What is an Orthodontist Assistant?
An orthodontist assistant is a person who works closely with an orthodontist to take care of customers who wear dental devices. The most common dental devices that patients wear are braces. Other dental equipment is retainers and alignment units. The assistant helps the orthodontist with caring for and consulting with the people who have to function with these devices on a daily basis. The assistant may also work in the lab to prepare different solutions. He or she might also work on the side of photography and X-ray if the orthodontist needs him or her to do such.
Orthodontist Assistant Job Duties
An Orthodontist Assistant can have many job duties from directly dealing with the patients, to working as an extras support person for the doctor. An assistant might be responsible for tightening up braces periodically for patients. He or she may also conduct inspections on retainers and alignment devices to make sure the customer is not having difficulty with them. The assistant might help with some of the front desk duties such as pulling charts and answering telephones. He or she might also occasionally set up appointments.
Orthodontist Assistant Job Responsibilities
An Orthodontic Assistant is responsible for helping to ensure that operations go smoothly between the Orthodontist and his patient. This person is the support system for the Orthodontist. He is giving the practitioner the support that he or she needs while also learning more about the craft of dentistry. The assistant is responsibilities include a wide range of activities.
An assistant might have to set up the table and lay out the instruments the Orthodontist is going to use on his patient. He or she may also fill the rinsing cups for the patients so they can rinse their mouths out before or after surgery.
In the laboratory, the assistant might have to take X-rays of a patient’s mouth and then develop them so the dentist will have a good like at what is going on with the client’s mouth. Another thing the assistant might be responsible for is developing and cleaning retainers and braces.
At the end of the day, an Orthodontist Assistant, might have to clean and sterilize the operation area and the dentist chair. An assistant gets to learn all areas of dentistry and the dental lab during his or her workday. From there he or she will usually move on to becoming an Orthodontist.
