Dental assistants: The goods and the bads of the job,schooling, cost of program, salaries 

Dental assistants have different requirements for their certifications depending on where they practice in USA.
They are there to help dentist perform the dentistry to the highest standards possible.
Interestingly some go school for dental assisting and some do not. Most schools offer a year long or two years of training which prepares them to take Xrays, set up rooms for different procedures like restorations, root canals, extractions, implants, ortho and much more.
Some dental assistants take additional certification called as EFDA and are capable of performing more procedures. Some states let them do fillings as well.