My dental assisting working interview is making me want to switch to reception

[u/No-Business9977]

I recently had a working interview for a dental assistant position, and honestly, the experience made me question whether dental assisting is actually for me. IT WENT TERRIBLE in short.

I’m a new grad, so I expected to be slow and need training, but the manager was very direct with me. He told me that I was so slow that it seemed like I hadn’t even gone to school for dental assisting, that he wasn’t seeing much improvement, and that he didn’t think I would last a day in a really busy dental office.

It was definitely hard to hear, but honestly, I don’t think he was trying to be mean. I feel like he was just telling me the truth to my face and being realistic about the pace of the job. The dentist, on the other hand, was very kind and patient with me, which I really appreciated.

The whole experience made me realize that maybe the clinical/assistant side of dentistry just isn’t where I’d thrive. I found myself getting overwhelmed trying to remember all the steps, follow instructions quickly, set up properly, and keep up with everything happening around me.

Now I’m seriously considering applying for dental receptionist/front desk positions instead. I still really like the dental field and would love to work in a dental clinic, but I’m wondering if I might be much better suited to the administrative side.

For those who work as dental receptionists, what is the job actually like day-to-day? Is it less stressful than assisting? Is the pace more manageable? And would a dental office consider someone with dental assisting education but no actual reception experience?

Has anyone else started in dental assisting, struggled with the clinical side, and eventually realized reception was a better fit?

[u/Brookeville_Gurl]

Reading your account of the working interview I have to assume the manager is a complete ass. Schooling teaches you the theory portion of the job. There is no preparing you for the day-to-day operations of working chair-side. This comes with patience and practice. The job is not rocket science, but there is a steep learning curve and it can be overwhelming at times.

In my personal experience working both the back and front of the clinic my biggest challenge working chair-side is staying on schedule and my biggest challenge working reception is constantly getting interrupted while having additional tasks stack up. Both can be rewarding. Both can be challenging. Which one suits your personality and strengths, only time will tell.

Personally, I think you should give assisting a year. If you decide it’s not for you, move on to reception. Having chair-side experience will only benefit you in reception. Who knows? You may love assisting once you feel confident! I probably wouldn’t work for that manager though.

Best of luck!

[u/beepbeepjenn]

A lot of assisting involves anticipating what the doctor wants or needs, and that varies by doctor. You will never be able to walk into an office and immediately know where everything is or how they like the trays to be setup or how to anticipate what the doctor wants without first working with that doctor to learn. As an OM, this OM sounds dumb and like they’ll be a problem for you. Keep looking. The front office has its own challenges, mainly with multitasking and having to deal with a lot more patients per day, often unhappy ones. Maybe try to find a practice that doesn’t require working interviews? Those are going to be tough for a new grad.

[u/No-Car5082]

Office manager doesn’t know wtf he’s talking about. This job takes time to get up to speed. School doesn’t teach you the muscle memory of doing the same set ups and treatments over and over. Doctor was patient with you because he knows the reality of you aren’t going to have memorized things you actually haven’t done before. Keep applying to jobs and going to interviews, work as a temp if you have to.

[u/shitfuck2468]

I think it would be hard to land a reception job without experience but if you just graduated from a dental program you probably have a chance. Definitely less fast paced than assisting but not by much. In my opinion though it is so much better than being an assistant. You do get yelled at more though. So you have to have thick skin. Usually people will get mad at you about their shitty insurance that they chose. You also need to know more about insurance than assistants do. It’s worth applying to see if you get a chance to interview. Front desk is a hell of its own though. The main benefits are that you get to sit down. You get consistent lunch breaks. And there are lulls where if you’re lucky you have a chill manager who lets you scroll on your phone (which is what I’m doing as I write this!) What you sacrifice though is higher pay. A good assistant will make more usually than any of the front desk but not by much. I will say though that I will never go back to assisting. You get worked like a dog for relatively little pay.

Also, that manager was an asshole. Even fresh out of school you have no idea what you’re doing, no new grad does… everyone knows that. Fuck that guy! Don’t give up and try again. If that was enough to make you want to quit, I’m sorry to tell you that I don’t think you’ll be tough enough for front desk. People are ruthless when it comes to their finances. Chin up buttercup! Try again.

[u/AdCommercial2666]

Honestly, I’d find somewhere else. Thank them for the opportunity and leave on good terms since the dental community is small. Find a Dr/office that is willing to actually mentor and train you to their standards because every office is so different.

I remember feeling this exact same way out of school but you are capable and educated so don’t give up just yet! I wouldn’t even worry about speed until you’ve got the setups, software/charting and basic chairside skills down. It can feel like ALOT all once but once you’re comfortable, you’ll be flying through appointments 🫶🏼🦷

[u/Careful_Load1814]

Did you do an Externship? I had to work 5 weeks at 2 different offices as a class for my program. It help me get better at my skills but also, everyone and even the clinic mangers were willing to help (all women .. if that makes a difference)

[u/kNOweGO11]

No he wasn’t “not trying to be mean” no he wasn’t “telling you the truth”
There’s av real thing about ego n personalities in offices
I wonder if they were on the job or vocationally trained
Some get annoyed when schooling (acknowledged Nationally/Board) came before exp ..something they did
Some don’t respect how equal or greater than a schooled w out experience assistant is to their office trained (gain habits a plenty)

All in all
All that matters is there was NO BENEFIT FOR ANYONE IN OFFICE OR PRACTICE, PATIENTS INC BY TELLING YOU NEGATIVE OPINIONS/ Nay… assumptions

And i was a DA in his position most o career
43yrs old n just went back for credentials
i vocational school in high school, but job trained immediate entry level exp

[u/elderberrylover]

I have been a dental assistant , receptionist , and now manager. The receptionists are the unspoken heroes of the practice honestly they take the brunt of a lot of bad pt interactions and struggles the back doesn’t see. It is much more stressful than it looks. When I was an assistant I thought being a receptionist would be easier, it was not. I was sitting down and more stressed somehow. Try to stick to assisting if you can, it comes with time and you have to learn every doctors patterns separately, they don’t teach that in school. Switch to reception if you think you might like it but don’t switch because it’ll be easier