Becoming a dental assistant is rarely simple, particularly for those who lack the necessary classroom and work experience.
Although anything is possible, a dental assistant often requires a combination of in-class and hands-on experience to land a job at a dental office.
To better understand the true value of experience at a dental practice, let’s consider two of the most common ways that students learn how to become successful dental assistants:
- Classroom lessons
For many students, classroom lessons remain important. These lessons usually highlight a variety of dental assistant techniques and show students how to perform in numerous day-to-day situations.
Classroom sessions are valuable and with a hands-on experience will provide students with a more well-rounded educational program. In a classroom setting, items such as vocabulary, knowledge of cements, and much more is taught.
- Externships
Externships are ideal for students who already possess a minimal amount of classroom training.
During an externship, a student can work at a dental office and find out exactly what it’s like to perform the day-to-day duties of a dental assistant.
In addition, completing an externship may help a student gain a competitive advantage over other job candidates down the line.
Finishing an externship shows a prospective employer that a student is capable of performing dental assisting tasks at the highest level. As a result, including details about an externship on a resume may help a student land his or her dream job as a dental assistant faster than ever before.
So which is better: classroom lessons or externships? For those who want to become dental assistants, both are crucial, as they enable students to gain the classroom training and hands-on work experience they need to succeed as dental assistants.
