I'm being trained as a Dental Assistant, is it always this hard?

I'm currently doing my pre-reqs for Dental Hygiene, so right now i'm being trained as a Dental Assistant. I think i'm doing pretty good at learning and keeping up, but it seems so stressful sometimes. The doctor is happy one minute and the next he's stressed and i feel like i'm doing something wrong. Plus he likes to talk about how expensive all of his equiptment is. Is it normal for Dental offices to be this stressfull, how is it working as a Dental Assistant/ Hygienist?

I'm being trained as a Dental Assistant, is it always this hard?
Dental Nursing is very very stressfull I think we are the unsung heros of dentistry the amount of stuff we do and have to put up with.....it does take time to get to no the way your Dentist likes things its just like a marriage....when you and he get used to working with one another it will work out great and you will be less stressed I totally understand where u are coming from they are all like that!!! just stick with it you will enjoy working when yous are in sync you will get better job satisfaction and you will be very valuable to him/her....just let it go over your head he dont mean it and soon he wont be able to work without you!
Reply:If you are strong in the procedures, book knowledge and confident in what you are doing then it just may be the dentist office. It may take some time to get in sync with your dentist, where you can anticipate what he will need next. There are so many different dentist personalities out there. As far as talking about his equipment costs, he may not know what else to talk about or is proud or shocked by how much he spent. Or in the grand scheme, this may not be the office environment for you.
Reply:i am also a dental assistant student, and i do not think it is hard at all, i love it, it comes natural to me i guess. I think you will do fine when u fine a job u like after school. we all have experiences like that, good luck and don't give up.....there are still some really good ones out there
Reply:WELL, A DENTAL OFFICE CAN BE A STRESSFUL PLACE TO WORK IN. IT TAKES TO RUN AN OFFICE. MUCH OF DENTAL EQUIPMENT IS VERY EXPENSIVE,BUT TALKING ABOUT IT FROM THE DENTIST'S PERSPECTIVE IS PETTY, AND UNNECESSARY.





THE WORK FOR AN ASSISTANT/HYGIENIST CAN BE STRESSFUL TOO. THE IMPORTANT THING TO KEEP IN MIND IS THAT THE REWARDS OF THE JOB MORE THAN MAKE UP FOR THE HASSLES OF THE JOB.





REMEMBER THAT THE DENTIST BEARS THE GREATEST STRESS FOR THE JOB. =O)
Reply:Sometimes it is stressful and the Dr. may not be very understanding at times. Dental assiting is different to being a hygienist, the assitant is there to help the patient and the Dr. You would be helping your patients with care of their hygiene. You see your patients at scheduled times, do their hygiene procedure, at some offices you make your own appointments. You clean your room, instruments and maybe order your supplys. You see your patients regularly and get to know them. The hygienist is important because you and the Dr. work together to keep their mouths healthy.
Reply:assistant is not just a second pair of hands for a dentist, s/he is a second brain sometimes. You need to know your dentist, his/her habits so well that you can predict the steps before s/he asks for them. It makes the life of the dentist much easier and s/he will complain less and value you more.


Some doctors get upset with themselves if the procedure does not go the way they expect it to. If you feel that doctor is unreasonably upset with you, just be honest and ask. Maybe s/he does not realize you take it personal.


As for equipment... :) welcome to the wold of dentistry..


equipment IS very expensive, all the materials are outrageously expensive. Patients do not realize how much overhead dentist has. Try to show your dentist that you understand the value, but do not expect him/her stop talking about it.


Sometimes helps to have topics of your own during the procedures. patients like when Dr. and assistant talk, it tells patient that you have Good relationship as a team. Any topic will do... football, NASCAR, weather, fishing... depending on the patient, look for the topic that will be interesting for them.


Good luck
Reply:Dentistry can be a stressfull career. Especially for an assistant who works so closely with the Doctor. Doctors and assistants are like a married couple who spend too much time together in a very small area. The stress of certain proceedures (root canals, oral surgery, etc) can really make a day difficult. You just have to have "thick skin" some days. Certain patients will make or break your day - a difficult patient can creat a stressfull appointment.
Reply:Yes, that's why I moved up front, alot more laid back. Dentist be in different moods, so beware. If you are not happy, try working up front, or find a job were you don't have to work with the Dentist.
Reply:It depends on the dentist. I've got an assistant who worked for her last dentist for 6 months, but couldn't stand his high pressure any longer, so she answered my ad. She had worked for one guy for 5 years and then he retired. She worked for the next guy for 6 or 7 years, but he moved his office farther from her home and she just didn't want to make the trip any longer. She worked for the last guy for 6 months and just didn't like the way he did things. She says that I am "easy going" and she imagines that she will stay with me until one of us retires.





Just so you know.......... We are all human and we are all different. You CAN find someone you like and you will enjoy working there.