In the State of Colorado, there are two levels of dental assisting, standard Dental Assistant (DA) and Expanded Duties Dental Assistant (EDDA). At AIDA, standard DA training takes 13 weeks to complete. If you want, you can add 7 weeks to your training to learn EDDA job duties. You can complete EDDA training at any time, but you might be wondering if you should continue your education before you enter the field. If you’ve been a dental assistant for a couple of years, you might be wondering about the benefits of adding EDDA to your skill set. Here are the top 3 reasons new dental assistants pursue continuing education.
#1 Add More Value to Your Dental Practice
Your role in patient care, streamlining operations, and hygiene and sanitation is extremely valuable to your dental practice. With EDDA training, you’ll add even more value to your team. Continuing your education further lightens your dental hygienist and dentist’s load. This reduces stress and enables your practice to book more patients without sacrificing the quality of patient care.
A survey of dentists and dental office managers found that 86% agree that continuing your education drives practice profitability.
Patients are often more familiar with and comfortable with the dental assistant than they are with the dentist or dental hygienist. So, the more procedures you can complete, the more comfortable your patients will be.
#2 Learn New Skills and New Technology
As a brand new DA, continuing your education provides you with a wider range of skills and technology. When it comes to narrowing down candidates, this will help your application stand out from the competition. As someone new in your field, your dental practice might start you off with standard DA job duties—adding on responsibilities as you get comfortable in your new role.
For existing DAs, learning new skills and technology is a fulfilling new challenge. It’s an excellent way to push yourself to do more. Knowing that you add more value to your team makes each day more rewarding.
#3 Command a Higher Salary
The more value you add to your practice, the higher the salary you can command! As a new dental assistant without any industry experience, you’ll still come in at an entry-level salary. That said, you can expect your salary to increase faster with EDDA training.
As a tenured dental assistant, continuing your education is likely to increase your salary by $1 to $2 per hour. Be proactive, discussing your increased salary with your dental practice before you continue your education.
Let’s look at what this means in terms of numbers. According to Indeed:
- The starting salary for all dental assistants is around $17.66 per hour.
- The median salary for standard DAs is around $23 per hour.
- With EDDA training, the median salary rises to around $25 per hour.
- With EDDA training and tenure, the salary maxes out at $29.22 per hour.
What Are EDDA Job Duties?
Wondering what skills you’ll gain as an EDDA? Additional job duties vary by state. In Colorado, you’ll also be able to:
- Apply multiple techniques of Pit and Fissure Sealants.
- Apply fluoride.
- Place multiple methods of isolation techniques for restorative dentistry of Matrix Systems.
- Place, condense, carve, finish, and polish Amalgam and Composite Restorations.
- Trim and polish intermediate crowns and bridges.
- Place temporary crowns and bridges.
Want to Learn More About EDDA Training?
If you want to learn more about continuing your dental assistant training, reach out to AIDA to learn more. Our EDDA program is 7 weeks long, and you can complete your training in the evenings and on the weekends. This includes practicing in a live dental clinic to perfect your new skills!