Leading dental support organization Pacific Dental Services (PDS) is joining the American Dental Assistants Association (ADAA) in celebrating the 45th annual Dental Assistants Recognition Week (DARW) from March 6-12. Dental assistants are instrumental in strengthening the entire practice and ensuring the health and happiness of their patients and dental teams. PDS and its supported dental practices are embracing this year’s theme, “Dental Assistants: Passionate About Our Patients, Dedicated to Our Profession,” with a week of celebration and events to honor its dental assistants and those training to become DAs.
“As Pacific Dental Services continues to grow our network of supported practices and advance dentistry through innovation and proven technology, we recognize that our nearly 5,000 dental assistants are key to the success of our supported dentists and organization as a whole,” said Stephen E. Thorne IV, Founder and CEO of Pacific Dental Services. “The extraordinary work dental assistants provide is essential to creating lasting relationships with patients and ensuring their optimal health. We extend our sincere thanks to all DAs for their dedication and commitment to facilitating patient-centric dentistry.”
Starting Sunday, March 6, and continuing throughout the week, PDS and its supported dental practices will take time each day to recognize their dental assistants. Pacific Dental Services is also celebrating the event through partnerships with Concorde Career College, Central Georgia Technical College, Dentsply Sirona, and the PDS Foundation:
- March 7: PDS is partnering with Concorde Career College in Portland, Oregon to create nearly 200 hygiene kits including snacks for homeless shelters with the help of dozens of dental assistants.
- March 8: Dental assisting students from Concorde Career College in San Bernardino, California will visit the PDS National Support Center in Irvine, CA for an educational computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) boot camp. The event consists of hands-on training focusing on the techniques of restorative crown imaging, design, same-day milling and glazing through CAD/CAM technology. Materials for this event were generously donated by Dentsply Sirona, a strategic partner of PDS and the world’s largest manufacturer of dental consumables and technologies.
- March 9: PDS is committed to advancing the professional skillset of dental assistants and will be providing mock interview and resume formatting training to students from Central Georgia Technical College. Additionally, Dan Burke, Chief Enterprise Strategy Officer at PDS, will be speaking with future lead dental assistants on the topic of leadership.
- March 10: Dental assisting students from Concorde Career College in Dallas, Texas will visit the PDS Dallas Support Center in Dallas, TX to attend a PDS CAD/CAM boot camp. Materials for this event were also generously donated by Dentsply Sirona.
- March 11: The PDS Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to improving overall health by improving oral health through opportunities to serve locally, nationally, and internationally, will be awarding the first set of Dr. Carolyn Ghazal Dental Assistant Scholarships for the year. Awarded quarterly, this educational scholarship provides DA students with need-based financial aid, mentorship, and on-the-job training, and aims to mold the next generation of passionate, servant-hearted DA leaders.
In addition to the 2022 DARW event schedule, PDS remains committed to elevating the dental assistant profession through opportunities for DA growth, development and education. PDS is investing a total of $5 million over three years in DA team member compensation and advanced training. Along with this, PDS recently donated $10,000 to The College of Health Care Professions in support of the Texas-based institution’s dental assistant program.
PDS recently championed dental assistants with the launch of its College Advancement Program, making it the first dental organization to offer DAs 100% college tuition coverage toward an undergraduate degree of their choice from Arizona State University’s online program. The program has allowed team members – including dental assistants – the flexibility and satisfaction of advancing their careers while earning their education debt-free – all while remaining employed full-time.
For information about joining the PDS dental assistant team, visit the Pacific Dental Services Careers web page.
About Pacific Dental Services
Founded in 1994, Pacific Dental Services (PDS) is one of the country’s leading dental support organizations, providing supported autonomy that enables dentists to concentrate on clinical excellence and the highest levels of cost-effective comprehensive patient care. PDS originated the Private Practice+ model to enable dentists to focus on their passion: serving patients.
PDS also pioneered the concept of Modern Dentistry so that dentists are equipped to combine advances in the latest technology with the best operational practices and procedures, highly skilled support staff and a commitment to ongoing training and education.
PDS continues to grow, with more than 850 supported dental offices across the United States. PDS has been on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America 14 times. PDS-supported dentists aim to be the provider of choice in all the markets they serve and to develop Patients for Life.
For more information, visit us at pacificdentalservices.com or follow us on Facebook: @pacificdentalservices | Instagram: @pacific.dental | LinkedIn: @pacific-dental-services | Twitter: @pacificdental | YouTube:@pacificdentaltv.
About Pacific Dental Services Foundation
The Pacific Dental Services Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization whose mission is to improve overall health by improving oral health, through opportunities to serve locally, nationally, and internationally. With that in mind, the PDS Foundation provides tools and resources to help build a lasting and sustainable impact on the communities we serve as well as on the volunteers who freely give their time. The vision of the Foundation is a world where everyone has a heart to serve and a home for oral health.
Through its three main programs: special needs dentistry, dental assistant scholarships and international service trips, the Foundation has been able to increase access to oral healthcare for communities across the globe.
For more information, visit pdsfoundation.org or follow us on Facebook: @pdsfoundation | Instagram: @pdsfoundation | Twitter: @pdsfoundation | YouTube: @pdsfoundation.
