Cradling a tiny, hollowed-out acrylic dental crown in her palm, McKenzie Scott proudly holds up her handiwork. "It's number 19, a first molar," the student said as if making an introduction. In dental care, every tooth (and corresponding crown) has an assigned number — much like a street address. This one lives on the lower left, two-thirds back, in a wider neighborhood of 32 teeth.
It's a morning lab and students of the Central Oregon Community College (COCC) Dental Assisting program, in gray scrubs, face masks and blue medical gloves, are gathered around a workstation in the Health Careers Center's dental lab. All are focused on shaping temporary caps.
The counter is crowded with instruments and mouth models — hinged sets of simulated teeth called "typodonts" — as the students move through the design sequence. They squeeze gooey purple impression material from dispenser guns into small trays, then use the typodonts to simulate patients biting down, which scores an impression. Then they backfill the one "address" in the impression with fast-hardening acrylic resin, before removing the new temporary crown and refining its fit and feel with Dremel-type tools. Start to finish, it's all meant to be accomplished in about 10 minutes.
"There's a lot of technique to it," said Scott, demonstrating the method of bracing one hand over the other to best grip and apply the micro-grinding hand tool. She works the foot pedal of the powered unit, carefully taking off the excess material. The device's high-pitched whine claims the room.
In a white lab coat, Lynn Murray, M.Ed., the program's co-creator, director and a certified dental assistant herself, comes over for an assessment. "It looks great, go ahead and polish it," she encouraged. Scott heads to the buffing machine, ready for the final step.
Dental assistants, whose role in the industry involves everything from making retainers and crowns, to presenting treatment plans and overseeing front offices, to handling X-rays and the sterilization of instruments, receive comprehensive training at COCC.
A state-of-the-art, clinic-like space in the Health Careers Center contains eight individual operatories — each with its own dental chair, dedicated instruments and ready manikin — and a connected laboratory houses a range of dental materials and technology. Students learn about radiographic procedures, dental science and specialties, composites and computer systems. A D V E R T I S I N G | Continue reading below
In all, they cover 60 competencies, combining technical skills with soft skills, such as communication with patients. Even phrasing is figured in: "Pain," for instance, is quickly traded for "discomfort." (COCC also offers a transfer degree with a pre-dental hygiene focus for students planning to become hygienists, and a pre-dental transfer degree for those interested in becoming a dentist.)
COCC's community dental clinic, held twice a month on the Bend campus during the school year, has a long history of collaborative care and teachable moments. Learning from local volunteer dentists, students find a new stride through the clinic. It helps them earn requisite clinical hours, which they can also perform at local practices.
The in-depth training has put many meaningful, high-demand careers in motion. Helping people, of course, is the shared focus. Recent graduate Michelle Rooks is finding a rewarding second career as a dental assistant. With her kids grown and gone, she decided to seek some growth of her own. "What's most gratifying about what I do is the connection that you get with your patients," she said. "The look on their face when they come in upset and you can help them…the comfort that you can give your patients explaining what's going to happen."
"We have several COCC Dental Assisting graduates working at our office," says Dr. Amberena Fairlee. "I personally love working with them because they are very well-prepared for the dynamic days we can have." Fairlee knows much about that preparedness part: She's a 2007 graduate of the Dental Assisting program, who ultimately received her DMD a decade later. "I never thought the program, or COCC, would be the spark to change the future of my life, but it totally was."
The Dental Assisting program operates as a three-term cohort design, launching a new group of students each fall. Interested students should complete prerequisites in advance.
COCC's spring term begins on March 28; March 20 is the admissions deadline. Discover your own calling by visiting cocc.edu or calling 541-383-7700.
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