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What does a normal work day as a dental assistant look like?

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Jennifer’s Answer

As a Dental Assistant, your day (depending on the office) is usually very busy. You start in the sterilization area. Filling ultra sonic tanks, turning on all machines and suctions, running instruments through the auto clave, and putting instruments away. You should have your room ready to bring your patient back and start your day. You can be doing anything from taking an X-Ray to diagnose an issue for an emergency patient, doing restorative treatments such as fillings or crowns, you may be taking impressions, or charting for new patients. You may have to write chart notes after the patient is dismissed. You'll clean up and disinfect your room to prepare for your next patient. You can see anywhere from 3 to 6 to 8 patients a day. It all depends on your office.
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Nimra’s Answer

Typically your day will start with you coming into work 20-30 minutes before the arrival of the first patient. This time is used to help open the office by turning on the necessary equipment and starting the ultrasonic cleaner. Then you'll either put away sterilized instruments or get the rooms ready for the first set of patients. Afterwards, there either will be a meeting held by the owner to discuss anything about the office or you'll continue to make sure everything is all set before the patients arrive. After the patients arrives its typically fairly straightforward in terms of bringing the patient back, getting the room ready for the dentist by either getting instruments set for the procedure or taking x-rays; assisting the dentist, cleaning the room after the procedure is complete; sterilizing instruments, and the process will continue like that. This is a typical day for a dental assistant, but when we have time in between patients arrival we either restock/clean/get lab work done (if your office have their own lab). Also at the end of the day we take trash out, shut everything down, clean suctions and its traps, and get rooms ready for the next day.

I hope this helps!

Please note: you won't be the only one doing all of this. You'll have others completing these task whenever you're busy with a patient and vice versa, but this is just a good idea of what you should be contributing to the office to make the day go by smoothly for you and your co-workers.
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