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Samantha's Story

In Samantha’s previous healthcare job, it wasn’t uncommon for her to be working 16-hour overnight shifts. She knew she couldn’t sustain, or enjoy, that lifestyle much longer so she decided to look into other careers. “The home/life balance of a career in dental assisting was a huge draw for me. Dental assisting offers more manageable hours, more 9-5 with occasional evenings or weekends. Not only that, what really appealed to me about dental assisting was being able to help people, and to be in an industry that will always be in demand – it’s a very important aspect of health!”

She decided to quit her job and apply at KDM Dental College for a number of reasons, including our small class sizes and accelerated 28-week program. “I wanted to get my credentials quickly and get working. I also really benefited from a lot of one-on-one time with the teachers, who were absolutely incredible because they had been dental assistants for a number of years and had a wealth of experience and knowledge. They always took the time to answer questions. Everybody immediately was very kind and I ended up making a lot of friends that I still talk to.”

For Samantha, finding a job after graduation involved asking herself which aspects of dentistry appealed to her and evaluating her strengths. “I landed on administration and I really enjoy it. Currently, I'm a dental administrator and I'm also a treatment plan coordinator. Graduating from KDM and learning to be a dental assistant allowed me to better serve my office as well as my patients because I understand what goes into treatment plans. I can answer a lot of questions for patients and I really like working to get those treatment plans into action and help patients understand every step.”

Samantha says she would recommend KDM Dental College to anyone interested in dental assisting, and gives the following tips for new students:

• Keep up with your studying, it’s a fast-paced course!
• Take advantage of the opportunities to practice hands-on concepts.
• Ask for help if you need it, the teachers are very willing to offer one-on-one help.
• Study groups are a very good idea!