Healthcare

Beyond the Dentist’s Chair: Career Opportunities for Dental Assistants

HealthcareMarch 08, 2023

If you and have been thinking about enrolling in a dental assisting program, you’re in luck! Fortis has dental assisting programs at a number of our local campuses that can help set you up for a career in dental assisting or for careers beyond the dentist chair if you’re interested in working in a different capacity in the dental field.  

A dental assisting education provides you with a skillset that can be used in a variety of related roles that draw directly on your dental knowledge. Or you could explore dental-adjacent careers that tap into your dental assisting skills but take you outside the dentist office. Here are 4 dental assisting career ideas for putting your education to work to find the right dental career path for your personality and skill set. 

  • Dental Office Manager
    In this role, you oversee the day-to-day operations of a dentist office. Some of the tasks you’re responsible for include scheduling appointments, greeting patients, handling payments, ordering supplies, managing staff, and possibly marketing. The variety may be more up your alley than working with patients in the chair. 

  • Dental Lab Technician
    Working as a dental lab tech taps into your dental knowledge, because it requires a thorough understanding of dental anatomy. Part of a dental lab tech’s job is to fill orders for different types of dental appliances. Lab techs may also fabricate dental prosthetics like crowns, bridges, full and partial dentures, and orthodontic appliances. Dental lab techs work with sophisticated equipment and different types of materials. Working behind the scenes of dentistry may be more to your liking.  

  • Dental Sales Representative
    Perhaps you enjoy marketing and sales. A dental sales rep markets new products and services to dentists. A dental assistant’s in-depth oral health and best practices knowledge makes them a good fit because dental sales reps need to understand how new technologies and dental equipment work. They also need to be able to demonstrate the equipment to others. Learning the marketing and sales side of the job can also easily transfer to another industry. 

  • Dental Assistant Educator
    If you’ve always wanted to work as a teacher, becoming a dental assistant educator could be perfect for you. Besides tapping into your passion for educating, you’ll also teach the skills you learned. In this role, you might help the program director create the curriculum, instruct the students, and grade their work. For many people, working with students is an inspiring job. 

Your skills can also translate into many other types of fields. You could work as an office manager, sales rep, or even possibly a lab tech in an unrelated field. The people skills you learn in our dental assisting programs can also parlay into working with children or the elderly or in a social work role. 

Whether you work in a traditional dental office or in another aspect of the career field, your knowledge of dental assisting will benefit your next move. Learn more about Fortis Colleges and Institutes’ dental assisting and dental hygiene programs and call us today at (855) 436-7847!