A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A DENTAL ASSISTANT.

you are probably wondering what in the heck is going on in my life...so yes i was hired on as a dental assistant at the beginning of august 2014. i had no experience or training and was trained on sight. i will admit i had no idea what to expect, but i absolutely LOVE my job. and let me tell ya i mean LOVE because i never use caps. it is basically an adventure everyday. peoples teeth are surprising and you never know what you are gonna get.

being a dental assistant is such a joy. [mostly truth and partly sarcasm.]
on the one hand i deal with some awesome patients who i utterly adore; on the other hand there are the smelly and not-so-nice patients who make my job much less thrilling.
luckily i basically work with the best people on the planet. every other assistant i work with is hilarious and makes me feel like family. then there is my dentist...he is the nicest guy and such a goof. i am constantly laughing at work.

let me explain some of the good and not-so-good things about being a dental assistant:

the perks of being a dental assistant:
+ you have the comfiest work attire that has been known to man. scrubs have become my favorite. i come home and always think to myself 'ill change into comfy clothes,' but then i think about it and can't think of anything that would be comfier than scrubs...but i change anyway because i've had unmentionables splatter on me all day
+ you socialize all the live long day. which is quite fabulous if i do say so myself. i love getting to know new people and always smiling. literally always smiling. my face sometimes gets stuck.
+ the hilarious stories and people you deal with. basically you are a dental assistant/shrink/therapist all in one.
+ the amazing assistants you get to work with! you become so close with them and it makes it nice because you all have been through the exact same thing.
+ free bleach = awesome sauce
+ free dental work = more awesome sauce = not in debt for 5 years


the not-so-great-perks of being a dental assistant:
+ like i said before you have unmentionables splattering on you all day. between spit, blood, water, air, and dental compounds[that just sounds weird], i thank the heavens for masks and glasses!
+ sometimes when you are cleaning out the inside of someones mouth with water and the button gets stuck [awkward] and you accidentally end up squirting water on their face when you remove it from their mouth...[of course it hasn't happened to me...]
+ some people have some interesting teeth...i'll leave it at that
+ the smell of a dental office. we all know it, we can't deny it. it has that distinct smell and there is no stopping it.
+ the not so pleasant patients. of course let's take into account that most of them are coming in to get a shot and drilled on, so i don't blame them.
+ being a dental assistant is almost its own little world. with its own little terms, and because it is so, i always use the term #dentalassistantprobs. [like when you thought you were going to do a filling but it turned out to be a crown] i find it amusing.


was it hard learning all the terms, tooth numbers, how to take an x-ray, squirt the water and air at the same time without it going everywhere, learning how to hand the tools, and live in a dental environment?
yes.
but it has been the best experience for me and i absolutely love being a dental assistant. so come get some work done and i'll work on ya! it'll be fun. #dentalassistantprobs