To become a dental assistant, one requires both technical and interpersonal skills. Dental assistants perform different tasks depending on state regulations. The patient scope, different training, and roles are what differentiate dental assistants from other dental auxiliaries. Part of their job is helping the dentist during procedures. To become a dental assistant, you need to pass the dental assisting exam and get the certification.
The certification is, however, not mandatory in all states for entry-level dentists. But before you get a job as a dental assistant, you may have to submit your resume, which will determine whether you qualify for the interview. When you qualify for the interview, you will need to prep for it. Prepping does not have to be stressful since you can go over some of the common questions they ask during interviews. Our copy will highlight some of the most frequent questions asked during dental assistant interviews and how you should be prepared to answer these questions.
Why Did You Choose to Be a Dental Assistant
Whenever you are prepping for an interview, you need to know the answer to this question. For some people, this question may be a simple no brainer because they are passion-driven. When answering this question, you need to show and make the interviewer feel that you love the job, find it pleasant, and generally love helping people. To pass this point across, tell them about the moment you decided you wanted to be a dental assistant.
You could have been a child inspired by your role model, who is perhaps a family member or a kind dental assistant you met. It could also be that you found the job fascinating and decided that is the career path you want to pursue. Avoid giving an answer that makes it seem like you are just trying to put food on the table, take care of your family, or want the job to help you pay bills.
What Are Your Long-Term Goals and How Does Being A Dental Assistant Help You Actualize Them?
How you answer this question is entirely dependent on whether you’d like to further your education to become a dental hygienist or if you only want to be a dental assistant. If you would like to become a dental hygienist, you could tell the interviewer what steps you are taking to achieve that goal.
You can further explain that since being a dental assistant is very practical and hands-on, it will help you gain all the necessary skills and experience. If you would only like to be a dental assistant, explain that you would like to gain experience and be the best dental assistant. You can explain why you will be satisfied with being a dental assistant and why being one is your ultimate goal.
What Was Your Favorite and Least Favorite Part of Your Education and Training?
When answering this question, you can talk about all the good experiences you had during your training and the skills you gained. If you got good grades, this would be an excellent time to talk about that. When telling the interview about the parts you did not like, ensure you back it up with an explanation and acknowledge the importance of the subject. It would be best not to come across as someone who has trouble with a particular subject. While you are at it, ensure you exude confidence when giving your answers.
According To You What Is The Most Valuable Skill a Dental Assistant Should Possess?
First, acknowledge that technical skills are essential to possess as a dental assistant since, they practically, dictate how well you do your job. However, having interpersonal skills is just as important. Visits to the dentist are not always pleasant. More often than not, they are quite stressful. Therefore, the patients always seek comfort from the dental assistant.
Being empathetic and possessing good communication skills will come in handy when relating to patients, especially with children who always lookout for an adult who will be kind to them and comfort them. Therefore, interpersonal skills are the most valuable skills that a dental assistant can possess.
Why Did You Choose Our Practice?
Try not to talk about the proximity of the job to your home or the attractive salary they offer if you can avoid it. Focus instead on the quality of healthcare their practice provides. You can talk about how you saw they had one of the best dentists, and it would be a pleasure to work with them. If you or anyone you know has visited the facility before, you could let them know that their service is exceptional.
You can also talk about the excellent equipment they have, how technology savvy they are, or the superb reputation their practice has. However, if they do not have any of the listed qualities, you could let them know you came across the job application and found the offer quite enticing. Tell them you believe that working with them will help you gain experience and let them know you plan to add value to their practice.
Tell Us About Your Working Experience
If you have working experience, tell the interviewer about it. How long you worked there, the kind of relationship you had with the dentist, and the experience and skills you gained from the job. They might follow this up by wanting to know why you left. You could explain that although it was a good job, you need to challenge yourself and grow your skill by working in a different practice.
You could also say that their practice offers more promise and is one of the best there is, so you believe it would be a good fit for you. If you have no work experience, explain that you gained sufficient skills during training since it was practical, although you do not have work experience.
You could be asked more questions, but the ones listed above are some of the most common ones. Ensure that you answer all the questions confidently and clearly state the value you can add to their practice. Lastly, please talk about the skills you have gained as a dental assistant and why they make you the best candidate for the job.
