Dental assisting is becoming a more in-demand job across the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the profession will keep growing in the near future, and there will be many opportunities for individuals with dental assistant training or experience to find work. The requirements to become a dental assistant differ from state to state. Some states require you to pass an exam and become certified; other states have no certification rules and allow individual employers to handle the hiring and training of dental assistants.
Whether you pursue becoming a dental assistant through a certification and training program or via on-the-job experience, you'll undoubtedly have some sort of internship or laboratory period. During this time, you'll have to gain practical experience and prove your skills to an employer in order to become a full-time dental assistant. Going through this internship or training experience can be stressful on its own—you're under pressure to learn and perform while you're still new in the profession. If you have to deal with accusations of misconduct or unprofessionalism in addition, it can be downright overwhelming to finish your dental assistant training.
At the Lento Law Firm, we believe that all your work and studies shouldn't go to waste over a mishap or miscommunication. If you get accused of some kind of wrongdoing, you should take it seriously, no matter how minor it may seem at first. Our Student Defense Team has years of experience helping students with misconduct issues at their schools, internships, and other programs. We created this guide to dental assistant internship issues to help you understand what could go wrong and the best way to deal with it.
Dental Assistant Training Requirements
The process for becoming a dental assistant isn't the same in every state. Some states allow you to gain on-the-job experience with an employer as a sort of internship, whereas others require dental assistants to have certifications or pass an exam. The Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) is the nationally recognized certification organization for dental assistants. Most states recognize DANB exams and certifications, but 11 states don't.
To know whether you have to have certification as a dental assistant in your state, you should check with your state's board of dentistry. For example, New York's State Board for Dentistry requires passing a Professional Dental Assisting exam, as does the Maryland State Board of Dental Examiners.
In order to get the training and knowledge you need to pass a dental assisting exam, you may be able to join an academic program at a school of dentistry in your state. These programs typically last one year, and some of them have required laboratory (practical) components.
As dental assistant training can follow several different paths, the scope of discipline you could be subject to for alleged misconduct is wide as well.
Types of Dental Assistant Internship Discipline
As a dental assistant student, you could encounter any of the following types of discipline:
- Employer discipline: When you're working as a dental assistant intern, your employer is usually responsible for your training. They'll probably ask you to follow their rules and policies for employee conduct. If you don't, you might be subject to disciplinary action such as a formal reprimand or even suspension of your training program.
- State licensing discipline: If your state requires you to have a dental assisting certification and you are accused of misconduct while working toward achieving that certification, the misbehavior could fall under the purview of the state licensing organization. Your state's board of dentistry most likely has rules about professional conduct and an adjudicatory process for dealing with complaints against any healthcare provider working in the dental field.
- Certification organization discipline: The DANB has conduct rules concerning its national certifications and exams. If you don't follow these rules when taking your exam or when it comes to renewing your certification, you might face disciplinary measures—including the loss of your certification.
Whatever type of discipline you're dealing with as a dental assistant student, our Student Defense Team at the Lento Law Firm can help.
Misconduct During a Dental Assistant Training Program
Allied health professionals like dental assistants are held to a high standard of professionalism and ethical conduct. As such, there are several behaviors that can get you in trouble or lead to a formal misconduct allegation. Typical examples are:
- Practice-related misconduct: If you don't follow standard procedures or the directions of your internship supervisor, you may be accused of not providing patients with the appropriate standard of care. You aren't expected to know everything as a dental assistant in training, but you are expected to follow basic rules concerning patient care.
- Substance abuse misconduct: Working while under the influence of legal or illegal drugs or alcohol is prohibited for almost all healthcare professionals nationwide. An allegation of substance abuse on the job is very serious.
- Sexual misconduct: Becoming sexually involved with a patient is usually highly frowned upon. Your employer may also have rules about intimate relationships with patients, and if you break these rules, it could lead to discipline for you.
- Fraud: Saying you performed procedures you did not, giving false information about your background, or tampering with patient files are all examples of fraud, which is a serious offense that could get you in a lot of trouble.
How to Resolve Misconduct Allegations
Allegations of misconduct can come from almost anywhere when you're a dental assistant. As a result, there's no standard procedure for resolving misconduct issues—it depends on who accused you and the type of misconduct allegedly committed. Your employer may have a policy for dealing with employee behavior that is much more informal than your state's dental association.
Although it differs based on the accusation, you can generally expect the process to involve the following:
- Meeting or notification about the accusation
- Investigation
- Hearing
- Appeal procedures
Meeting and Notification
If the allegation against you is serious, you might receive a notification about it via a formal channel, such as an email communication or even a letter from your state dentistry board. If it's from your employer, you may be called into a meeting so they can tell you. At this point, you may be asked for a statement regarding the allegation; you will probably be able to take a few days to submit a written response to the allegation.
Investigation
Most state dental agencies will conduct an investigation to see if the complaint against you has any merit. An employer should do the same. During this phase, you might be asked to answer questions or provide information concerning the complaint.
Hearing
If the investigation points to a possibility that the complaint is valid, you might have to go to a hearing or have another meeting with your employer. For more formal hearings, you might be able to have an attorney present with you and even speak for you. For less formal ones, you may not be allowed to have anyone else with you, but you can still have an attorney coach you on what to say and how to respond to questions before the hearing takes place. The hearing will probably involve the presentation of evidence and questioning witnesses. Afterward, there will be a decision on whether you are indeed responsible for the misconduct and should receive a penalty.
Appeal
Most adjudicatory procedures have an appeal process if you're unhappy with the outcome after the hearing. Your Student Defense attorney can help you write and submit an appeal so that the decision can be reconsidered.
Do You Need an Attorney for Dental Assistant Internship Issues?
If you are having misconduct or other issues with your dental assistant internship or training program, you might benefit from hiring a Student Defense attorney, like the team at Lento Law Firm. Although it's not a legal issue, our attorneys have experience helping students of all kinds with professional problems during their studies and can assist you. We can go over the problem with you, coach you on how to handle meetings with your superiors or exam advisory boards, gather evidence and collect character witness testimonies in your favor, and even start litigation if it comes to that.
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team Can Help
If you're a dental assistant intern and someone has filed a complaint against you regarding conduct or professionalism, you should contact the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team. Complaints can come from your employers, patients, or the DANB—no matter who they come from, you can and should stand up for yourself. The allegations against you could be very serious and may end up staying with you throughout your career. If they're bad enough, they could prevent you from becoming a dental assistant.
You've worked too hard in your dental assistant training to have one accusation or misunderstanding derail everything. Our student defense attorneys have helped students all over the country with handling allegations, attending hearings and meetings, and negotiating lesser sanctions or penalties.
Don't try to resolve a misconduct allegation on your own. Your future career is too important. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or contact us online to schedule a consultation with our Student Defense lawyers.
