Voice of Harvey
EDITOR: While reading your recent “Statues” editorial with the big screen in the background blasting the Weather Channel news of the day, I wrote the following for the citizens of Windsor, the USA and our planet.
Voice of Harvey: Through the voice of Storm Harvey, the planet has spoken, “It’s time for America to diminish and detoxify extremism in all its forms and realize that we are our own enemy by what we have done to the planet while shifting from fear to reconnoiter swiftly without further ado the country’s resources, mindset, culture and politics to fight the real enemy.”
Steven R Craig
Windsor
Assistance
EDITOR: Phillips Family Dental Care is celebrating 50 years of service to our community. But in order to continue to provide the outstanding care that our patients have come to expect, we need a trained and skilled dental team.
Years ago we had a shortage of dental hygienists in our community. But now it has become evident that our community is in need of more dental assistants. Dental assisting requires both clinical and social skills and is a wonderful career with opportunities in general dentistry, oral surgery, endodontics, periodontics, pedodontics, prosthodontics and orthodontics.
Interested in becoming a dental assistant? Our local dental assisting program at Santa Rosa Junior College offers an 11-month, full-time, intensive course or there is a part-time course over 22 months with a total of 26 students starting the program each fall. The program costs $4,100 not including the cost of the state exam and licensing. The SRJC program includes an internship experience; however, one can become a Registered Dental Assistant without formal schooling as many private and specialty dental offices are willing to train on the job often starting as a sterilization assistant at a full-time or part-time schedule. Just ask around to see who might be willing to train a newbie.
An unregistered dental assistant may perform basic supportive dental procedures. Within 12-months of hire, the minimum training requirements include completion of courses in the Dental Practice Act, Infection Control and CPR. In addition, a dental assistant can take a 20-hour radiation safety course to earn a certificate to be able to take x-rays to be a more valuable employee. The class is offered at SRJC through Community Education.
If not going the dental assistant school route, after working 1,280 hours on the job, one can challenge the board by taking the exam with a passing grade to become registered. The test includes a computerized general knowledge exam, and a law and ethics exam. (The hands on practical exam has been suspended until 2020 as it is being re-evaluated.) Experienced and highly skilled registered dental assistants can make up to $28 per hour in the Santa Rosa area.
For more information about a career in dentistry, check out the dental programs at SRJC and check out the Dental Board of California website.
Sherry Phillips
Windsor
