Question on becoming a dental assistant?

I am planning on taking a dental assisting program at a college then becoming a CDA. I wanted to know if theres any other certificates or related work experience that would help me get hired like first aid/cpr is there anything else? Also I'm a guy would that hurt my chances or help me to become a dental assistant? thanks

Question on becoming a dental assistant?
I'm sad to say that being male may hurt your chances in some dental practices. It shouldn't be that way, and no one will probably admit it - but there is a prejudice against guys as dental assistants.





As far as work experience goes, try working part-time in a dental office doing sterilization or any other incidental work which would give you real exposure to life in a dental office. You might try looking for a female dentist; I would hope they would recognize and avoid discrimination because of gender.





If you're going to intern before graduation, be picky. Look for a progressive office which uses the latest technology such as lasers, digital photos and x-rays, and has computers in each operatory. You'll be exposed to more areas of dentistry and gain some background in various types of equipment. Also, you don't want to pick up any bad habits from hanging out with a sub-standard practice.





My last office took on a male intern and he was great. I had to fight with my boss to let him in, but in the end he worked out to be a good assistant. It may be another 5 years before we see men and women in equal numbers in the dental assistant field.
Reply:ask from your teachers
Reply:You need your XRay License/Certification, and you also need to be CPR certified I reccomend throguh the American Heart Association. Its a good idea to get a TB test and all Hepatitis shots out of the way now, so you'll be set and ready to go when you finish school. I also reccomend job shadowing. ( randomly walk into a dental office and let them know your a current student that would like to observe, some dentists will actually allow you to assist ) who know's they may offer you a job when your finished with school. As for you being male... they have no right to discriminate or deny you employement because of your gender.





Also if you plan to be an RDA you need your Coronal Polishing certificate. Both CoronalPolishing and Xray License will cost on average 400$ each.