Dental Assistant

Video transcript

"I finished school and I didn’t know what to do so I looked at getting a traineeship. Sixteen months later, I got my Cert 3 in Dental Assisting and I’ve been doing it ever since.

My name is Lorena Walker, I’m a dental assistant and I live in Alice Springs.

I help the dentist in treatments with the patients, in theatre, I go out bush on occasions with a dentist or a dental therapist. I help in sterilising, health promotions, I go out to schools to let the kids know how important it is to brush their teeth, and to have good healthy teeth and gums and to eat healthy.

It’s a year of training, and a couple of times within that year they send you down to group training for a week. In that week, they give you assignments to do. At the end of the year you get your certificate 3 in dental assisting and that’s recognised all over the world. I enjoy everything about my job. Just working with people, all different types like working with kids, working with old people, going out and working with Aboriginal people as well. I think that being Aboriginal and seeing Aboriginal patients is a good thing, especially when you get people from communities who come in and are a bit shy or don’t really want to talk to anybody. Just seeing another Aboriginal person makes them feel comfortable. I love it."