(gentle piano music) - At first, I didn't wanna go to college at all.

I wasn't really thinking long-term.

I was just gonna be a dental assistant.

But then once I got to Miami Valley Career Technology Center, it showed me I really wanted to go farther into dentistry, which is why I chose to go to the military.

My name is Alina Brown and my end goal is to be a dentist and to start my career path, I decided to go to Miami Valley Career Technology Center where I became a certified dental assistant in the state of Ohio.

Junior year was mostly academic work.

We learned about tooth morphology, infection control.

And then as I progressed through senior year, we moved to the more technical training, taking impressions on each other, actually practicing the infection control and sterilization.

You have the option during your senior year to come to school for half a day and go to a job that pertains to the skills that you're learning at CTC.

Coming to CTC, I think, for me and my peers, was just something so that we could kind of have a plan, but once I got here, I realized this is something that I need to take serious and if I do take it serious, it could help me in the future.

As a dental assistant in the state of Ohio, your pay varies on the qualifications that you have.

A entry level dental assistant isn't gonna make as much as a hygienist or someone who's mastered the craft.

I would say that entry level dental assistant makes around $12 to $18, whereas a dental hygienist may make more from $20 and on.

It honestly depends on your background.

The first certification that most dentists would probably look for is your CODA which is your certification in the state of Ohio.

And then as you get more comfortable in your skills, maybe an EFDA, which is an expanded functions dental assistant, and they basically do everything that can be reversed.

And then from there, maybe getting your degree in dental hygiene.

And if you decide to go up from there, you can get your coronal polish, maybe even become a dentist yourself.

As a dental assistant, your job is to basically make the dentist's job easier.

So anything that they would need as in infection control, making sure all of your instruments are sterilized correctly so you're not passing on any pathogens, just making sure that the office runs smoothly, making sure patients are coming in, making sure you're checking records.

You kind of realize that a lot of patients think oral health is just brushing and flossing.

They don't realize how gingivitis and tooth loss can affect them.

There's a lot of things that can happen to them systemically like heart disease.

So we try and educate the patient on ways to control whatever they have going on and just teach them about all the things that could happen.

So in the beginning, I was just gonna go out in the world and find a job.

But then I learned education is really something that you really need and finance problems should not be a reason why you do not do it.

So I just had to find something that would kind of negate that so that it could happen for me.

(light upbeat music) Through the Air Force, I became nationally certified, which means that if I decide to get out, I can get a job as a dental assistant anywhere.

You can actually become nationally certified in the civilian world as well.

There are programs that help military members get their education while they're deployed.

So I plan on taking advantage of those programs to get my undergrad and then applying to a dental school and just going forward from there.

(upbeat music) I'm very excited to move to Japan and to see the world and that's something that I really want to do.

Most of my family have come from the military so they were actually really excited that I was continuing the legacy, I would say, just to better myself and to see the world and just learn different things.

(upbeat music)