A Day in the Life of a Dental Assistant: What to Expect

There’s never a dull moment in a dental practice! Days are fast-paced, and there’s always a fun new challenge to tackle. If you’re considering a career as a dental assistant, or are about to graduate from AIDA, you may wonder what to expect in the life of a Dental Assistant. Here’s a general idea of what the will consist of.  

Morning Meeting and Prep

Start the day off right by being as proactive as possible. Most dental practices will have you arrive 30 to 45 minutes before you open. The dental hygienist, dentist, or office manager may conduct a team meeting. Whether solo or as part of your team, take this time to review the patient schedule for the day and plan ahead. This is crucial, as patients overlap throughout the day.

Pre-opening is the time to:

  • Pull physical patient files and read returning patient notes.
  • Double-check that procedure rooms are cleaned.
  • Double-check that dental instruments are sterilized.
  • Set up procedure room trays for the first round (or full day) of patients.  

Greeting Patients

As the first patients arrive for the day, you’ll greet them and escort them to the procedure room. If they’re nervous, you can reassure them to help calm their nerves. Once in the room you will put on the patient bib and get patients settled in to the treatment chair.

You’re responsible for confirming new patients’ medical histories and updating existing patients’ charts to reflect changes. At this time, you may need to take patient pulse and blood pressure.

This is also when to inquire if they have any noticeable changes to their oral health that you can communicate to the dental hygienist or dentist.

Patient Exam and Treatment

For 6 month check-ups, you’ll be required to take digital X-rays or take and process physical X-rays. This may be before or after the patient’s teeth cleaning. The dental hygienist may have you stay to assist with teeth cleaning. If not, you can greet the next patient and return to assist the dentist during treatments. If needed, you may be asked to take a pantographic survey. Between patients, you must clean and sterilize the procedure room, sterilize dental instruments, and set up the next patient tray. 

Standard dental assisting duties in Colorado include:

  • Handing dental instruments.
  • Suctioning saliva.
  • Maneuvering the patient’s tongue and cheek.
  • Ensuring patient comfort.
  • Providing patient follow-up care instructions.
  • Answering patient questions.

If you’re trained in expanded duties dental assisting (EDDA), you may also:

  • Apply fluoride treatments.
  • Apply pit and fissure sealants.
  • Apply fluoride.
  • Placing 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.

Communicate With Your Team

Communication is required to keep the day running smoothly. If you don’t keep a close watch, a late patient or appointment that took longer than expected can create a domino effect. At the beginning of the day, you and the team will estimate how to stagger lunch breaks. Depending on how the morning goes, flexibility may be required. 

Mid and End of the Day

As the day goes on, be as proactive as you can to keep operations running smoothly. When you have gaps in patients, use this time to focus on your administrative duties.

This includes:

  • Taking inventory and reordering supplies.
  • Verifying dental insurance.
  • Coding insurance.
  • Processing patient payments.
  • Patient reminders.
  • Mailing patient cards (birthdays, 6 month reminder, etc.)

At the end of the day, clean and sterilize procedure rooms, and sterilize all dental instruments to ensure they are ready for tomorrow.

Ready to Learn More About a Career in Dental Assisting?

If you live in or around Colorado Springs and are considering a career as a dental assistant—we invite you to schedule a tour with AIDA. Our 13 Week Dental Assisting Program offers convenient evening and weekend classes so that you can continue working during the day. To ensure competency and first-day confidence, we provide hands-on training in a live dental clinic.

We also offer a 7 Week EDDA Program to expand your job duties and command a higher salary.

Schedule your tour today!

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