Start A New Career In Dental Assisting

Who doesn’t appreciate a good smile? A well-timed smile can improve someone’s day, start a friendship, or lift someone’s spirits. Obviously, a big part of your smile is your teeth. And taking care of your teeth is the best way to take care of your smile. What’s more, you could make a career out of taking care of smiles. Dental assisting in Livingston Parish could be a rewarding, stable career for you. Learn more about how you could create a bright and shiny new life with Delta College. 

A Dental Assistant’s Role 

Do you consider yourself a “people person?” Are you interested in the healthcare field? Does a job with regular hours and benefits sound appealing? All of these are great qualities for a dental assistant! It also helps if they are detail-oriented, enjoying working with a team, and are passionate about oral hygiene.  

Here are just a few examples of the types of tasks dental assistants do every day: 

• Ensure patients’ comfort, prepare them for their appointment, and instruct them in proper oral hygiene.
• Sterilize the instruments and get the work area ready for treatments and procedures.
• Assist dentists by handing them tools and drying patients’ mouths using suction hoses.
• Process X-rays and complete lab tasks, under the direction of a dentist.
• Keep records of dental treatments and schedule patient appointments.
• Work with patients on billing and payment.

Use Data To Help Make Your Decision 

The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics is part of the Department of Labor. It “measures labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy to support public and private decision making.” You choosing whether or not to go to dental assistant school is an example of one of these decisions! Here are some of the facts they’ve posted about the dental assistant profession:

• In 2019, dental assistants made a median annual salary of $40,080. That’s higher than the median salary of all professions. Drawing in a salary with benefits (instead of an hourly wage) is a great way to progress in your career. 
• The job outlook for 2018-2028 for dental assisting is expected to grow by 11%. That means job opportunities will be 11% greater. The average growth rate for all occupations is only 7%, so dental assistants are growing faster than average! 
• Over the next eight years, that growth rate represents nearly 40,000 new dental assistant jobs. Just think—one of them could be yours after you finish your dental assistant program. 

A Dental Assistant Program Near Livingston Parish 

Delta College offers the Dental Assistant program in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Slidell, and Covington. Obviously, the Baton Rouge campus would be closest to students commuting from Livingston. In fact, our location is only about a 20-minute drive from Denham Springs. We’re off Wooddale Boulevard near the Airline Highway and Greenwell Springs Road intersection. You’d have multiple routes to choose from—depending on traffic, timing, and your preference. Take Greenwell Springs, Interstate 12, or Florida Boulevard. All of these routes are a fairly direct path for a relatively easy commute. 

And remember, the dental assistant program can take as little as 7.5 months. That’s not so much time when you consider the rest of your life. A bit of a commute is a small investment to build a rewarding, successful future!