On July 28, the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry (UKCD) will celebrate the inaugural cohort of participants as they complete the college’s dental assistant training initiative.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the demand for dental assistants is expected to grow 18 percent by 2024. UK Dentistry’s dental assistant training is designed to provide interested individuals with the knowledge and experience necessary to join one of the fastest growing occupations in the field in only six months.

Participants are exposed to a variety of dental specialty areas including orthodontics, pediatrics, and oral surgery, and gain familiarity with auxiliary dental services such as radiology, sterilization, and dental labs. By the end of training, they also earn certification in basic life support, coronal polishing, and radiation safety.

In addition to lecture and preclinical coursework, the training offers participants the opportunity to gain upwards of 200 hours of hands-on experience assisting with procedures in multiple UKCD clinics. Cate Darnell, a member of the inaugural cohort, expressed the importance of clinic experience, and how patient exposure sets this training apart from other programs.

“I have friends in other dental assisting programs,” said Darnell, “and they sometimes struggle to find opportunities to fit in clinic time on their own.”

Darnell’s colleague, Chelsea Wilson, describes participating in the training as an experience that far exceeded her expectations.

“Between clinical rotations, coursework, and working with actual DMD students, you gain so much knowledge,” Wilson said, “and everyone — from second year students to practitioners who’ve done this work for 30 years — wants to help you succeed.”

Working with experienced UK Dentistry professors and staff has proven to have a positive influence on participants outside the classroom as well. Darnell credits the diversity amongst patients, providers, and other members of the cohort for her strengthened interpersonal skills and says that her time management and overall professionalism have also improved. 

“Members of our cohort range in age from 19-50,” she said, “and we’ve treated patients ages 2-82. Every day you see or hear something new. You learn how different patients respond to treatments, how to make them comfortable, and how different dentists work best.”

Wilson shared a similar sentiment:

“I’m a completely different person than I was six months ago,” said Wilson, “I want to take this further. I don’t want to stop here.” She says the training has motivated her to go back to school and pursue a dental degree.

Information on UK Dentistry’s Dental Assistant Training is available at dentistry.uky.edu/dental-assisting.

Photo: Chelsea Wilson (l) with Cate Darnell (r).