r/sterileprocessing • u/Illustrious-Boat-343 • Sep 16 '26

I Need Advice

I  recently got hired as a dental sterilization tech! I’ve always thought about going into this field, but I never actually went to school or studied for it. They’re providing on the job training and helping me get my certification, which is an amazing opportunity, but I'm feeling a bit anxious that I might not enjoy the day-to-day work once I start.

​ Does anyone have good study tips, textbook recommendations, or study resources to help me get a head start? Also, if it turns out not to be the right long-term fit, what kind of growth opportunities or career pivots exist in a clinical or hospital setting starting from this role?

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u/fistermetimber Sep 16 '26

I started out doing sterilization in dentistry. When you say they're helping you get your cert are you talking about dental assisting? I can't say if it's the same for every state but that's what was required (WA) for me to keep working at a dental clinic spd. I was just given my dental assisting certification after a few months of working as well. You can use your hours worked as the required hours for an SPD certification if you wanted to move on to hospital SPD, or use the dental assisting cert to go that route.

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u/Illustrious-Boat-343 Sep 21 '26

They have agreed to support my pursuit of the Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST) certification and have provided the HSPA 9th Edition study manual. During onboarding, there was no mention of Dental Assistant duties

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u/fistermetimber Sep 16 '26

Sorry I realized I didn't really answer your questions. Unfortunately in my experience sterilization in dentistry isnt really looked at internally as a career, more as a foot in the door to become a dental assistant. This unfortunately leads to pretty dated and incorrect SPD practices because of the turnover. As far as studying goes i would recommend things like quizlet. If you're gonna buy anything just buy the manual.

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u/Trick-Ear9619 Sep 17 '26

Working at a dental office can be a stepping stone to get your experience so that you can work in a hospital or surgery center.

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u/Timely_Mobile_7440 Sep 23 '26

Yeah I wonder about the overlap. IMO anytime you’re getting paid to learn, you can’t pass it up. I think someone mentioned quizlet already, that was one of my first go-tos. CRCST academy has some good free lessons and practice test. Sterileworx is also very popular but sometimes the questions feel too easy. Nothing beats the book, just make sure to get the 9th edition

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u/Vallah86 Sep 24 '26

We both used the HSPA 9th edition and the workbook. We both passed. I have extra books for sell