Advance your career with orthodontic assistant training.

Dental assistants have a rewarding career, but there is always room for more education and the expansion of your clinical skills. What better way to advance your career as a dental assistant than to train as an orthodontic assistant in your dental practice? By becoming dually trained, your skills and knowledge will open new doors as general practitioners are looking for assistants who are cross-trained in multiple specialties. Lastly, it is always rewarding as you can provide a greater scope of care for patients and help discuss the importance of orthodontics to someone’s oral health.

Bread-and-butter dentistry is great, but after some time many dental assistants want to advance their careers to look for more challenging work and higher pay. Consider The Orthodontic Assistant Training Course to encourage dual training and expansion of your skill set. There are numerous benefits to promoting orthodontic assistant skills that benefit your career, your patients, and your future.

1. More flexibility in your career.

Becoming a dental assistant trained as an orthodontic assistant will create more opportunities for you to see a range of patients. This means whether you need to help with a dental crown or bonding brackets using the straight wire bracket system, you are properly trained and confident. Having more skills gives you an opportunity to request more responsibilities, higher pay, and more benefits because you bring more talent and skills to the office. Your increase in knowledge benefits the practice, so why not be compensated for it?

2. Expand your knowledge.

Training as an orthodontic assistant gives you the opportunity to do more than just chairside assisting. You will learn how to modify dental appliances, change wires, treatment plan, and use the terminology needed to communicate orthodontics with patients. Your patients will certainly be impressed by how well educated you are when it comes to orthodontics, and patients will be more likely to accept treatment plans when they are confident in your skills.

3. Create orthodontic awareness.

Orthodontics is more than just creating a straight smile. It is linked directly to dentistry and our overall well-being. Helping someone fix a malocclusion can create better breathing, eating, sleeping, and smiling. An assistant that is orthodontically trained can speak with patients about the importance of orthodontics for our general health.

Since assistants and the clinical team spend a great deal of time with patients while waiting for the dentist, it is the perfect opportunity to discuss how orthodontics can help someone who may be having problems sleeping because of a narrow airway or difficulty chewing because their jaw is not properly aligned. Being able to give the patients the information they need empowers them to ask the dentist more questions and decide if orthodontics is the right fit for them.

4. Remain a competitive employee.

These days it is valuable to be skilled in many dental fields to be competitive in a job market that is needing dental employees. Dental assistants can remain motivated and competitive by taking coursework in treatment planning, billing, and orthodontics. Becoming cross trained as an orthodontic assistant is extremely important to dentists looking for staff who can wear several hats in the office. You are investing in your career and have a higher chance of retaining a well paying, respected position.

5. Cross trained staff is beneficial to patients and practices.

There are always times when a team member may be out or you are short staffed. In this case, it is worthwhile to be cross-trained outside your comfort zone. Then if someone is out, you don’t have to worry about rescheduling orthodontic patients or feeling like you are working alone.

Becoming dually trained as a dental assistant and an orthodontic assistant has multiple benefits. It is a wonderful opportunity to learn a new specialty and gives you an edge over other applicants applying for positions. It also is a great chance to educate people and bring awareness to how important orthodontics is in dentistry. Your patients are more likely to accept treatment plans when the whole dental team is educated and on board with the orthodontic process.