r/DentalAssistant

am a female (28) dental assistant and he is M(29) dentist. We both are single and I’ve just noticed that there’s been tension between us at work. He’s friendly with the younger DA’s who are 19-21 but he’s always so awkward and short with me. He’s very friendly and does help me when I need or ask for it. He is very chivalrous and will always open the door for me and have me walk before him. I’ve caught him look at me/ check me out a few times. He will go get something for me while I’m getting the rooms set up for him. We had flirted one night at a bar doing karaoke with our other co workers and we definitely were catching a vibe and were leaning in close to have an excuse to touch each other. I feel the same tension when we do procedures and we somehow get in a position where we are touching each other with hands, shoulders, legs. I notice sometimes he gets nervous around me and doesn’t know what to say. Some days he’s cold and it feels like he’s mad at me or ignoring me. Am I wrong for thinking there might be something going on between us?

SPECIAL NOTE: I am not going to go out of my way to make something happen, i was just expressing something that i've noticed over the last few weeks. Most likely nothing will happen. I was just mostly concerned if there was some tension between us that im not recognizing till recent.

I only got into this field because I wanted to make money to leave my toxic living situation . GUESS WHAT, it doesn’t fucking make ANY MONEY. IM JUST SCRAPING BY!! I’ve worked at multiple offices cause nobody can get their shit together and they have either shut down or the doctor has quit. NOW I finally get another job and my doctor has announced he’s quitting and I will be out of a job AGAIN. I hate patients. I hate caring about people for $20 an hour. BUT IVE GOTTEN SUCKED INTO THIS FIELD because people told me that “oh it’s not all like that, not all offices are like that” WELL AFTER TEMPING AT 18 DIFFERENT OFFICES , WORKING FOR FOUR. DENTISTRY SUCKS. DENTIST SUCK. PATIENTS SUCK. ITS ALL A GAME. Now I have to spend more time of my life wasting away trying to GET OUT of this career and find a better one WHILE going to the office i hate everyday.

Hi. Dental assistant based in the UK. (We are called dental nurses over here)

I’ve been a DA for almost 6 years now. There are aspects of the job I find really enjoyable and interesting like patient interaction, taking x-rays, helping nervous patients, helping patients get out of pain, meeting all kinds of people etc and there are aspects of the job I absolutely hate: being bossed around, working with difficult dentists, being treated like a worthless human being, being reminded of where you stand in the dental hierarchy, the shit pay, the overall lack of consideration . For the most part, I don’t feel like I’m respected or valued in my job. We keep the offices running and without us… dentists and other clinicians can’t actually see or treat patients.

I’ve always toyed with the idea of going to dental school, as far back as 18 years old (I’m 31 now.) I never thought it could be possible so I just gave up on the idea until I started DA’ing. I envy the autonomy dentists have, being self employed, having a flexible schedule, making a decent living even if regular work part time, not having to be bothered with cleaning up, setting up the surgery, closing down, decontamination etc.

Anyway, today at work, I was snitched on by a colleague for going out to get coffee during a cancellation in the diary. The coffee shop is just across the road from the practice and my other colleagues have always gotten coffee during work hours all the time. I got into trouble with my manager after she asked if I went to get coffee. I said yes and she scolded me and said that she’d bring this up in a performance review. Right then and there I decided to go to dental school once and for all and make my dream a reality. I am so sick of being treated like a child when I work hard, do my job well and go the extra mile whenever I can. I’m so sick of being a DA at this point.

And yes, I’m aware of the unique set of responsibilities dentists have and the stress that they go through. I’m also aware of the years of hard work and studying it takes to become a dentist. I’m also well aware of the fact that dentists have the highest suicide rate of any profession. But the alternative is much more grim. I’m going to make a go of it and actually work towards something worthwhile and dignified. I needed a nudge to push me in the right direction.

So I worked my first day at the dental office. There were some things that were really good. I think the doctor is super nice and I like the other assistants personality, we saw like 7 people on restorative side, and the doctor legit smooths her own fillings and placed the really big fills on her own. Bad things are, the place is absolutely disgusting. Legit walls and equipment look nasty, they touch EVERYTHING with their dirty gloves(Including mouse and keyboard with no cover), Instead of using the trash that is 3 steps away they use a red solo cup. So they legit have bloody gaze and trash from past pts sitting right next to the instruments they are using in a patients mouth. At one point the cup fell over and the trash inside went all over the counter that had instraments being used on the patient in the chair. They have plastic on the chairs but dont change it between pts, they just wipe it down and will change it end of week. They had no hand sanitizers anywhere and the soap in the rooms look like it hasn't been touched in a while. I also watched the assistant pick something off the groud with her gloves on and keep the same gloves on to work in a patients mouth. They also dont know how to work ANYTHING. Like I had to show them how to send things through ds core and how to do proper scans on crowns. They didnt know how to properly use the pano/cbct machine. The assistant took awful xrays and cbcts which has nothing to do with me but like it was amazingly bad... I cant really understand the doctor and she is SUPER particular about things. For example she has the longest notes that you have to fill out in A LOT of detail before she walks in a room then you have to read the entire note out to her infront of the PT( im used to doing detailed notes but this was excessive), when showing xrays on a new pt exam she wants you to show them to her and the patient in a very specific order. She makes you come in 30 mins early to start notes on every pt you will see that day. No lunch at all. So I got there at 7:30 and left at 5:30 with no brake. They have no chairs anywhere so I didnt sit down for 10 hours. I know not every office is perfect but i felt like OSHA was not being met in the office at all. I wouldnt want work done there. Am I being dramatic in not going back?

So I had a patient that came in for a limited exam for a chipped tooth. She asked me if it was okay if her “emotional support” can come in too and i said yes of course.
This woman sits in my chair and takes off her shoes and this man that came in with her is massaging her feet. mind you i haven’t even said anything yet. I end up taking some x-rays and the man leaves and comes back WITH LOTION. He then proceeds to TAKE OFF HER SOCKS AND FULL ON MASSAGE HER FEET. I’m sitting here mortified and so are all my coworkers that walk past and see this. He then tells me that he’s a celebrity because he got voted sexiest man on a cruise he just went on 😀
The Dr finally comes in and we did her tx thank god but while we were finishing up he’s putting her shoes and socks back on shaking her entire body.
They have been the talk of the office all week. I’m just not sure why you would act this way in any public setting especially at the dentist 🤦‍♀️

All of the offices I’ve been interviewing with lately don’t take lunch!! I don’t get it. That plus no breaks?!? Me personally I need food to survive. And a minute to breathe. And time to pee and drink water. And a minute without a high speed or HVE going.
I was spoiled with an hour lunch at my previous job and now I’m salty🙃
Please dentists stop starving your staff!!!

It seems like a very good office which I did my clinical rotations at, they offered me a job and I’m going to list the benefits. Tell me if you think it’s worth it.
Full time, up to 32hrs per week, no health insurance, 100 percent vision insurance and 1x annual salary for life insurance, after 9 months you get disability, around 14-15 an hour after 90 days you get paid holidays I would get paid every other Friday and I can immediately go to their office outings.
I think I’ll take it I’m recently coming out of my program with no experience tell me if you’d take this offer!

i’ve been a hygiene assistant for two years now and while my workload and responsibilities have increased immensely my pay has not.

when i started i never expected to make as much as da’s in the dmv area considering i pretty much started out as more of a steri tech than an assistant, but now two years in my duties have significantly changed but im still stuck at $17 bucks an hour and barely scraping by.

recently my drs and office management had teased me with a raise as long as i got x-ray certified, they offered to pay for the classes and everything. so i got x-ray certified and boom still making only $17 an hour.

i don’t think they’re being purposely malicious or anything or holding back money on purpose, i work for a pretty good office. but im starting to get really frustrated with the workload to pay balance. i can’t quit rn and go to an office that pays more as i signed a contract saying id work there another year in exchange for them paying for my x-ray classes, but i don’t really want to quit i just want to be paid fairly for the amount of work i do around the office.

I recently started working as a dental assistant for a dentist in Canada. He told me it would be a “part-time” role, but it’s actually 6 hours a day, 6 days a week, and this week I worked 7 days straight for around 50 hours total.

This is my first job ever, so I genuinely didn’t know what was considered normal workplace behavior. The dentist expects me to learn extremely quickly because several experienced assistants are going on maternity leave, and he wants me to be at the same level as assistants who have been working with him for 2–20 years.

The issue is the way he treats me. He constantly yells at me in front of staff and patients. Some patients have even asked me if I’m okay and told him to be nicer to me. He brushes it off by saying he’s “just training” me. Today he yelled at me for almost 5 hours straight, and I ended up crying when I got home.

He handed out paychecks to everyone today except me and said he would “give mine later.” That made me really anxious because I’m considering quitting due to how badly I’m being treated, but I’m scared he’ll refuse to pay me if I leave.

My dad told me to quit because this environment sounds toxic, but I honestly don’t know what to do since this is my first job and I don’t know what’s normal or how to handle this professionally.

I guess I’m asking:

• Is this behavior normal in dental offices?

• How should I ask for my pay without creating conflict?

• If I quit, how can I make sure I still get paid for the hours I already worked?

• Has anyone dealt with something similar in healthcare/dental settings?

I’d really appreciate advice because I feel overwhelmed and inexperienced right now.

I went on a working interview at a small private practice and had an amazing day and was offered the job. I was very excited as it was a higher rate and agreed to come in the day after to help out for a half day. This is when i realized some odd things happening and need to know if this is normal. They don’t change chair sleeves after patients unless they’re “dirty” if not chair sleeves are changed once a day. They save every itero sleeve and label with patient name to use again in the future. Bur blocks are not sterilized only the burs used. Bibs are cut in half

Be brutally honest. I want to apply to the hygienist program but now I'm questioning everything and I just completed all the prerequisites for dental hygiene.

In the state I work in it is not required to have a dental assisting certificate. I landed a job as an assistant to be better prepared and get experience in dental. My interview went well & the manager promised I'd get trained & I even got to shadow & one girl said she didn't like the job, among other minor things, but I didn't want that to scare me away.

After about a week I knew it wasn't for me. Unfortunately I can't say I ever had a good shift. There was no structure to my training and the girls wouldn't greet me or talk to me. I felt awkward and left out. Even the girl who trained me wouldn't greet me or say bye. She just spoke to me when explaining stuff, but I felt she didn't ask me personal questions or try to make any conversation. Maybe I gave up too soon, but there were huge issues like being overbooked and the team morale was very low. I also heard all the drama that did not involve me, but made the environment even more toxic. I'm now terrified of the dental field. Maybe I'm just too emotional? Ive had other jobs and never felt this way- no one ignored me or excluded me like that. Is this just how it is? Be brutally honest.

I’ve been a DA for 10 years and only worked at 2 offices. I recently left an office that was top notch in compliance, but the work load was constantly being pushed higher. Now I’m at a new to me office. Older doctor is starting to leave a newer doctor coming in (not corporate). I don’t have to do the ordering, notes, anything but assist and clean.
The issue is compliance. They wipe down hand pieces instead of autoclaving. They reuse composite carpules. Burs don’t go in the ultrasonic.

Am I over reacting, and this is common? Or should I gtfo.

Hey yall! Im hoping to get some insight on my venture into the dental field. I've been a SAHM since the height of covid. Before that I was a field paramedic and 911 dispatcher for about 3.5 yrs. I have an AAS in EMS but let my state and national paramedic license go. Healthcare just isn't what it used to be for me anymore so I know its something that I wouldn't go back to. Recently, I've been brought the idea of becoming a RDA. At first I wasn't for it because I thought I'd have to go to school but I found out in Texas you dont need to? At least thats my impression. A lot of schools I've looked into use the UTSA DA online class so I figured I could do the class on my own but I'd be missing the hands on training. Has anyone done this on their own and received decent on the job training? Did you use any supplement resources to give you a leg up with your credentials on paper? Just looking for some guidance. TIA!

Hey guys! How did you guys find your dental assistant job? I’m new, but very interested in the dental field and it’s a great place to start, but every job posting requires a min of 1 year of experience + an xray license + and CDA/ RDA!? Is there really no chance I can get a job without these?😭

How can we change the stigma of us being the bottom of the totem poll and paid the least?
Would anyone be interested in starting a group/ organization to fight or put some action towards our rates as dental assistants to what we are owed? Fight for our rights!!
We are the backbone of the office, if we don’t show up every department is affected! If anyone has any ideas on how we could start some kind of way to get the ADA to work towards the compensation we deserve please feel free to share! We all deserve at least half of what hygiene make, or even a 1/4 of our doctors…no disrespect to hygiene or dentists but they can’t do their jobs without us! I get they went to school but books don’t load autoclaves like how will they ever perio chart or have instruments without us doing four jobs at once. Is over 30 dollars too much to ask for? I understand a new just starting out assistant having to work towards it but what about the people who have dedicated 5+ years just to make 23-28 dollars an hour! You can go work at Walmart and start out at 20! It’s a slap in the face considering the exposure and risks we take everyday, the fact we are doing all the tasks of the office because it’s “our job”.
Let me know what your thoughts are!!

As an RDA, I’m all down for cleaning rooms and tending to patients. I’m even okay with end of day “chores” being da tasks(taking trash out, sweeping, vacuuming). But at my office I’m constantly cleaning up after my coworkers: lunch take out boxes, drinks, random stuff left in places they shouldn’t be. The one that always gets to me is toilet paper, people will grab a new roll and then just leave it resting on top of the old one on the holder. Like how hard is it to replace?? I’ve come to resent it don’t even look forward to when there’s a birthday celebration because I know I’ll be the one that has to clean up the cake, decorations, plates etc. It feels useless to bring up because I don’t think it’s something that can be taught. You’re either mindful, considerate, and have manners or you don’t 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m just venting/wondering if other people deal with this too.

I work as a server and went to school for DA last year. I wanted to get my foot in the door and temp so i started at a position asking for only 2 specific days a week at the most and they eventually coerced me into working one of my days off. now because the rest of the staff are inconsistent and call out frequently, the office manager is asking me to work another day (which is my usual "weekend") to fill in for another assistant. i feel as if they are making me feel bad into complying and quitting my serving job (which i make more than double at). am i in the wrong for being upset or should i take the opportunity of getting 3 days at the dental office and change my entire schedule ? i feel like the lack of consistency of my other coworkers are being put onto me.