Dental assistants perform a variety of patient care, office, and laboratory duties. They sterilize and disinfect instruments and equipment, prepare and lay out the instruments and materials required to treat each patient, and obtain and update patients' dental records. Assistants make patients comfortable in the dental chair and prepare them for treatment. During dental procedures, assistants work alongside the dentist to provide assistance. They hand instruments and materials to dentists and keep patients' mouths dry and clear by using suction hoses or other devices. They also instruct patients on postoperative and general oral healthcare. Dental assistants may prepare materials for impressions and restorations, and process dental x rays as directed by a dentist. They also may remove sutures, apply topical anesthetics to gums or cavity-preventive agents to teeth, remove excess cement used in the filling process, and place dental dams to isolate teeth for treatment. Many States are expanding dental assistants' duties to include tasks such as coronal polishing and restorative dentistry functions for those assistants who meet specific training and experience requirements. And at Miller-Motte we don't stop just at the vocational benefits.

Graduates of the Dental Assisting program at Miller-Motte will have developed skills in a hands-on learning environment to function effectively as an integral member of the dental health team. Graduates will be prepared to function as an entry-level dental assistant and assume the responsibilities of performing chair side assisting procedures, maintaining and supplying clinical areas, scheduling patient appointments, maintaining patient charts and records, producing dental radiographs of diagnostic quality, as well as positioning and preparing patients for treatment or surgery.

Programs vary by campus