How can you get experience as a dental assistant if no one if willing to give you the experience?

Most offices want you to have completed a program and passed a credentialing test. This allows you to do many things that an untrained, or "off the street" assistant is not legally allowed to do. They could only really allow you to clean & stock operatories, sterilize instruments, empty trash etc. Most of the time the Registered or Certified Assistants in the office have time to do these things so they would have no need to hire a person specifically for this, that they would have to train on top of it. Infection control procedures are huge in the dental office, so they would have to take quite a bit of time teaching you proper protocol before leaving you on your own for these tasks. If you are really interested in dentistry you should try to volunteer, and do your best to get into a program. Good Luck!

I'm interested in becoming a dental assistant too. Have you tried applying through websites like craigslist? Also, look through your local yellow pages and contact all of the dental offices in your area. See if you can speak with the office manager and try faxing or emailing your resume to them. If they require that you have experience, look into volunteering at a dental office for a few hours a week. Who knows, maybe that dental office may end up hiring you after a few months depending on your performance. Hang in there and good luck!