I never thought that assisting would be overly useful for me. Originally, I thought that it might even be a bit of a waste of my time. My reasoning was- if I’m going to be spending time in the clinic, then why don’t I get to do examinations and perform treatment so I can practice my skills? Won’t I just be passing gauze and using the suction? But, as time has gone on, I’ve been able to see the benefits of assisting.

Assisting enables teamwork between myself and my operator. As an assistant, I get to observe what is going on with the patient in the chair, and try to figure out their dental issues are. I have found that my operators have often turned to me to ask for my second opinion with diagnosis, or with finding the cause of the pain/problem. In one instance, I was assisting an operator who’s patient had been referred to oral med- however, the location and type of lesion present was not documented. My operator was struggling to determine where the lesion was, and the patient was also unaware. However, as I was sitting in front of the patient and had a facial view of them, I noticed a mole on their lip. Eventually, we decided that this must have been the lesion of interest. So, we were then able to start taking photos of this mole and have them attached to the patient’s file. If I hadn’t been there, then there was a possibility that my operator would not have found this lesion.

Assisting also allows me to practice my communication skills. As an assistant, I have noticed that it is my job to make small talk with the patient when the operator is busy calling a demonstrator or speaking to them. In that time, I have developed the confidence to ask questions about the patients- like, how their day has been, commenting or complimenting something they have bought with them, or asking them what they enjoy doing. I’ve been able to develop rapport with people of different ethnicities, ages, and genders, which is something I am really proud of myself for being able to do. I enjoy comforting small children in the dental chair, as they can be upset, and then a minute later, smiling and laughing because of how I made them feel comfortable.

I can confidently say that whenever I have assisted this year, I have enjoyed it, and my skills and knowledge have developed in some form.