Thursday, September 21, 2006

I Suck Spit For a Living

Yes, that's right...I suck spit out of people's mouths for a living. Every day, from 8-5, sometimes the hours are longer. No, I'm not employed by the city of Paris to french kiss people in public to bring back the romanticism of the city (yes, it's true they really have done it!). I'm a Dental Assistant. My job includes many responsibilities, I could list them for you, but when it comes down to it, basically I have to keep people from choking to death on thier own spit while the dentist and I shove our hands and many instruments in and out of their mouth. Excited about your 6 month check-up?

I began my career in the Dental Industry when the Insurance Industry was sucking the life out of me after 2 years of working with some of the most boring material ever: insurance policies. Eventually I plan on becoming a dental hygienist; MCV didn't want me the first time I applied to the program. Now I know the right people, and we all know that's the main thing that helps you get ahead in this political world.

I love teeth and I love my job. No seriously, I love it. I truly enjoy going to work. If working as a hygienist didn't pay a gajillion trillion bucks more, I'd be an assistant for the rest of my life. The office I'm working at now is the third dental office I've been employed by...best office ever. First two dentists I worked for=horrible. Current bosses=awesome. And really, my job is not stressful at all. The most stressful part of my day comes when the satellite (for the t.v.'s in EVERY operatory) isn't working and we have to listen to the radio. j/k, sorta. Actually the most stressful aspect of my day comes when the seemingly thousands of women I work with are on estrogen overload and create unnecessary drama. That's probably the worst thing about working in dentistry, not enough men to balance out the craziness of us women.

Some of my patients can be pretty annoying too. I mean, I know visiting the dentist is no cake-walk, but really people...get a grip. If you hate it that much, you need drugs...and we offer a variety to make your experience as pleasant as possible for you (and us).

I kinda like gross stuff, which I think is an important quality when I'm required to look at people's mouths all day (a.k.a. the dirtiest part of the body). My favorite procedure's to assist are any surgery's: extraction, placement of titanium implants, bone grafts, tissue grafts.

Now that I've established just how strange I really am, let me encourage you to go to the dentist: nobody likes smelly breath, and clean teeth keeps it to a minimum!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great blog. I'm a DDS and my best hygienist ever was formally my assistant. Keep trying for RDH school. It's well worth the effort.