LF: Information about Dental Assisting in Calgary

[astoria]

Hi. I'm thinking of studying to become a dental assistant but I don't know much about it...

So I have a lot of questions:

Is it hard to find a job as a dental assistant?
What is the starting pay like?
Do you know anyone who's a dental assistant? What do they think of their job?
Is it stressful? Does anyone regret studying to become one?
What is the SAIT program for it like? What are the teachers like?

And most importantly, if I worked as a dental assistant, will I still have time for post-secondary studies? Because I'm planning to get a degree in something else too lol. Maybe accounting, biology, or something else... I'm interested in a lot of things but I thought maybe I should become a dental assistant first since it doesn't take too long to study to become one.

Thank you very much. =)!

[Martigan]

My fiance has been a dental assistant for 4 years and loves her job. She went through the SAIT program and has good things to say about it.

She was able to get a job in the office where she did her practicum at and has not changed offices so I can't tell you to much about how hard it is to find a job. It doesn't seem too difficult as all her friends from her program found positions somewhat quickly after completing it.

A lot of dental assistants seem to end up going to school to become hygienists cause that's where the real money seems to be. My fiance ended up doing a program through sait that allows her to do some of the responsibilities of a hygienist without having to do a full degree which was nice.

You can not do other post secondary while taking the program... Its an every day kind of schooling as it is only like ten months long.

Honestly if you already know you wanna do something else it's not a good program and would probably just waste 10 months of your life. But if you are actually interested in a career in it then it seems to be a pretty fun and rewarding. You won't be rolling in cash but you make quite a bit for how little the schooling is ($22 - 28/hour).

PM me if you are seriously interested and I will get you in touch with my fiance and she can help you out a bit more.

[legendboy]

Mine is also an assistant, has been for around 7 years. Also my sister n law is an assistant.

There is alot of demand for them, the pay is good (22-24 starting)

Sis n law makes $35/hr. Woman made $28/hr, she on mat leave atm.

It really depends on the office, but decent money can be made with good working conditions.

They usually only get 32hr/week, no benefits.

[scat19]

Originally posted by astoria
Hi. I'm thinking of studying to become a dental assistant but I don't know much about it...

So I have a lot of questions:

Is it hard to find a job as a dental assistant?
What is the starting pay like?
Do you know anyone who's a dental assistant? What do they think of their job?
Is it stressful? Does anyone regret studying to become one?
What is the SAIT program for it like? What are the teachers like?

And most importantly, if I worked as a dental assistant, will I still have time for post-secondary studies? Because I'm planning to get a degree in something else too lol. Maybe accounting, biology, or something else... I'm interested in a lot of things but I thought maybe I should become a dental assistant first since it doesn't take too long to study to become one.

Thank you very much. =)!

My girl is also a RDA2.

1) The jobs are easier to find than a Hygenist.

2) Starting pay is between 18-22. I think 22-24 is high...

3) She hates it. It's the bitch job. Do this do that. The only reason she's still doing it is because she's the clinical manager as well. She'sl also doing her scaling module at sait currently to be able to do what a hygenist does except patients with pariodontal (sp) desease.

4) Not stressfull at all if you have a memory and have a good dentist who will also help you learn.

5) SAIT was good she said.

Depends on your office, my girl works 9-10 hour days and with meetings sometimes 11 hours. 6 days a week, only gets sundays off.

[JJLuke]

Does anyone know what the current market is like for hygienists in Calgary?

Wouldn't mind getting some info for opportunities, compensation, benefits, etc. Girlfriend is studying for her degree in the US and will be done next year.

[[Yu]]

Have you considered taking the dental hygienist program up at UofA instead? I don't know much details about it, but I suggest some info searching there would not hurt.

Some of the courses they take are ones that are required in a Biology degree, so some classes may overlap, thus help in your search for a new degree.

[Clever]

My wife is an assistant as well, she's been in the industry for 4 years now and worked for 2 other dentists before working at her current office. The job is pretty hectic if you work for a busy office, the first dentist my wife worked for paid her a ton of money, 5k a month and never showed up for work. Sounds ideal right? Well if you like getting yelled at and dealing with irate patients all the time because your boss decided she does not want to work today for whatever reason or she shows up and you deal with a raging cow. Hell, the staff stuck around with her for a long ass time only because they always had short days, work 4 days a week, and still got payed salary, needless to say that dental office is no longer around.

Next she worked for one of Calgary's top pediatric dentist, probably the busiest office in the city, she loved the job, decent pay, great work environment but shit hours. If we didn't have kids, she probably would still be at that office.

Now she currently works for an office that is down the street from where we live, with 2 really great dentists, pay is lower that the 2 previous jobs, but she is in a multi faceted office that treats her well and is constantly learning from, very fast paced office also due to a large patient base, and she enjoys it there.

And just to quickly answer some of your questions, as of right now there is a demand for a good dental assistants, shitty ones come and go. Starting wage is around $18-25/hour but that depends on experience, fresh grads expect $18-22. The job can be stressful, but if you work for an office that is efficient and organized it lessen the stress, also helps when the dentists you work for have your back. My wife's boss does not tolerate any abuse from patients whatsoever, he pretty much tells them to fuck off (in their own dental way) when a patient is out of line with him or his staff. My wife went through KDM Dental College and has nothing but good things to say about them, then again that was a few years ago. Lastly, will you have time for another degree, that is up to you, you can make time for it as long as you find an office that works for you.

[JJLuke]

Originally posted by [Yu]
Have you considered taking the dental hygienist program up at UofA instead? I don't know much details about it, but I suggest some info searching there would not hurt.

Some of the courses they take are ones that are required in a Biology degree, so some classes may overlap, thus help in your search for a new degree.

Already looked into it, the U of A has a DH degree also... she did apply but admission was super competitive. Ironically, she did get accepted into a much more pretigious university in the US, will finish her degree sooner and is at the top of her class after two semesters.

[scat19]

Good luck with getting a Hygenist job - my friend, top in the class, can't find a job. He's now on year 2 since completing.

[lint]

Originally posted by scat19
Good luck with getting a Hygenist job - my friend, top in the class, can't find a job. He's now on year 2 since completing.

that's probably because he's a dude and most hygenists are chicks. And as with everything in life, it's not just about the grades

[Hakkola]

Originally posted by lint


that's probably because he's a dude and most hygenists are chicks. And as with everything in life, it's not just about the grades

:werd: Kind of weird for a guy to go into that position. If you're a guy and you go into nursing, dental assistance, legal assistance, you'll be the only guy, and in this case it isn't a good thing. The girls think there's something wrong with you.

[Clever]

Right, my wife works with a male hygienist, and he's FABULOUS.:rofl:

[VWEvo]

Reasonably good demand for Dental assistants right now, starting pay is usually 20 ish to begin with, but experienced assistants can work their way up to $35/hr. The key is to work with dentists that have high technology offices, and go on regular courses to stay current on materials and methods. Usually, the assistant gets to travel with them which is a great opportunity, but they quickly learn to broaden their skill which makes them very valuable.

Right now, the highest demand is for experienced, qualified dental receptionists. In my opinion, its hard to find good quality people to fill this job as receptionists are the first people to deal with perspective clientele. In fact, it seems alot of people have wives that are in the dental field, if anyone of them are experienced dental receptionist, and are looking for a job downtown, please PM me :)

[ElMaestroTaco]

With all these private schools in Eastern Canada pumping around 1000 dental hygiene students a year, it will be tough to find a job...some of my friends in Vancouver were willing to accept $20\hour...so I can imagine how competitive it will be in Alberta....good luck though!

Originally posted by JJLuke


Already looked into it, the U of A has a DH degree also... she did apply but admission was super competitive. Ironically, she did get accepted into a much more pretigious university in the US, will finish her degree sooner and is at the top of her class after two semesters.