A lot of training goes in to becoming a dental assistant.
A team of Fort Jackson dental professionals will begin its pilot training program Monday aimed at educating students to become part of the dental field.
Recently, 12 volunteers interested in attaining the professional skills needed to gain the status of dental assistant were selected to go through this first class.
"Everywhere I've been (stationed), I've started this program," said Col. Dan Fong, commander at the Oliver Dental Clinic on post. "So it was on my agenda here and I'm excited about it."
Maj. Tyler Burningham, the Army dentist executing the program out of the clinic said, "It's fairly common for an Army commander to start a program like this.
"It was at Fort Hood. It was at my last two duty stations as well," he said.
A dental assistant -- not to be confused with a dental hygienist -- is kind of like an operating room assistant. They assist a dentist, orthodontist, prosthodontist or oral surgeon with minor and complicated dental procedures.
"The program is run through the Red Cross, so (the students) must be Red Cross volunteers," said Burningham. "We provide roughly 100 hours of classroom time followed by 600 hours of volunteer training where they actually work as a dental assistant."
Volunteer doctors and dental assistants will lead the classroom instruction in 8-hour blocks on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for about seven weeks.
During that training, students will learn the basic history of dentistry and what their role as dental assistant will be. They will also discover there are different fields in dentistry ranging from crown and bridge making to periodontal and gum surgery.
They will study anatomy and physiology of the face, jaw, tongue and teeth. They will learn which instruments are which and what they are used for. They also must learn a variety of dental procedures as well as dental administration, infection control, and general chair-side and surgical assisting.
Once the classroom instruction is over, students will volunteer every day at the clinic, assisting doctors until they have completed the requisite hours of clinical practice.
Students will complete the grueling program in about six months.
"At the end of (training), what we give them is a certificate of completion," said Burningham. "The certificate of training could help students with opportunities to get hired on as a dental assistant on a federal installation such as an Army or Navy base."
Burningham explained that actual certifications are different depending on where you live and they are controlled and issued by state boards called Dental Assisting National Boards or DANB.
"Our goal is to have a less than 25 percent attrition rate and get graduating students ready to take the DANB -- if they take it and get certified, they should be eligible to work anywhere in the U.S.," said Burningham.
Once this initial program is complete, the instructors and leadership will take a look at the outcome to determine if the program can be compressed or if it needs to be possibly lengthened further.
The next class is expected to begin next summer (or fall) and Burningham said he hopes to get 30 to 40 applicants for that class.
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