The dental profession began to evolve thousands of years ago and the first dental tools were made of bone powder, egg shells and honey. The earliest dental instruments were fashioned at barber, goldsmith and jewellery shops and were used to repair or clean teeth. Pierre Fauchard was one of the first surgical dentists to have recorded a treatise on the subject of dentistry.

The dental profession in the UK has shown remarkable progress and takes pride in addressing the oral hygiene requirements of the population. The GDC or General Dental Council is a regulatory body that is responsible for maintaining high standards in the field of dentistry. The dental profession is governed by a set of codes of ethics or laws that help to integrate the requirements of patients, the public and dental professionals. The standards help to ensure adherence to quality and protect the interests of patients.

As with conventional medical practice, dentistry is also associated with unexpected mishaps and emergencies, despite the best efforts of dental teams. Hence, it is crucial for dental practices to obtain legal and valid patient consent before every irreversible and/or invasive procedure.

The success and efficiency of a dental practice depends on the ability to meet patient expectations, whilst working together in a spirit of mutual cooperation. The patient begins to form impressions of trust (or apprehension) right from the start, so it is extremely important for dental team staff members to put the patient at ease and allay their fears.

Regular preventative care can help to delay or eliminate the likelihood of dental and oral disease. Instead of neglecting oral health and putting off regular visits to the dentist, it is a much better idea to pay regular visits to the dentist to prevent the onset of more complicated dental issues. In other words, preventative care is an extremely important investment in the long run - patients are likely to save themselves pounds, as well as anxiety.

Just as in other fields, professionals in the dental field use specific and special terminology during communication. Familiarising yourself with important dental jargon will help to enhance your ability to interpret and understand instructions and information correctly. Learning important dental terms is critical, in order to become successful in your career.

Fluoride is an essential component of dental hygiene and health and helps to strengthen tooth enamel during the pre-eruption and post-eruption stages. The primary benefits of fluoride include a reduction of dental caries for deciduous as well as permanent teeth. Additional benefits include a reduced likelihood of extensive dental care in the long run. The reduction in dental caries also results in decreased instances of malocclusion in permanent dentition. Fluoride also helps to improve bone density, which results in a reduced loss of bone and better resistance to chewing action. The decay resistant dentition also leads to improve periodontal health.

Understanding of physiology and anatomy is extremely important and helps the assistant to provide more substantial care to the patient. A deeper knowledge of the respiratory system, digestive system, circulatory system, endocrine system and skeletal system are helpful, to make the patient comfortable in the chair during treatment. The assistant can also check for breathlessness or facial twitching and report the symptoms to the dentist, as well as record it in the patient's chart.

Dental assistants play a crucial role in preparatory patient care, by recording information related to medical, dental and personal history. Accurate medical history helps to formulate a treatment plan that takes into account important factors, such as allergies, prior surgeries, medications and so on. It also helps to prevent complications during dental surgery. The assistant should also record body temperature, pulse rate and blood pressure during every visit. Modern dental offices use automatic blood pressure machines, to record systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

One of the most important functions of the dental assistant is to hold, transfer and receive instruments back in the treatment room during procedures. This is no small task and the assistant's competence can determine the efficiency of the entire dental process. Instrument transfers can either be performed as one-handed or two-handed operations. The assistant should generally use their left hand to transfer instruments to the dentist's right hand, assuming that the dentist is right-handed. Instruments are generally passed on to the dentist under the nose and near the patient's chin. Sharp instruments, such as forceps and scissors, must be carefully and deftly transferred, to avoid injuries and accidents.