Dental Assisting Certificate

Additional information available on the Dental Assisting Department website.

A dental assistant is a skilled and essential member of the dental health care team in the delivery of preventive and restorative dentistry. The continuing demand for dental assistants makes this program an opportunity for a productive career. The Dental Assisting certificate program prepares students for employment as chair-side dental assistants. In addition to the prescribed coursework, a minimum of 300 clinical hours is required to complete the program. Graduates of the certificate program are eligible to take the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) Examination. Successful completion of the DANB Examination awards students the status of Certified Dental Assistant (CDA).

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the Dental Assisting certificate program, students should be able to:

• Assist a variety of procedures in the dental office in a professional manner (e.g. restorative, oral surgery, orthodontic, preventive, endodontic)
• Perform infection control procedures consistent with current industry standards
• Respond to medical emergency situations in the dental office (e.g., take and read vital signs, review health histories, prepare emergency drugs and equipment for use)
• Produce a variety of intraoral and extraoral radiographs of diagnostic quality
• Prepare various dental materials (e.g., cements, resins) for clinical and laboratory purposes