Dental Assistant Externships- Bridging the Gap of Theory and Practicality

Enrolling in a dental assistance program requires you to follow extensive study materials that equip you with foundational knowledge about the discipline. However, when it comes to putting your knowledge to the test in a fast-paced dental office, externship programs are crucial elements that help to bridge the gap.

Not only that but, externship programs offered by Dental Assistant Schools help students expand their learning curve on the practical aspects of dental care. Added to that, it also assists the would-be dental assistants in expanding their network, thereby playing a significant part in boosting the careers of every aspiring dental assistant.

Let’s take a deep dive, and understand how externship programs help foster connections between textbook and real-world knowledge of aspiring dental assistants.

How Is an Externship Different from an Internship Program?

An internship program offered by Dental Assistant Schools in California involves aspiring candidates working beside dentists in a real dental office, and helping them with tasks such as room preparation, instrument sterilization, and comforting the patients to feel at ease during their visit.

Internship programs are generally longer and equip students with the necessary practical skills and make them taste how things are done in a fast-paced environment. It’s a great and effective way for an aspiring dental assistant to gain hands-on practical experience, which prepares them better for the job.

On the other hand, externship programs have a shorter span and are a lot less intensive. This means you don’t have to execute tasks as you did in internships!

Rather, it’s more about shadowing experienced dental professionals and witnessing how procedures are done. Externships involve refining your techniques through the guidance of professionals.

Reputed dental assistant schools near me like MDS Dental Assisting Academy, offer both internships, as well as externship opportunities for students pursuing their dental assistant certification program in California. This helps to equip the pursuing candidates with strong knowledge, as well as effective practical experience, that goes a long way in boosting their careers after completion of the course.

How Does Externship Bring Value to the DA Certification?

Now that you know the difference between internship and externship programs, let’s take a look at how externships bring value to the dental assistant certification-

• Helps Develop Communication Skills

One of the key attributes that a Dental Assistant must possess, is effective communication skills. They need to be empathetic while approaching patients. This goes a long way toward making a patient comfortable if they feel nervous or anxious in the dental setting.

Enrolling in an externship program helps students witness how an experienced DA, or a Dentist, handles patients and their workflow by maintaining crisp and clear communication.

• Teaches Effective Collaboration

Dental Assistant is by no means, a one-man-does-it-all job. Rather, the success of a professional dental office setting is in collaborating for maximum efficacy.

Externship programs make students realize the importance that collaborative efforts can bring to a dental office setting. From effective chairside assistance to collaborating with the administrative peeps, you get to understand the harmony of collaborating to get jobs done more effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, the collaboration also paves the way to expand your networking!

• Builds Confidence For Chairside Assistance

Chairside Assistance is one of the most crucial things that every aspiring dental assistant has to master to work seamlessly in a fast-paced environment. It‘s like having a second pair of hands that can conveniently handle the dentist’s requirements, as well as take care of the patient during the procedure.

However, you can never master chairside assistance from the textbook! It requires experience to either witness or assist a dentist to know what it takes for effective chairside assisting. Externship programs provide you with the opportunity to observe procedures first-hand, thereby building the confidence for chairside assistance by several notches.

• Lets You Have Diverse Learning Opportunities

Along with the classroom lectures, and textbook theories, the practical work experiences in a real-time dental office setting impact the learning curve of aspiring dental assistants majorly.

Externship programs help offer diverse learning opportunities by opening the way to practical experiences. From dental X-rays to fillings, and from dental prosthetic adjustments to routine cleanings and equipment sterilization, you can have hands-on experience in witnessing and learning diverse skills from experienced dental professionals.

These are some of the many ways in which the best dental assistant training programs seek the leverage of externships to bring value to the DA certification, and also to the student’s careers.

To Conclude

Being a successful dental assistant transcends textbook knowledge and requires aspiring students to have the practical experience to thrive in a fast-paced dental office. Externship programs and opportunities help candidates hone their practical skills, along with connecting the dots of their theoretical knowledge with their practical experience.