I have read that AIT for dental specialist is 30 weeks. I was wondering if anyone has been through it or knows enough about it to tell what AIT is like?
When I went through the course it was 6 weeks. You study head and neck anatomy, effects of ionizing radiation, learn to take bitewing and periapical radiographs(x-rays). An interesting note on this is that in the x-ray portion, the dummies are actual human skulls covered with a rubber face and head. Mine had fangs like Dracula, but he was the easiest to get good pictures on! You also learn about dental records patient charts. This involves using a drawing of dentition to indicate all of the particularities of the patient's teeth, ie bridges, crowns, missing teeth, etc. It was stressed that when the dentist says "...the following disease and abnormalities were noted...", put DOWN your pen and pick up your pencil. That's because disease and abnormalities are temporary. Anyway, you learn the names and uses of a lot of dental instruments. Don't worry, you'll get plenty of practice identifying them all. You learn how to pass and receive instruments during procedures.(I thought that was kinda cool.) You'll learn how to greet the patients and make them comfortable and help them be calm. Of course you learn how to clean and sterilize instruments and the dental chair, How to arrange instruments for a filling, how to mix intermediate restorative material(IRM), alginate, and Dical. It's easy. Just study hard. Some things will come to you really quickly, others may not. If you like helping people, then you'll love being a 68E. What other job in the world can you have in which after you've helped stick needles in the persons gums, drill into their teeth while their mouth fills with water, yank them this way and that, they actually THANK you after it's done? It's a good feeling because you know that person is healthier than they were when they first sat in the chair. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
