What is an Expanded Function Dental Auxiliary and how they help our patients

Amanda | October 26, 2011

The Dental Nurse

My name is Amanda; I am one of the Expanded Functions Dental Auxiliary’s here at Grandview Dental Care.  Have you ever wondered what that name means?  I like to think of us as being the “Dental Nurse”.

Where do you go to get this certification?  If you are a Dental Assistant first you have to become a Certified Dental Assistant (CDA).  To do this you have to a certain amount of Dental Assisting hours or years of experience. In High School I knew what I wanted to be so I chose to take the Technical route and my Junior and Senior year went to Paul C. Hayes Tech for their Dental assisting program.  I started working as a Dental Assistant my junior year and earned a lot of hours this way.   You then have to take and pass a three part computerized test.  Once you pass this test then you can apply at a credited program for  E.F.D.A.  I chose The Ohio State University for my training.  I applied there and had to take a pre-requisite course which consisted of a written and hands on test.  From there they only accepted the top 30 students to be in the E.F.D.A. Training course.  It is/was very competitive course.

What can E.F.D.A.’s do?  There are many permissible duties we are allowed to perform as E.F.D.A.’s.  Some of these more common duties are placement of sealants, placement of restorative materials (Fillings), gingival retraction, cavity susceptibility testing, demonstration of oral hygiene procedures, fluoride placement, suture removal, monitoring of vital signs, removal of orthodontic bands and brackets, irrigation and drying of canals during endodontic procedure, and many more.

Why have and E.F.D.A?  Dentistry can be stressful so having us around can help alleviate some stress of the office as a whole.  It allows time in the day to day schedule for emergency patients.    Let’s face it an E.F.D.A. allows the Dentist to live a healthier longer and more productive life!