From the Career Center to the Clinic: A Dental Assistant’s Journey

Dental assistants are essential to any dental care team. Assistants handle patient intake and take X-rays. They sterilize tools, prepare exam rooms, handle administrative tasks and assist dentists with exams and procedures. It’s a job that requires a person to learn quickly, handle changing situations and communicate with many colleagues about many patients.

It's not necessarily a job that high school students dream about. Uzziah Bailey certainly didn’t – he dreamed of playing in the NFL. But Uzziah, a junior at Northland High School at the time, knew it was important to have a plan B. After touring Fort Hayes Career Center, he entered their Health Science career pathway, intending to pursue physical therapy.

Each morning of his junior year, he went to Fort Hayes to take the three courses required for anyone choosing a health care career program: Anatomy & Physiology, Introduction to Health Science and Medical Terminology. But after Uzziah’s junior year, Fort Hayes restructured its Health Science pathway program, which led him to consider other options. He’d been inspired by the dental educators he had met at Fort Hayes. Why not try the dental assisting program?

During his senior year, Uzziah took courses on dental tools and procedures. He prepared for the Registered Dental Assistant test and obtained his OSHA certification and Dental Assistant Radiographer’s Certification. He also shadowed the team at the Nationwide Children’s dental clinic. That was key to his education and his future.

Uzziah advises prospective dental assistant students to understand what kind of learner they are. As a hands-on learner himself, Uzziah sometimes struggled with classroom instruction. “Working with and learning from the dental assistants at Nationwide Children’s made it so much easier,” he said.

After graduation, Uzziah began working at Nationwide Children’s through the summer Youth & Young Adult Employment Program. Just eight weeks later, Uzziah was hired as a full-time assistant. He is grateful for the opportunity. “They took a chance on me,” he said.

But Uzziah isn’t just humble. He’s also very good at adjusting to the many variables of the dental clinic. Some young patients hate the dentist; others are calm and composed. There are a lot of dentists at the clinic, some of whom are dental residents from The Ohio State University. Uzziah assists them with everything from standard cleanings to emergency procedures. He’s genuinely interested in it all, and he likes working with kids. “I’ve heard that adults can be bigger babies about their teeth than kids,” he said with a laugh.

While Uzziah still plays sports, his dreams have changed. He’s currently studying to become a dental hygienist. Eventually, he wants to open his own dental practice here in Columbus, the place where his journey began.

Students who attend Columbus city schools can learn more about the Health Science career programs on the Fort Hayes Career Center website.

Young adults (ages 16-21) can learn about paid summer work experiences on the Nationwide Children’s website.

Published January 2026