FORT POLK, La. " It’s 10 a.m. at Chesser Dental Clinic and seven dental assistants in training are busy aiding dentists and instructors during prosthetic, operative and endodontic procedures. With ease, they identify upper right bicuspids, lower left laterals and molars. They help the dentist apply amalgam " the substance used to fill cavities " and handle dental mirrors and mouth props expertly.
The dental assistant program, sponsored by the American Red Cross and Dental Activities, is an intensive program for people associated with the Army " often dependents or spouses " with or without dental experience. The program has a history of garnering successful graduates who go on to fulfilling careers in a booming industry.
The students’ expertise and confidence in all things dental comes after a demanding six-month training course in dental assistantship, during which they earn 960 hours of classroom and clinical experience. According to American Red Cross Station Manager Roxanne Stevens, for six months, students, some very young and others looking for a second career, arrive at the dental clinic at 7:30 a.m. Dr. Michael Fox, the Chief Officer at Chesser, is one of three instructors, who, along with Terri Contreras and Leilani Adams, works with the group " a group whittled down from an original pool of applicants who apply at the Red Cross and are then interviewed by a committee at the dental clinic " during the intensive course.
“We go pedal to the metal from day one,” said Fox. “Nothing slows down until they get into the clinics. The first month is heavy classroom and hands-on; there is a lot of interaction.
“We run drills in class: It’s all charts, charts, charts. So when the doctor says to find the MO (messio-occlusal, or tooth decay) a student will get up and point it out on a screen. When I ask a student, ‘What’s tooth #18? Can you describe it?’ they go up in front of the class and do so.”
With two other instructors and a host of doctors with whom the students will work during rotations, Fox said he believes the students will gain a wealth of practical knowledge.
“We have a really good staff,” he said. “Together we all give them what they need and look forward to helping them out. I couldn’t do it without fellow instructors Terri Contreras and Leilani Adams. They deal with the rotations, hours and any personal issues " if a participant who is a mother and having problems with her kid needs help, she speaks to Adams.”
It’s a good thing, too: Many of the women in the program have young children and husbands who are deployed overseas, which makes a full work day and raising children alone an extra challenge.
“I have three boys at home and this is my husband’s first deployment,” said Patricia McDonald, one of the women participating in the program. “That’s been my biggest challenge: What to do with the boys " Jamie, 11; Nathaniel, 5; and Zachary, 3 " and all the book work and studying I’ve had to do since entering the program.
“All I hear is ‘when is daddy coming home?’ That’s hard " everything about this program is difficult, but mostly it’s going home, getting the house cleaned, cooking dinner and all before I pick up the boys from day care.”
Paula Branum, another program participant, is fortunate: Her husband is at home, and unless he is in the field, “he’s been a big help, and my 11-year-old, Brooke, has been great, especially with my younger one, Chloe, 2.”
Branum heard about the program in 2008 while she was attending nursing school.
“I had a neighbor who had gone through the program and loved it, and I figured out nursing wasn’t for me after doing clinicals in the nursing homes. I couldn’t handle that. So I decided to give this a try.”
Jenny P. Jenkins, who, like McDonald, has a husband deployed, said she is lucky: “My twin sister moved down here from Idaho to help me with my daughter, Amiah, 2. (Jenkins is also currently expecting.) My sister’s helping so much. But it’s still hard on Amiah. Mommy’s working full-time now and her daddy’s deployed, so it’s been a hard adjustment, but she’s doing well now.”
Paula Boudreaux is the oldest of the participants; she was trained as an accountant, but for the past 13 years, has been a stay-at-home mother.
“My house is upside down and there hasn’t been a treat in the cookie bin since I started school. It’s all I can do to get my scrubs on, so my family squawks about how they’re ready for some home cooking and some momma-time. But I like being out of the house. My kids are older " Angelle is 17 and Jean-Paul is 13 " and they’ve had me for a while, so it’s my time now.”
Boudreaux heard about the program during her daughter’s orthodontist appointment, when, she said, “a gentleman said, ‘you know, we have a new program starting up at the Red Cross and it’d be great for you.’
“So I got the packet and turned it in. It’s a little bit different than what he described, but it’s an amazing program. I had been looking for the next project in my life, something to use my time wisely.”
“I’m very tired at the end of the day and it’s challenging because we had one month of classwork where we crammed nonstop and then suddenly were on the floor,” said Lacey Colott of the program. “We also switch doctors frequently, and it’s like learning something new every time you switch. It’s hard but it’s fun. In one day, you can do prosthetics, endodontics, fillings, whatever pops up. You have to be ready and prepared to do that, right at the moment you’re requested.”
The hardest part for Branum, she said, was “all the new information. It was a lot to take in, especially the first month with all of the book work, but once we got on the floor, though it’s still very new, it got easier.
“The first day was a lot of information; the doctor told us ‘it may seem like a lot and you may not understand it all. You won’t remember everything but once you have the basic idea you’ll be fine.’ I thought he was crazy, but once we got on the floor, it did get easier. You have a basic idea of each procedure and that’s how you learn. Now I can say I truly love this. I love patient care without the emotions I was dealing with at the nursing home. This is definitely a career for me,” she said.
In fact, all of the program participants believe the program has led to a fulfilling career choice.
McDonald believes the rewards are great and the future bright.
“This is what I’ve wanted to do since high school. After the summer I’m going to come back and volunteer so when we go to our next duty station I can apply for a job.”
Jenkins said, “I think I’m going to take this as a career choice. It’s something I really enjoy, and I like working with different doctors. A lot of people think it’s hard, and it is hard at times, but once you get the hang of what each doctor prefers, it gets a lot easier. Day to day, as long as you know each procedure to the best of y our knowledge, you’ll make the doctor happy " he or she knows you’re trying and learning from them.”
Boudreaux added, “This has been the most challenging and rewarding thing I’ve done in my life, and it’s been so, so fun. This is one of the best things I’ve ever done, and it’s definitely a wise career move.”
The hardest thing for Boudreaux was, she said, “going back to school and opening my mind back up to learning. The rewards are unfathomable. One of them is meeting all of these wonderful young ladies and getting to know them, form friendships and get out of the house. I also enjoy patient care, chatting with these men and women who are out there serving our country. We’re preparing them to go out there and serve for us and this is where we can serve them. It’s awesome.”
Briana Jackson heard about the program while she was living in Texas, and when she came to Louisiana, applied right away.
“I thought it would be easy,” she said, “ but there is so much to it. It’s been challenging. I work and do classes all day. It’s hard memorizing all this stuff but once we got more hands-on and went chair side, it got a lot easier. I see this as a career that will be very rewarding.”
The women in the program had a resounding piece of advice for those considering applying. “Don’t get overwhelmed,” they all said. “Don’t give up.”
Fox said of the certificates each of the women earn “stands for something: That they can do the work and have been trained well. We have local doctors who have been asking when they’re going to graduate. That’s a good sign.”
Just as the students will remember Fox for his famous stomping and “booms” whenever he drilled students on information that would be on tests, and his enthusiastic and tough classroom drilling, Fox said the students have made an impression on each other as well.
“I’ve had a great experience with this group; they’re great. They all contributed to the character of the program and I know they’ll remember each other.”
Contreras spoke of the first couple of days " the hardest days, when three in the program dropped out.
“No one knew the technical terms. Dr. Fox was going 10 miles an hour and everyone was sort of shell-shocked. But this is how I started 18 years ago as did Leilani Adams (who recently became the DENTAC and Red Cross liaison). It’s rewarding. The one thing I’ve always told the girls is ‘when you go out onto the floor just remember, everybody started out not knowing what they were doing, even the doctors.”
Adams added, “I came from where these girls are now to where I am. So there’s hope. They can go further " however far they want to go.”
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