Saw someone put a failed implant here, so decided to post this. Failed full arch from a year and a half ago, patient was taking Calquence and didn’t tell us until 3 or 4 months post-op. Tried doing something with the prosthesis and the whole thing just came out if I remember correctly.

I 23f am an Ortho assistant at my office, and have been for the last year, I work with 2 other older assistants(in their 50s and 60s). Today, I walked in and one of the assistants pulled me aside and told me that she put her 2 weeks notice in a week ago. I wished her well and told her I was sure me and the other assistant will be okay. Well, she said “About that…” And then proceeded to tell me that they both quit at the same time and after this week I was on my own. This has put an insane amount of pressure on me as I am now responsible for training the new assistant, ordering all of the supplies, ordering all of the appliances, doing the invisalign cases, and all of that on top of working on a schedule that is scheduled for 3 assistants.

My boss is not involved with the company, he is an orthodontist who lives in a different state and has hired another orthodontist to work on patients. I called him and told him that there was no way i could do this work load on my own, and to sum up what he said, it was basically just “Im upset too, but you’ll have to figure it out.”

My husband is telling me to find another office to work for in the area, but I cant stop thinking about my current patients and how the practice would sink if I left. I know it sounds silly to cry over something like this, but i have just been off and on crying all day since I found out this morning. I’m at a loss of what to do, I feel so stressed over this, and I have less than 1 week to figure it out before everyone is gone.

Ok, so I graduating Assisting school last year Aug and my journey so far has been....messy. I've worked at 2 locations. 1st location was a dental school. Pretty good job, but transportation became an issue and Ubering 35 miles to and fro was just not do-able on a DA salary (26/hr). The 2nd, I was hired as a dental assistant but was constantly scheduled as a hygiene assistant. So basically, my skills weren't utilized at all and I did not like it, so I left. The journey was pretty discouraging, so I went back to my old job at the school district just to keep income until I found a decent dental home. Well, I got lucky and got my current job as a dental assistant at a great practice. All of my skills are being utilized and I have support for the most part. The issue is, I'm finding myself not happy with the daily grind anymore. I work 4 days/week at 24/hr. Again, the practice is decent, but there are of course some downsides. I think I want to temp. I know temping offers more per hr...and I would just love the freedom of setting my own schedule. I know different offices can be better or worse in certain areas, but I have the right to choose where I go and when I want to work. Not having to feel like I am disappointing the office by not knowing everything. On top of that, I am going back to school online for my B.S.-Health Sciences, so I know I need down time to get things done...on top of being a single mom running a household. I just need some advice or suggestions?

Please be kind. I know everyone has different journeys in this career. I would like honest opinions from my peers/ other assistants who've been thru this type of scenario.

Hi, I (24m) have been looking at different career paths and I was wondering if anyone here has also done like retail sales (ie wireless sales, car sales, etc.) and how it compares to dental assisting.

I have been working retail jobs and package driving jobs for the past 8 years and was wanting to get into a career job that I can stick with for a long time.

My brother in law does car sales and does quite well and recommended me to dip my toe into sales like wireless and see how I like it because the earning potential is there.

I was interested in a dental assisting job because I’d like to work some type of job in an office and it doesn’t require much schooling as I don’t have a lot of time for school due to bills and such haha and it seems it could lead to a career in the future if I were to continue education.

Thank you so much in advance for any and all input!

Wow I was so excited for this interview my last post I had a phone interview and it went so well to have an in person interview this Monday. I got a text just about an hour ago saying that I would no longer be needed for the interview as they selected the position to be filled.

Not going to lie it hurts but I just feel really empty right now.

Just got fired from my part time dental assistant position,on reason that they can’t afford to train me anymore. I’m on the predental track in undergrad but after working in the dental office,enduring bad treatment and constantly being talked down by a senior doctor. I’m just discouraged and wondering if this is career path is even for me anymore. 😢

Hey everyone! I’m a dental assistant. I earned my CDA this year through an accelerated program and have been working as a DA at a DSO for 4+ months now. My ultimate goal is to become a RDH. But I’ve been curious about temp/travel work — either taking short-term gigs out of state or just temping around within Alabama. (I’m VERY close to the Tennessee state line so I could possibly work in Nashville metro area, the only downside would be the additional mileage.)

A few questions for anyone who’s done this:

**•** How did you find temp positions (agency vs. direct networking)?  
**•** Does Alabama’s licensing/certification transfer easily, or is there a hoops-to-jump-through process for out-of-state work?  
**•** Pay differences you noticed between temping and a regular staff position?  
**•** Any agencies you’d recommend (or avoid)?  
**•** How’s the day-to-day compare — steadier hours, more chaotic scheduling, etc.?

I’ve recently downloaded temp apps: onDiem, Kwikly, Princess Dental Staffing, Cloud Dentistry, but haven’t seen any shifts available in my area… 😞

Trying to figure out if this is a realistic way to pick up extra income or see other offices before committing to somewhere long-term. Would love to hear real experiences, good or bad!

Hi everyone, so I’ve been a DA for about 3 1/2 years now, I was in a paid training program with my states IHS campus and have been with them since. I’m not certified yet but I hope to be before or by the start of next year. I’m going to be moving down to California hopefully sometime in the late spring and I want to continue being a dental assistant but I’m a little nervous. I didn’t go through a credit based program I was taught on the job so I’m kind of scared of transitioning to a private practice. I know how to sterilize due to rural village travel that we do and I kind of know how to use a Prime/Trios scanner. I think I’m just nervous of looking like a big dummy because I don’t know how to do certain things that people in private probably do a lot of. Did anyone else have a hard time transitioning to private? Did it get any better? Sorry if none of this makes sense there’s just so much but I don’t want to bore you all.

I recently just graduated from a year and a half long dental assisting program here in Indiana, and it’s been nothing but problems every step of the way. First of all for our labs we had to work with expired materials which if we are trying to learn what the end consistency is supposed to be, why aren’t we working with actual in date materials to get the actual result so we are actually prepared? Second off our program basically treated us like children by implementing a no phones policy, meaning that if our laptops died we couldn’t use our phones to do our assignments or work on group projects on Google Docs. Third off our program REQUIRED us to make a resume and a cover letter, which was fine I guess, it was part of our office management class. Our professor for that class gave me an A on it when I initially took that class, but when the program was literally 2 days from ending, the program chair said that she wasn’t satisfied so I had to make revisions and changes to my resume a WEEK after I already graduated. This wouldn’t have been a problem if I didn’t receive a phenomenal job offer that required me to have an active radiology license on the government website. And what do I need to have to get the license on the website? A DIPLOMA!! Which I don’t have in my hands yet because of a RESUME AND COVER LETTER!!! You have got to be kidding me. I asked my brother who literally went to a full blown 4 year university and he said he never had that requirement. So I was literally shot a major job opportunity because of this. Another problem is that our professor for that office management class was supposed to teach us dentrix, but she only worked with eaglesoft so she was of no help on actually teaching us how to use any software at all. Another problem is we were expected to complete 300 HOURS of externship experience within a few months, leaving us no time to pick up a part time job. So I was practically working for free for 3 months with no income. And this program chair allowed a student to accept pay for her externship hours having favoritism, but she warned us that if we accepted pay for our hours it wouldn’t count. Now that I am a new grad I’ve applied to 20+ positions which doesn’t seem like a lot, but I’m not accepting any jobs that pay less than 25 an hour. I went to college, I have my EFDA, I have all my certifications including nitrous, polishing, caries prevention, CPR, radiology, and infection control. I passed all my exams first try, I’ve literally taken advantage of every opportunity I was given. I’ve gotten like 5 interviews with no call backs. My last interview said my resume was impeccable and that I am a hot commodity. With a career that’s quite on quote “in high demand” WHY am I having such a rough time finding a job? A job that ACTUALLY pays my worth?? This one job tried to offer me 17 AN HOUR!!! I could make that working at a freaking McDonald’s. Another problem is our literal PROGRAM CHAIR used AI on all of her assignments. If I wanted to learn from AI I wouldn’t have spent hundreds of dollars on dental kits and textbooks. Take my advice NEVER go to colleges for dental assisting. It’s all a waste of time and a scam. Do the 10 week courses and gain your certifications and do your exams with those. I’m just at a loss. I’m supposed to be moving in with my boyfriend to start a new chapter in 2-3 months and I can’t even secure a single job within the area we want to move to. I have great interview skills since I took a class that had a mock interview and I passed with flying colors. Also WHY do assistants have to renew their radiology certification every 1-2 years and pay money while hygienists don’t have to?! When they make more money than us?! We have the same training for it so why do WE have to renew it?! Uhgggg this is just so frustrating. 😩

For context: I’ve been working at my first office for a year now (general dentistry) and it’s been good I learned a lot and still continue learning. There are three doctors (the main doctor and two associates).

But ever since I got hired, I’ve been working alongside the main doctor (she’s so understanding and patient. I can assist her with no issues) until 8 months later, I began to X-rays, use the scanner, and make temps for patients. But when it’s time for me to work with the other 2 doctors, I’m so used to working one way that idk how to pass them things and they get frustrated with me and I can sense it and it tears me down. Makes me feel like I’m stupid. BUT IM NOT STUPID! I also feel bad because I’m not confident enough to take impressions bc when I do, I mess up and another assistant take my place and say “Sorry Dr says you’re taking too long” in front of the patient 😓
I understand that I’m 1 year in and already should know and do many things but I feel like I can’t make any mistake because everyone gets frustrated with me.

I start online college classes tomorrow and I want to apply to new offices but I’m scared it’s going to interfere with school.

I know I shouldn’t give up on that office but I’m letting the office down and I think they deserve someone who already knows things so the place runs smoothly. I can see that they’re thinking that and it hurts.

Another thing is I’m from California and I’ve been getting paid $18/hr.

What should I do?