There are various professions that serve the health of humans. Among this noble health, practitioners are the orthodontic assistants. If you choose to be an orthodontic assistant training, you would be in the field of dentistry. Therefore, you need to qualify as a dental assistant and acquire the knowledge of an orthodontist. Your country or state may also have rules that narrow down your roles.
What Orthodontist Assistants Do
If you would work as an assistant to an orthodontist, then you should be acquainted with the duties of an orthodontist. You should have background knowledge about the specific roles of an orthodontist. First, an orthodontist is a dentist whose area of specialization is straightening teeth and realigning jaws through the use of braces and various dental appliances. To train as an orthodontist, you would have to attend a dental school after which you would be licensed to practice the profession. The field of dentistry continues to grow, especially in the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts job growth of 21 percent between 2010 and 2020. This does not exclude orthodontics, which in turn also includes orthodontic assistants.
Orthodontic Assistant Tasks
Orthodontic assistants have their specific roles. Their major task is to help orthodontists, in order to make their jobs more convenient. They carry out this duty of assistance in various ways. These ways then becomes their roles.
Working as an orthodontic assistant includes the following roles: taking care of the appointment room before the patient’s visit, collecting information about the oral history of the patient, ensuring the patient’s comfort before the arrival of the orthodontist. The orthodontic assistant training also has the duty of making tooth impressions used in designing orthodontic hardware, taking the patient’s x-ray, sterilizing the equipment used or about to be used, removing stitches, getting the tools needed ready for every appointment and handing the tools to the orthodontist Sterling VA during diagnosis and treatment. These roles are however dependent on the experience of the assistant and the specific laws of the state.
It is also possible for the orthodontic assistant to have administrative roles. These could be keeping the records of patients, billing, accepting payments and setting appointments.
Becoming an Assistant
The first thing to do in order to become an orthodontic assistant is to have a look at your state requirements. There are states that allow individuals with no formal education but would train on the job and there are others who only accept formally trained individuals who have been certified. The Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) has the responsibility of keeping track of the specific requirements of each state. This board is also acknowledged by the American Dental Association as a national awarder of certificates to dental and orthodontic assistants.
In November 2012, the board stated on their website that their certification programmed was acknowledged by 38 states and the District of Columbia. Also, it was acknowledged by the Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Air Force.
Salary and Jobs
The Bureau of Labor Statistics makes no distinction between all dental assistants. This is a field that is expected to grow rapidly, beyond the average rate of 31 percent between the year 2010 bad 2020. The profession had the median annual salary of $33,470 in 2010. When a survey was made on the salary they receive, it was discovered that dental assistants with certification were paid higher than those without certification. Also, the discovery was made that a lot of employers pay assistants back for their certification training and examinations. The first five states for orthodontist employment are California, Indiana, Georgia, New Jersey, and Ohio. Apparently, these states are most probably able to offer more job opportunities to orthodontist assistants.