My job

For the past year I've been working as a dental assistant in an orthodontics office. I absolutly love it and have so much fun. I work with 4 of the greatest girls ever and we are constantly laughing and talking which makes the day go by so much faster even though I think we get on the doctor's nerves a bit. He always tells us he wants quiet but he should know that hiring 4 girls won't give him any quiet at all. We usually see 40 to 50 patients a day. It sounds like a lot but it never feels like it. Even with a schedule that seems packed we still sometimes find ourselves standing around waiting for something to do. Typically I assist the doctor in putting the braces on our patients and taking them off. I also tie and un-tie the patients braces... in other words put on and take off the colors. It can be really gross sometimes because 8-16 year olds don't really know how to brush their teeth but after a while looking at the pre-chewed food doesn't even phase me anymore. I also take x-rays and do records. Records are the step the patients go through before they get their braces on. It involves x-rays, pictures of their teeth and a set of "mug shots", and impressions. Impressions are the worst, those are the molds that are taken of your teeth and they taste really nasty and make most of the patients gag. I usually have atleast one kid a day throw up next to my feet. The job sounds really gross but I absolutly love it. After I graduate from Manhattanville I'm going back to school for dental hygiene so I can become a hygeinist and I can't wait!