Dental workforce shortages have become a real concern for many practices across the country in recent years. Many practices are struggling to properly staff their offices or hire skilled team members, causing a dip in capacity and revenue. This dilemma has created a unique opportunity for dental assistants who prefer not to stay in one place for too long.
Traveling dental assistants have become more common to account for the staffing shortages that challenge dental practices. Because the role involves moving between several practices, becoming a traveling dental assistant is an ideal choice for people who like to travel and experience new places. It also can help a dental assistant earn more.
The Praxis Institute offers an outstanding Dental Assistant program in the Miami, FL, area. Here, we discuss the role of a traveling dental assistant and what benefits come along with it.
What Is a Traveling Dental Assistant?
Given the current state of the dental workforce, traveling dental assistants play a key role in many dental practices. Using their skills and training, they provide services for dentist offices in different locations. Traveling dental assistants are assigned by a placement agency to a dental clinic where they will be expected to work for an agreed-upon duration. Assignments can last for a few days, weeks, or months.
The duties of a traveling dental assistant will vary. They will be based on the needs of dental practice but often include typical dental assistant responsibilities, such as cleaning patients’ teeth, taking X-rays, and recording and filing pertinent information about each patient. Job duties will also entail preparing tools, sterilizing instruments and the exam room, and assisting the dentist during a dental procedure or surgery.
The Benefits of Being a Traveling Dental Assistant
The role of a traveling dental assistant can be enticing. Reasons dental assistants choose to take their skills on the road include the following:
Change of Pace
For some, the idea of staying in one place can feel suffocating. To them, working at the same dental clinic year after year can seem routine and uninteresting. Those who feel that way would benefit greatly from the change of pace that comes with being a traveling dental assistant. As you travel to various dental offices, you will be working with different people each time. This provides the opportunity to not only experience new places but also form a range of lasting relationships along the way.
Increase in Pay
Another attractive benefit of being a traveling dental assistant is the opportunity to earn a higher wage. In many cases, traveling dental assistants can earn more money than their counterparts working in just one office every day.
Flexible Work Schedule
Because assignments are temporary, with no standard duration, traveling dental assistants have the freedom to select new jobs that align with their personal lives. Traveling dental assistants have the flexibility to create their ideal work schedule. They can work throughout the year, like a traditional dental assistant would, or choose to take a few months off to enjoy some rest and relaxation.
Dental Assistant Training at The Praxis Institute
Those interested in becoming a traveling dental assistant must first learn the required skills of the trade. The Praxis Institute is pleased to offer an in-depth Dental Assistant diploma program in the Miami area. Led by an experienced teaching staff, the eleven-month program involves theoretical and practical teaching methods covering various areas of knowledge essential to entering the profession. The program also includes 80 hours of externship to better prepare students for success when they enter the workforce. Since our Dental Assistant Program is accepted by the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc. (DANB), students can apply for the National Entry Level Dental Assistant (NELDA) certification exam upon graduation.
The Praxis Institute is an excellent place to get your training, with competitive pricing, flexible schedules, career services, and financial aid assistance. We are happy to offer enrollment times every week for diploma programs at our campuses in Miami and Hialeah, FL. For more information about our programs or to learn how grads have so much success in finding their careers after completing our dental assistant school, contact us at 786-577-6909 today.
