The responsibilities of a dental instructor include developing lesson plans to teach students in a course about the prevention, examination, and treatment of diseases of teeth and the mouth. This can consist of dental equipment preparation, materials for restoring and impressions, proper disposal requirements for contaminated waste, dental radiography, and how to maintain dental equipment. There are also opportunities available as a dental assistant instructor, who teaches administrative skills, or a hygiene instructor, whose duties are to demonstrate hygiene best practices and techniques in classroom and clinical settings. A dental instructor is expected to stay current on industry practices and discoveries through professional and occupational development.