I'm up in arms, need some advice! Dental istants?

Contact the school to get financial aid information, they should be able to guide you. First though, you may want to check if you even need to go to school for it. Where I am (Texas), I learned everything on hand, they trained me in the office. Some dentists prefer that because then they can show you their way and a lot of the technical stuff isn't necessary. Check the want ads for dental istants and apply or just call around and ask if their istants require a degree/certificate. You will most likely need to be registered, which consists of three different test areas and if you went to school, these would be included. If you choose not to go to school, you may be responsible for the material on your own, it really depends on your state requirements and the dentist you work for. My boss always paid for any certification we needed along the way. Also if you decide to go to school, you may be forced to get an evening job instead to allow you to study during the day. Dental isting is not hard, it is however; repetitive. I switched from general dentistry to orthodontics after 5 years, it gave me more responsibilities and the pay was better. You meet a lot of different people and it can be rewarding at times. Don't ever feel like a failure. It's never too late to go back to school and don't let anyone tell you that you can't do something!