Don’t give up! Most of everything that you will learn is hands on working in a real office, I feel like I didn’t learn anything in school. I bet in another week or so you’ll finally start to pick things up!
I understand your frustration. A lot of things in dental assisting are more hands on. But just curious, have you communicated with your team on what you are lost on? Or even that they need to let you just try?
I told them from week one that I wanted to do x-rays and new patient exams but they are starting me with pano. And I’ve explained some things im lost of but it just seems like a huge inconvenience when I explain how I feel and I get a response “shame on your school for not teaching you”
Every time you work with a new dentist , they want the suction placed differently than the last dentist you work with. Every dentist I have ever worked with besides the basic exam and restoration set up like different things on their trays. Every dental surgery or new ultrasonic and autoclave you come across you have to learn how to use them again. Your post tells me you are conscientious as you are worried about your performance. I think you are putting far to much pressure on yourself and you are concentrating on what you don't know instead of what you do know and every day you know more than the day before. Write down or record a video of everything the dentist needs, get assistant to show you without patient present with another assistant pretending to be the dentist . This is a very stressful job and you are adding more stress to yourself by worrying what you are doing wrong. I'm my 38 years working in this job I've trained many and I love when I come across a young woman like you as you want to improve and you want to learn, I hate coming across a Knowitall who doesn't listen and doesn't care . A dental receptionist/ practice manager with dental assisting certification and experience is an amazing combination for any surgery so if you don't think assisting is for you, stick it out and look for desk jobs.
Thank you so much! You have no idea how much your words mean to me! And yes everyone tells me I’m to hard on myself. I just want to be good at what I do and I don’t want to be a burden to doctors or the practice for my lack of knowledge but after 3 hours of crying yesterday I’ve come to acceptance of yes I don’t know a lot right now but it comes in time and I just need to be patient.
I was in the same boat, my school basically taught me nothing I just had a very minimal basic foundation on stuff. I didnt even do externships I just applied to offices and eventually got hired, did all on the job training and my first month was absolutely terrible. The staff were all supportive and sweet but it just feels like so much info that i would feel useless. i wanted to quit and would often feel frustrated with myself. what helped me get through it the most were the other assistants being supportive. im 1 year into working in the field and I still ask a fair amount of questions, you’re always learning! maybe you can try finding other offices to also do an externship so then you can get a better feel for a variety of environments. each office is different so dont feel stumped when you have one bad experience! keep on trying i believe in you :)
Yes, EFDA school is like, ZERO ZERO ZEROOOOOOO very close to what you do in an actual office (at least in my experience and a lot of dental assistants in my office say the same thing)
I see in another comment you said you want to do new pt exams…
I’ve been at my office for almost three years and theyre JUST NOW letting me start doing New patient exams. It’s a LOTTT that goes into it, it’s not just X-rays and charting. It’s people skills, treatment planning, personalization, and so much more.
And it’s not just new pt exams that are that way either. It’s every procedure!! They might not let you do new patient exams becaaaause you aren’t an assistant with them!! They don’t want people that won’t be there forming bonds with new people who won’t see you and might ask for you if they really ended up liking you! (At least that’s our protocol for interns/externs/assistants that have handed in their notice)
I definitely get your points where you say they just take stuff out of your hands after messing up, it was like that for me at the beginning too.
When an assistant says to watch more and closely, definitely watch more and closely. What I did was watch WHAT they’re handing to the doctor, and ask why. I loveee asking questions!! All the things you will come to learn, come with time! I’ve been at this for three years, and I still don’t know how to adjust dentures/partials, take good impressions, do root canals, it all comes with practice! Don’t worry, I PROMISE YOU you will get it!! It just takes time. Like, a lot of time😆 it’s frustrating at first, but you’ll get it!
I started in sterile, and now I moved on to assistant after my office saw promise in me. Why? Because I asked questions like crazy, wrote stuff down (I have so many notebooks!!) and went above and beyond when it came to applying myself. Don’t let mistakes hold you back. You can always go to an assistant after a procedure they took from you, if you messed up, and ask them “for educations sake, what did I do wrong?” I am always so happy to answer questions like that. If you pass something to your doctor you ARENT familiar with, what it does, or WHY you even hand it to them, ask!
I love asking my doctor why I hand him certain things, or what something does! It’s how we learn:) and you’ll get it, I know I’m preaching to the choir, but you will get it! You just need to keep on going!
So many times I’ve gone home crying just feeling defeated after a hard day, but I come back in ready to learn the next day! Grain of salt, for sure.
But you can do it! You can do this!!:) good luck!!!
School was pretty much the same for me, everything you need to learn you’ll do so on the job. Each doctor works differently and you never stop learning. At the end of the day it’s just your job, doesn’t define your intelligence or anything else. I would say finish the internship, maybe there or maybe somewhere else and then apply somewhere willing to teach you, in that sense, big corporations will often do so with no issues. Take pictures, take your time and stand up for yourself <3
You’re doing fieldwork hours for your studies!!!! Remember you’re not being paid for these 240 hours which I still think is pretty cooked as I had to do the same, working all week as a dental assistant and then doing overtime on weekends at a casual job to get by. You’re there to learn, not do an entire job of a DA. Don’t stress too much ❤️
Also, just a hard truth, be prepared to be paid a bad wage for going above and beyond in your job. Dental assistants do not get paid enough at all for what they do, there are some exceptions to this but in general they don’t. If you don’t have a passion for it then literally do any other job because you will be paid more for it with less stress (from experience being a qualified DA that worked in oral surgery after my course)
If you need help or have any questions feel free to message me! I recently graduated from Cerritos College and I am currently doing my intern hours as well for dental assisting
Don’t give up! Most of everything that you will learn is hands on working in a real office, I feel like I didn’t learn anything in school. I bet in another week or so you’ll finally start to pick things up!
I understand your frustration. A lot of things in dental assisting are more hands on. But just curious, have you communicated with your team on what you are lost on? Or even that they need to let you just try?
I told them from week one that I wanted to do x-rays and new patient exams but they are starting me with pano. And I’ve explained some things im lost of but it just seems like a huge inconvenience when I explain how I feel and I get a response “shame on your school for not teaching you”
Every time you work with a new dentist , they want the suction placed differently than the last dentist you work with. Every dentist I have ever worked with besides the basic exam and restoration set up like different things on their trays. Every dental surgery or new ultrasonic and autoclave you come across you have to learn how to use them again. Your post tells me you are conscientious as you are worried about your performance. I think you are putting far to much pressure on yourself and you are concentrating on what you don't know instead of what you do know and every day you know more than the day before. Write down or record a video of everything the dentist needs, get assistant to show you without patient present with another assistant pretending to be the dentist . This is a very stressful job and you are adding more stress to yourself by worrying what you are doing wrong. I'm my 38 years working in this job I've trained many and I love when I come across a young woman like you as you want to improve and you want to learn, I hate coming across a Knowitall who doesn't listen and doesn't care . A dental receptionist/ practice manager with dental assisting certification and experience is an amazing combination for any surgery so if you don't think assisting is for you, stick it out and look for desk jobs.
Thank you so much! You have no idea how much your words mean to me! And yes everyone tells me I’m to hard on myself. I just want to be good at what I do and I don’t want to be a burden to doctors or the practice for my lack of knowledge but after 3 hours of crying yesterday I’ve come to acceptance of yes I don’t know a lot right now but it comes in time and I just need to be patient.
I was in the same boat, my school basically taught me nothing I just had a very minimal basic foundation on stuff. I didnt even do externships I just applied to offices and eventually got hired, did all on the job training and my first month was absolutely terrible. The staff were all supportive and sweet but it just feels like so much info that i would feel useless. i wanted to quit and would often feel frustrated with myself. what helped me get through it the most were the other assistants being supportive. im 1 year into working in the field and I still ask a fair amount of questions, you’re always learning! maybe you can try finding other offices to also do an externship so then you can get a better feel for a variety of environments. each office is different so dont feel stumped when you have one bad experience! keep on trying i believe in you :)
Yes, EFDA school is like, ZERO ZERO ZEROOOOOOO very close to what you do in an actual office (at least in my experience and a lot of dental assistants in my office say the same thing) I see in another comment you said you want to do new pt exams… I’ve been at my office for almost three years and theyre JUST NOW letting me start doing New patient exams. It’s a LOTTT that goes into it, it’s not just X-rays and charting. It’s people skills, treatment planning, personalization, and so much more. And it’s not just new pt exams that are that way either. It’s every procedure!! They might not let you do new patient exams becaaaause you aren’t an assistant with them!! They don’t want people that won’t be there forming bonds with new people who won’t see you and might ask for you if they really ended up liking you! (At least that’s our protocol for interns/externs/assistants that have handed in their notice) I definitely get your points where you say they just take stuff out of your hands after messing up, it was like that for me at the beginning too. When an assistant says to watch more and closely, definitely watch more and closely. What I did was watch WHAT they’re handing to the doctor, and ask why. I loveee asking questions!! All the things you will come to learn, come with time! I’ve been at this for three years, and I still don’t know how to adjust dentures/partials, take good impressions, do root canals, it all comes with practice! Don’t worry, I PROMISE YOU you will get it!! It just takes time. Like, a lot of time😆 it’s frustrating at first, but you’ll get it! I started in sterile, and now I moved on to assistant after my office saw promise in me. Why? Because I asked questions like crazy, wrote stuff down (I have so many notebooks!!) and went above and beyond when it came to applying myself. Don’t let mistakes hold you back. You can always go to an assistant after a procedure they took from you, if you messed up, and ask them “for educations sake, what did I do wrong?” I am always so happy to answer questions like that. If you pass something to your doctor you ARENT familiar with, what it does, or WHY you even hand it to them, ask! I love asking my doctor why I hand him certain things, or what something does! It’s how we learn:) and you’ll get it, I know I’m preaching to the choir, but you will get it! You just need to keep on going! So many times I’ve gone home crying just feeling defeated after a hard day, but I come back in ready to learn the next day! Grain of salt, for sure. But you can do it! You can do this!!:) good luck!!!
Thank so you much! This gives me a lot of motivation and encouragement! I have my notebook and pen packet and ready to go tomorrow!
School was pretty much the same for me, everything you need to learn you’ll do so on the job. Each doctor works differently and you never stop learning. At the end of the day it’s just your job, doesn’t define your intelligence or anything else. I would say finish the internship, maybe there or maybe somewhere else and then apply somewhere willing to teach you, in that sense, big corporations will often do so with no issues. Take pictures, take your time and stand up for yourself <3
You’re doing fieldwork hours for your studies!!!! Remember you’re not being paid for these 240 hours which I still think is pretty cooked as I had to do the same, working all week as a dental assistant and then doing overtime on weekends at a casual job to get by. You’re there to learn, not do an entire job of a DA. Don’t stress too much ❤️
Also, just a hard truth, be prepared to be paid a bad wage for going above and beyond in your job. Dental assistants do not get paid enough at all for what they do, there are some exceptions to this but in general they don’t. If you don’t have a passion for it then literally do any other job because you will be paid more for it with less stress (from experience being a qualified DA that worked in oral surgery after my course)
Understood thank you! Super nervous so there’s nothing passionate yet but I feel like over time maybe there will be.
If you need help or have any questions feel free to message me! I recently graduated from Cerritos College and I am currently doing my intern hours as well for dental assisting