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High Tech Institute offers accredited dental assistant training in nine locations around the country. The program offered through Allied College in St. Louis confers an Associate of Applied Sciences (AAS) degree. Students who graduate from any of the other campuses receive a diploma.
As a dental assistant, it will be your job to provide instruments and materials to dentists, keep patients’ mouths clean, sterilize instruments and equipment, and prepare tray setups for dental procedures. You may also instruct patients on proper oral care, apply cavity-preventive agents to teeth, remove sutures, or apply anesthetics to gums. If you have laboratory duties, you may make casts of the teeth and mouth from impressions made by the dentists, clean and polish removable appliances, and make temporary crowns. In addition, you may have front office duties such as scheduling, ordering, and record-keeping.
At High Tech Institute, you will learn:
- Fundamentals of dental x-ray
- Dental science
- Chair-side training on dental equipment, instruments, and tray setups
- Proper laboratory procedures
- Basics of dental health and preventive dentistry
- Basic dental office administration duties
The Dental Assistant Program at High Tech Institute includes a four-week externship in a dental facility under the supervision of a dental professional.
When you graduate from this program you will be qualified to work as a dental assistant in various fields, including:
- Pedodontics (children’s dentistry)
- General dentistry practices
- Oral surgery
- Endodontics (root canals)
- Orthodontics (braces)
- Periodontics (gum disease)
Job prospects for dental assistants are excellent, especially for people with formal training. The median annual earnings for dental assistants were $31,550 in 2007.
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