7 Specialty Clinics Where Dental Assistants Can Work

Great Careers Start Here
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • This field is hidden when viewing the form

There are a variety of specialty clinics that you can work at as a Dental Assistant from family dental practices and oral surgery centers to orthodontics offices and public health clinics. And while your job across specialties may share similar responsibilities—assisting the dentist and managing patient records—your day-to-day duties vary from setting to setting. Where you choose to provide your Dental Assistant skills and knowledge depends on your career interests and the type of patients you prefer to work with. Consider seven of the specialties you might enjoy:

1. Dental Assistants Work in Family Dental Practices

As a Dental Assistant in a family dental practice, you have a wide-ranging role. You support the dentist, perform direct patient care, and help with daily office operations. Some of your responsibilities include:

  • Prepare Exam Rooms
  • Sterilize Instruments
  • Assist the Dentist During Procedures
  • Ensure Patient Safety and Comfort
  • Take and Process X-Rays
  • Update Patient Records
  • Provide Post-Treatment Instructions
  • Teach Patients About Oral Hygiene

Because family dentistry serves children, adults, and seniors, you need to be adaptable, patient-focused, and skilled at communicating clearly with a diverse patient population while keeping appointments running smoothly.

2. Dental Assistants at the Orthodontics Office

In an orthodontist’s office, you work with patients who need their teeth realigned. You create impressions of misaligned teeth that are used to form braces and retainers. You show patients how to care for their orthodontic appliances and how to maintain proper oral hygiene with them in place. As patients return for check-ups, you take X-rays to monitor progress with their teeth and perform intraoral scans to ensure their teeth and gums are in good health.

3. Pediatric Dentistry

If you enjoy working with children, a job in a pediatric dental clinic may be a great fit for you. While prior experience with children isn’t required for the job, if you like kids or have some of your own, you’re probably great at communicating with them—and that’s a big help to the dentist. Some of your patients will be visiting the dentist for the very first time and they might be afraid of the tools and equipment or even the dentist. Your job is to calm their fears and communicate what happens at each stage of the visit in a way they can understand. You also have the awesome responsibility of introducing children to good oral habits and giving out toothbrushes!

4. Periodontics

On the other side of the oral timeline, periodontics is about what happens when you lose your teeth. Periodontics focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases that affect the gums and cause tooth loss. If you work as a Dental Assistant for a Periodontist, you’re part of a team that helps patients preserve their natural teeth or get ready for implants. You use a tool called a periodontal probe to measure the depth of gum pockets and take X-rays to depict bone health below the gum line. If the dentist calls for implant surgery, you assist during the procedure. Afterward, you may remove the sutures or dressing and explain to the patient how to care for their implants.

5. Prosthodontics

At a prosthodontics clinic, you’re part of a team that provides restorative dental care including bridges, crowns, and dentures. You take X-rays of the patient’s mouth to create temporary restorative pieces. And you assist the dentist as they install both temporary and permanent prosthetics and inform patients of the ways to care for them.

6. Dental Assistants in Public Health

In a public health dental setting, you help provide dental care to an underserved and diverse population rather than supporting a single private practice. You perform many of the same tasks as you would in a family dental clinic, assisting with exams, cleanings, sealants, fluoride treatments, and basic restorative procedures. But the setting is likely to be in community clinics, school-based programs, mobile dental units, or government-funded health centers. An important responsibility in this setting is to teach children and adults about oral hygiene, nutrition, and preventive care. Because public health dentistry serves patients of all ages and backgrounds, you need to be adaptable, culturally sensitive, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, resource-limited environment.

7. Oral Surgery

At an oral surgery center, your main focus is to prep patients and the office for surgeries. You maintain the exam rooms and clean and sterilize the equipment. Then you bring patients to the exam room and walk them through the upcoming procedures. You answer their questions and then assist the dentist during surgery, handing off tools, or suctioning saliva when necessary. Afterward, you provide post-operative instructions for oral care.

Are you ready to launch your career as a Dental Assistant? Charter College offers a Certificate in Dental Assisting that can prepare you for an entry-level job. Call 888-200-9942 or fill out the form to learn more.