Did you hear that it was Dental Assistants Recognition Week from March 2nd-8th? If not, I’m here to tell you all about it.

A Theme of Embracing Change

The theme this year was “Dental Assisting: Embracing the Changes of the Profession.” As you know if you read my blog, dental assistants really have a wide variety of duties that they perform.

The president of the ADAA, Lori Paschal, says,

“The role of the dental assistant has evolved over the years, contributing to quality dental care.

“Whether working chairside, managing various aspects of the dental office or the laboratory, working in dental sales or educating future dental assistants, today’s dental assistants are role models of a professional and progressive force in the field of dentistry.”

I couldn’t agree more!

I love that there is a week set aside to highlight how well-respected dental assistants are. They are so critical to patient care and to assisting the team at any dentist practice.

I try to make it clear that I appreciate my dental assistants year-round, rather than focusing on that one week. Still, the fact that they have a week dedicated to letting the world know how fantastic they are is just so great.

We regularly do team building activities to build camaraderie in our office. It’s actually one of the biggest, most important things that we do. We often bring in experts to speak to us or have our staff go to classes. We love to learn how to function better to make the office more fun.

I hope you’ll take a moment to thank your dental assistants. It may not be the official week of recognition, but I don’t think that should stop you!

~Dr. Rhea Haugseth