A Day in the Life of an Orthodontic Dental Assistant

If you want to work in the dental field but aren't sure what you want to specialize in, consider orthodontics. This is the practice of straightening teeth through devices like braces, retainers and dental implants. As an orthodontic dental assistant, your job duties would range from greeting patients to assisting with dental procedures. You can feel good about sending patients home with straighter, brighter smiles and more self confidence.

An orthodontist must attend no less than ten years of school before beginning his or her practice. However, the requirements for the orthodontic assistant are much less rigorous. If this job could be summed up in a few words, it would be following instructions from the orthodontist in charge and tending to the ever-changing needs of each day's patient roster. What this actually includes could probably fill pages. You will need to be energetic, flexible and cheerful to succeed in this career field.

There are many educational programs for orthodontic assistants, but it is important to make sure that they are accredited with your state of residence. Each state has its own regulations when it comes to dentists and others in the dental field. You may or may not have to become a dental assistant or hygienist before continuing your education to include orthodontics. How extensive your training needs to be is a state manner you will need to look up online or through the state labor board.

Once you've decided that a career in orthodontics assisting is for you, find a school that meets all the state criteria you've researched. There may be more than one school in your area that fulfills the requirements. In this case it is helpful to tour each school, meet some of the faculty and see which institution appeals most to you. Many schools have financial aid, scholarships and financing packages for tuition costs.

If the average dental assistant makes around $15 an hour and the average hygienist makes $30, one can assume that the pay for an orthodontic dental assistant will range somewhere in between. If you are a dental assistant who becomes an orthodontic assistant, you will probably make more than $15 per hour. As a hygienist who specializes in orthopedics, your salary could range $40 an hour or more. As you can see, getting the proper education and choosing a specialty to pursue can be financially rewarding.

 



Dental Assistant News:

 

Local dentist, hygienist grow mission in Dominican Republic - Victoria Advocate

Victoria Advocate
Local dentist, hygienist grow mission in Dominican Republic
Victoria Advocate
On a 2010 dental mission trip to the Dominican Republic, Dr. Bill Shuttlesworth examines a child. Shuttlesworth and a team of dentists and dental hygienists have traveled to the country for the past five years, growing a dental ministry near Santa .

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Texas Dental Association Members Gain Significant Discount on Cutting-Edge Online Dental-Employment Service
DentalSpots.com selected by Texas Dental Association to help members fill dental jobs.Frisco, TX (PRWEB) April 23, 2012 Members of Texas Dental Association (TDA) now have access to a significant 50% discount on an innovative, online nationwide job-search engine for finding and filling dental jobs. The discount was made available through a recent partnership between TDAs member-benefit program ...


New Dental Program
A new program at Labette Community College will help fill a big need in local health care, a give students a big boost in finding a job...


Care Mobile provides Lex students with dental care
LEXINGTON EUR The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile was in Lexington last week to provide dental care to children who might not receive it otherwise...


Mobile dental unit helps keep smiles perfect
Two boys reclined in dentist chairs while watching movies in Spanish on Monday as they were treated...


Hygiene Pearls For Your Practice - Dental Economics

Hygiene Pearls For Your Practice
Dental Economics
Using this intraoral dental viewer requires no training, no software, and no computers. What makes DrQuickLook different is the viewer. The patient holds the viewer in his or her hands while the hygienist points out problems.

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New health assessment identifies 13 challenges that Douglas County residents face
Inadequate access to affordable nutritious foods and dental services are among the top challenges that Douglas County residents face when it comes to living a healthy life...


Goers Dental Care Goes the Extra Mile for OSHA Training in Safety and Infection Control
Goers Dental Care in Darien has received the 2012 certificate of completion for OSHA training in safety and infection control.Darien, IL (PRWEB) May 02, 2012 Ronald Goers, DDS, with his practice, Goers Dental Care in Darien, has received the 2012 certificate of completion for OSHA training in safety and infection control. Dr. Goers put his staff through an annual and rigorous Boot Camp offered ...


Special dental event held at Abraham Lincoln School in Simi Valley - Ventura County Star

Special dental event held at Abraham Lincoln School in Simi Valley
Ventura County Star
By Michele Willer-Allred Eight-year-old Alexis Vargas opened his mouth wide for a special dental checkup at his school Friday afternoon at Abraham Lincoln Elementary in Simi Valley. Dental hygienist Noel Kelsch peered into his mouth and gave him and .

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Dental hygienist trains to be radiation protection engineer - Dentistry IQ

Dental hygienist trains to be radiation protection engineer
Dentistry IQ
The Chattanooga native had been a dental hygienist for 30 years before returning to school and eventually changing careers. Later this month, Gulas, a wife and mother of two grown children, will graduate from Chattanooga State Community College with a .

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Professional Dental Management Announces New Book Release - Virtual-Strategy Magazine

PR Web
Professional Dental Management Announces New Book Release
Virtual-Strategy Magazine
A new book for the dental profession titled The Consummate Dental Hygienist EUR Solutions for Challenging Workplace Issues is now available. This insightful publication is a valuable resource for all dental professionals. Professional Dental Management .
It`s the right thing to do!Environmental Expert (press release)

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Pickering dental professional elected to provincial board - durhamregion.com

Pickering dental professional elected to provincial board
durhamregion.com
Heidi Linton was recently elected to the Board of the Ontario Dental Hygienists' Association (ODHA). Ms. Linton is the board's president elect, and will serve a one-year term that started April 28. The ODHA has approximately 7000 members and is a .

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Dr. Nadeem Y. Karimbux Named Editor of the Journal of Dental Education
WASHINGTON -- The Board of Directors of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) has named Nadeem Y. Karimbux, D.M.D., M.M.Sc., Editor of the Journal of Dental Education (JDE), effective July 1, ...


Dental students get research experience
By: Kali Dingman   Starting mid-May, a select number of incoming dental school students at the University of Minnesota will participate in research while mentored by a faculty member researching a similar project. The Summer Research Fellowship Program, developed 40 years ago, is a 10-week program for students entering their first or second years in the School of Dentistry. Students continue ...



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