(exciting music) (doors squeaking) (soft music) - My name is Dana Trager.

I'm an expanded functions dental assistant at Modern Smile in Drums.

I had worked a lot of jobs prior to becoming a dental assistant.

And so, I think all of those different jobs kind of led me to this path to where I am now.

Nope, it's not those.

Back in high school, when we took our aptitude tests, they said I would be a great dental hygienist.

I've always loved going to the dentist.

And so one day I researched dental assisting.

And I said, "Hey, you know what?

I think I might pretty good at that."

And so I enrolled in school, and became a registered dental assistant in 2009.

And instantly fell in love with it.

Go ahead and open.

This is mint.

It tastes vaguely of mint.

Dental assisting really suits my personality.

Just be happy we're done with the raspberry.

And it really takes the strengths that I have, in a field that I will never run out of work in.

Everybody has teeth, everybody needs teeth.

So I will always have work, and I will always love coming to work.

(soft music continues) And bite down gently.

Right hand, wrist up.

Perfect.

(energetic music) A typical day at work for me is busy.

Busy, busy, busy.

Oh, you do have some chip in there.

I am moving from the time I walk in the door until the time I leave.

Pretty sure we can fix that up.

Go ahead and open.

My first and foremost task is to take care of patients.

But taking care of patients involves a lot of things.

It involves listening to them.

It involves setting up a room for the procedure.

And making sure that I have every instrument and medicament that I might need for that procedure.

Story of my life, I'm always looking for somebody.

It involves taking clinical notes.

It involves sterilizing instruments.

It can involve taking impressions, pouring up models.

Digital dentistry, we do CAD/CAM here, so we manufacture crowns.

That's part of my job description.

I do a lot, I do a lot, I do a lot.

(energetic music continues) (machine whirring) Going through the schooling, I really enjoyed the science behind what we do.

This is a a CAD/CAM milling unit.

This is our computer aided manufacturing.

What we do is we manufacture our crowns here in the office, either out of a glass ceramic, a lithium disilicate, or a zirconia.

What I enjoy the most about my daily routine is that almost there is no routine.

It's different every day.

It's different hour to hour sometimes.

It can change on the fly.

And I like being adaptable, and I like being able to make things work for patients, even if it's not what we planned for the day.

Lift your head up for me.

To become a dental assistant, you can do it in many ways.

You can become a certified dental assistant, which is through the Dental Assisting National Board.

Through experience, you can get a job, no experience required, and get on-the-job training.

You will need a license to take radiographs, X-rays, for that.

But DANB can also help you with that.

I became a registered dental assistant in California through a year of schooling at San Jose City College.

And I became an expanded functions dental assistant with two years of schooling at LCCC, Luzerne County Community College.

(bright music) And open for me.

Dental assisting has been a fabulous career.

There's always room for improvement.

There's always room for increases in pay with dedication to your practice and to your craft.

I work a four day work week.

So we work 40 hours in four days, so I always have a three day weekend.

Which affords me a lot of time to do the things that I want.

Which is maybe not monetary, but time is a real commodity as well.

And I love that dental assisting gives me the time to do the things that I want, and to spend time with the people that I love.

(bright music continues) So what happened?

- What do you mean what happened?

- With the tooth?

What brings you in here to see me?

Some of the highlights and the most rewarding aspects of my job are transforming someone's smile.

You know, a smile is the first thing you see on a person.

And when someone comes in afraid to smile, or ashamed of their smile, and you can change that, and have an active role in changing that.

It's really life changing, not only for the patient but for you, because you've changed someone's confidence, and you change how they approach the world.

And having a part of that is really special.

Very good.

All right, I think it's back to school for you, dude.