In an era where dental offices are facing staffing shortages and increasing pressure to cut costs, many dentists believe they’re solving a problem by hiring individuals “off the street”, those with no dental training or experience, to serve as dental assistants. It’s a short-term fix with long term consequences, both for the practice and the profession.
While it may seem like a time saving solution to train a new assistant on the job, this approach often leads to chaotic outcomes, lost revenue, poor patient experience, and clinical inefficiency. I know this not just from industry research but from firsthand experience. I’m often the person dentists call when the situation becomes unmanageable.
Here’s why training someone without formal education or experience as a dental assistant isn’t just risky, it’s unfair, unsustainable, and, in many cases, unsafe.
You’re Training for a Job. When a dental assistant receives formal education and training, they’re building a career pathway, not just learning how to “suction” or “pass an instrument.” Real training gives them knowledge of tooth morphology, dental anatomy, sterilization protocols, medical emergencies, materials science, patient communication, OSHA compliance, HIPAA, and more.
When dentists bypass that process, they’re teaching someone how to help with their way of practicing, not how to function in dentistry as a whole. That assistant will likely flounder if they ever change offices or states. Worse, they’re often blamed for mistakes rooted in a lack of foundational knowledge they were never given the opportunity to learn.
Dentists are highly educated experts in diagnosis and treatment, but the dental assistant’s brain operates on a different level of real time action. A good assistant is three steps ahead, not just reacting to what the dentist says, but anticipating it. Here’s the reality: a dentist’s brain is wired for precision, analysis, and control.
An assistant’s brain must be wired for multitasking, quick decision-making, room flow, emergency response, patient management, and speed. Training someone from scratch requires not just knowledge transfer, but behavioral conditioning, and that takes professional structure, not a few rushed hours between patients.
Dental assistants are on the frontlines of sterilization, OSHA compliance, patient safety, and medical emergencies. I’ve seen more than one case where an “off the street” hire mishandled a sterilizer cycle, improperly disposed of biohazard waste, or failed to recognize a medical red flag, putting the entire practice at risk.
Hiring untrained individuals and hoping they “learn on the job” is a liability, not just ethically, but legally. Regulatory boards are cracking down on improper training and unauthorized delegation. If an untrained assistant performs something outside their scope, and your office can’t produce documentation of education, you’re liable.
Let’s be honest, how long do these off the street hires usually stay? Without a professional foundation or clear career path, most of them leave. Why? Because they weren’t trained to succeed. They were trained to survive. And that’s exhausting, for them and for the dentist.
A study from the ADA found that offices with trained, career-focused dental assistants reported 30–40% higher retention rates. Why? Because trained assistants feel confident, capable, and respected. They see a future.
You might think you’re saving money by skipping formal training, but in reality, you’re leaving revenue on the table. A well trained assistant contributes to:
•Faster chair turnover
•Improved patient experience
•Better treatment acceptance
•Smoother procedures
•Fewer clinical errors
•And a less stressed out doctor
When you train someone without structure, they don’t know how to manage the rhythm of your day, and you become the bottleneck. That costs time, productivity, and ultimately money.
Let’s address the most common things I hear from doctors who choose the “off the street” route:
“I don’t have time to wait for someone to go through formal training.”…… You also don’t have time for turnover, clinical mistakes, OSHA violations, or frustrated patients. Investing a few weeks or months now saves you years of headaches later.
“I’ll just teach them myself, my way works fine.”……. Your way may work for you, but it doesn’t build transferable skillsets, confidence, or compliance. Assistants aren’t meant to copy the doctor, they’re meant to complement them. That requires foundational training and critical thinking, not just mimicry.
“They’ll get better with time.”………. Time doesn’t equal training. Without the right framework, they may be reinforcing bad habits or dangerous shortcuts. You don’t become a pilot by flying a plane without ground school. You don’t become a clinician by “just winging it.”
“We’re short staffed so I’ll take who I can get.”…….. And yet the revolving door continues. You don’t fix burnout or understaffing by hiring untrained labor. You fix it by investing in systems that create retention, competence, and culture. There are fast track solutions, you just need to use them.
“It’s how I learned back in the day.”…….. Respectfully, times have changed. So have laws, materials, procedures, patient expectations, and technology. What worked 30 years ago would get your license questioned today. Dentistry is evolving. Your training model should too.
The solution isn’t to stop hiring green candidates, it’s to invest in their training. Partner with local programs. Enroll them in accredited continuing education. Consider fast-track workshops like Tooth & Talent’s Expanded Functions program, which gives assistants elite level skills in just two weekends. Mentorship matters, but only when paired with structured, standards based education.
Training someone “off the street” may feel noble or economical, but if we want to elevate the dental profession, we have to stop normalizing this shortcut. We owe it to our teams, our patients, and our profession to build careers, not just fill chairs. Let’s raise the standard. Let’s train for excellence, not just survival.
Want help building a training pipeline or up-skilling your team the right way? Visit www.toothandtalent.com or call 270-202-8929.
Let’s create the dental workforce our industry deserves.
