
Other significant classes will be about laws related to the dental industry, which also includes the legal liabilities of dental assistants to their patients and colleagues. Students need to know what dental assistants are allowed and not allowed to do in order to avoid any malpractice occurrences which may put their careers at risk. The rights of patients must be respected and dental assistants have the responsibility of being patient advocates. Professional ethics are also an important course to take so that they can work appropriately with other professionals.