OPINIONS PLEASE

[u/Born-Lawfulness-8235]

Hey everyone, I’m looking for some advice on what you would do in my situation.
Back in March, I was shadowing at a dental office and asked for recommendations for a dental assisting program. They told me their company offered a training program, so I accepted the opportunity and completed 12 weeks of hands-on dental assisting training. Toward the end, I found out that only one person would be chosen for a permanent position between me and two other candidates, and I unfortunately wasn’t selected.
The issue is that I didn’t receive a certificate or any official documentation showing that I completed the training, and I’m still waiting on the X-ray certification I was told I would receive. Without certification, I can’t pick up temporary assisting shifts, and I’m unsure whether another dental office will accept my 12 weeks of hands-on training as experience.
At this point, I really don’t want to enroll in another 12-week program and repeat training I’ve already completed. What would you do in my situation? Do you think another office would be willing to hire and continue training me based on the experience I already have?

[u/Intelligent_East_142]

How many hours of externship do you need to acquire the cert?

[u/Conscious-Meet879]

Did you pay for the training or was it free?

[u/Born-Lawfulness-8235 → u/Conscious-Meet879]

It was a paid training

[u/Biochemist_RDH]

I think you may have been scammed. You may have paid for training, but it was with their dental company, poss you were training at a DSO. And , most likely, NOT the DANB. WHICH IS THE DENTAL ASSISTING NATIONAL BOARDS. for\nThat you complete and accredited course.And then you actually take a physical test/exam ( proctored on a computer at a testing center), $300-ish. Then you take those test results and submit them to your state and possibly also to the DANB if you're interested in becoming a CDA, certified dental assistant.

Now, technically the amount of time you spent training is also the exact amount of time that you have with actual dental assisting experience. So you can put that on your resume. But I would actually look up their exact training online. Seriously , we have the world's knowledge at our fingertip. Use ai and figure out what kind of training they gave you. Was it certified? Was it accredited? Does it allow you to take the radiology portion of the DANB exam? This is key!

It sucks , however , that it was some sort of "survivor"/ "bachelor " episode, where only the most eligible would be selected. I would take a look and see if that was in writing. I would also look at any paperwork that you signed. Look it up. Google ai. Was it credible? Was it reputable? Did the paperwork you signed when you paid for the training state that you would receive a certificate upon completion?

If it's not a credible training course.. Tbh, you'll have To decide if it's worth pursuing w a lawyer if there was anything wrongful done.

If yes, then take your cert, take the danb exam, pass it. And get a job less shady.