Successful Dental Assisting

Many of you have asked my about the “Secret Dental Assistant Manual” and how to get it.  Well, click the link in the title bar above and follow the instructions!  All the info in this blog and much more is condensed into a simple yet powerful how-to format.  No “information overload”, just the facts!

If you have questions, especially after you are a member of the club, feel free to write me anytime. 

Cheers,

Christian

A job is a job, not a charity.  If you are like me you work to live, not live to work! 

Sometimes after being part of the same office for a long time the dentist just sees you as a part of the office, not an employee.  Meaning, you are so essential yet so easy to have around that they forget about you.  Well, not really you, but your needs, such as reviews and salary increases.  So, tip #3 goes like this:

Don’t loose sight of your personal needs!

Yes, you come first.  Actually, everybody should come first to themselves…it is nature.  So, don’t forget about yourself.  Talk to the dentist.  When is your next review?  What can you do to enjoy your job more?  What will it take for a salary increase?  ASK and you shall receive! 

Try it and let me know what happens…I am curious!

Making more money as a dental assistant is nice, but we all know, money does not make happy…all the time.

I attended the AACD meeting in Texas last week and it was amazing.  Networking, building skills, and lots of social events.  Well, some dentists actually brought their team/assistants to this meeting!  That usually is a sign of a good office.  Would you like to work for a dentist that takes you to a resort for 5 days, pays you, pays your stay, food and entertainment and all he/she expects is that you learn by attending some of the most amazing lectures in your field?  I would hope you all said yes!

Happy dental assistants work for offices that appreciate them.  We as dentists want a first class team, and if this type of adventure helps create that, so be it.

Are you a happy dental assistant?

Dental assistants salary depends on many things.  Don’t get frustrated if you are not getting a raise, get proactive!  Did you ever hear the phrase, the squeaky wheel gets the oil?  Well, that works, to a certain extend, as well for getting a raise.  Here are a few pointers to help you make more money as a dental assistant and loose that frustration:

1. Are you a dental assistant that you would hire?  Are you wanting a raise or deserving a raise?
2. Don’t let the frustration build.  Talk to you dentist, ask them if you are performing well and what you could do to improve.  Then do it!
3. A raise is not automatic.  You do not get paid more for working somewhere.  You get a raise for being a better employee, an asset to the business.  Don’t expect a raise, earn it.
4. Dental assistants salaries range widely geographically.  There are limits to what a dentist will pay a dental assistant.  Maybe it is time to consider discussing a bonus system for the office instead.

Timing is critical.  If the office is not performing well then don’t even think about asking for a raise.  Raises are given when money is being made, not lost!  The more money you help put into your dentists pockets the more likely you will receive a raise.

Zig Ziggler once said that getting things in life, whatever it is you want, is simple.  All you have to do is help people get what they want.  The more you help others get what they want, the more you will get yourself.  Make sense?

Happy Assisting!

Oh, and please sign up for our RSS feed

Tip #2 is an important one!  You are judged not just by the dentist, but by the patient.  Often the patient will leave a dental practice because his assistant or hygienist is “rough”.

Remember, lips only stretch so much, and everything in the mouth is magnified!  It may feel like a little bump of the suction against a tooth to you, but to the patient you may as well have cracked the tooth in half.  The notice, even if they don’t say anything, especially if you don’t apologize or seem to care.  This goes for placing the mirror or suction against the gingiva as well…very soft and tender tissue – it’s not a rest for your instruments!

So, tip #2 – be GENTLE and CARING.

Which are you:

A)  A Display Assistant?

b)  A Proactive Assistant?

Let me explain.  Some assistants hold the instruments in their hand and require the dentist to “grab” them.  This requires us, the dentists, to take our eyes off the task at hand and look for the next instrument.  This is what I call “display assisting“.  It really is quite inefficient and drives dentists nuts. 

Don’t be a display assistant, be proactive.  Passing instruments requires that the assistant actively pays attention and places the instrument, with some force, into the dentists hand while removing the old instrument.  After a little practice the dentist and assistant will be a perfectly smooth team.  The dentist won’t have to look up at all and the assistant understands all procedures and how the dentist works, anticipating all his/her needs.

Display assistants are no help to dentists. We may as well have a tray we can pick instruments up from!

When applying for a job, YOU are the product.  You may be a dental assistant looking for a raise, or maybe an interview, but note that everything about you will be judged, usually within the first 20 seconds, regardless of what you are looking for.  Fair?  Nope, but reality.  Therefore it is critical that you make those 20 seconds count. 

Note that this can also happen over the phone, not just in person!  Every conversation is a job interview, or a raise review.  Make every moment count.  After a while you will not just walk the talk but you will be the talk.  It will be natural for you to act a certain way, and that is when you will become the highest paid dental assistant! 

Let me expand a little…This applies to all aspects of life.  We judge our doctors, our friends, everyone, usually in the first 20 seconds.  So here are a few important things to consider:

• Did you dress for success?
• Do you look well kept?  Meaning hair, nails, TEETH, smile, skin, etc.?
• Does your body language radiate the correct signals?  Are you scared/closed up?  Are you smiling?
• Are you quiet?  Do you take the initiative?  Are you submissive or engaging?

Think about what you want to come across as.  You have met people that you are just blown away by.  They seem “natural leaders”.  Take Obama for an example.  He looks sharp, is well groomed, definitely engaging, and radiates confidence.  That is easily noted within the first 20 seconds.  Now, not to be political, but it is an easy example.  Compare that to McCain.  Do you see a difference?

Decide where you stand and what you stand for.  A New Year is always a good time to drop a bad habit and start being the person you want others to see you as, and soon enough you will be that person.

QUESTION:  Who knows what the symbol above means?

HAPPY NEW YEAR

It has been a tough year for many people out there.  Bad economy, bad job market, bad flu, bad overall.  It will be up to you to change all that for 2010.

Set realistic goals, small goals, so you can achieve them and move forward.  Large, unrealistic goals only make you feel bad about now achieving them and sets you even further back.

2010 could be one of the best years ever for all of us.  The upside is tremendous!  Start the year of right.  Find a job you love.  Get paid what you are worth.  Make an effort to do something you love every week.  Life is short, don’t waste it! 

The Secret Dental Assisting Manual not only helps you get a job and a higher salary, but it teaches basic principles of life that helped me succeed personally.  This is a great place to start…

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

It has been a great year, and I wanted to wish you all a wonderful Holiday Season!  Thank you for making this website a success.  May 2010 be a successful year for you all.

Christian W. Hah, DDS

Key to Success

Thank you all for your great feedback!  The Manual is there to help you get started, and this blog is here to continuously update the information and help answer your questions.  In today’s economy we all need to stand out to succeed or get left behind.  It is my goal to make you all the best dental assistants in the field!

Let me let you in on a little secret about the secret manual…This manual is not just for dental assistants.  It is not just about dental assisting.  It is not a boring how-to assist manual.  It is really about what I have learned over my lifetime that has helped me personally achieve my level of success, compiled into a short but powerful manual. 

Successful people think and act differently.  All the books I have read about success have a common thread.  At first I was always looking to find the magic bullet to success, which does not exist, as we all know.  This was a frustrating journey.  The more I read the more I felt I was not getting this magic bullet UNTIL I stepped back and took it all in.  Success is an atitude.  Success is a mindset.  Success is a lifestyle.  Everybody can be successful, you just need to know where to start.  Well, that is what my manual is about.  This is the grammar of success for dental assisting…you must know and live this stuff before you can read and write success! The Key To Success is in your hands now, what you do with it is up to you.