Dental: Assisting

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Overview

Choose BTC’s Dental Assisting program to train for a position as a dental assistant. Learn how to provide patient care, perform office duties and lab work, while working alongside dentists as they examine and treat their patients. Graduates will find employment opportunities with dental, orthodontic, and periodontal offices, as well as hospitals, public health departments, or in clinics.

This non-accredited certificate course is designed to introduce the student to the fundamentals of dental assisting. The certificate is composed of two quarters, the first quarter includes core educational courses and an introduction to the dental assisting profession, plus dental anatomy. The second quarter offers the foundational knowledge that will allow the graduate to enter into the work force prepared to be trained on the job by a dentist. The certificate foundational courses will ensure that the student has the relevant training to perform their job safely, a component that is often missing for dental assistants who are trained on the job.

The Dental Assisting Program is approved by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).

This certificate will introduce the student to the National Entry Level Dental Assistant (NELDA) exam offered through the Dental Assisting National Board, should the student choose to take the exam.

The NELDA exam is comprised of three component exams:

1. Anatomy, Morphology and Physiology
2. Infection Control
3. Radiation Health and Safety

The certificate will be based on the Exam Outlines available through the Dental Assisting National Board website for each of the three components with additional content added to the Foundations of Clinical Procedures course.

Program Outcomes

After successfully completing the Dental Assisting certificate, students will be able to:

• Apply academic, technical, and professional skills to effectively contribute to the dental health team
• Apply cognitive retention of dental terminology, theory, and science
• Expose and evaluate intraoral and extraoral radiographs implementing radiation safety and processing skills
• Verify critical thinking, problem solving, and positive work ethics as they directly relate to the Dental Assistant profession
• Validate the importance of National Certification and participation in professional activities and education opportunities.

Placement Requirements

Admissions application and assessment testing in Reading, Math, and Sentence Skills are required. Your score on the test and/or your previous transcripts will determine where you begin your course sequence. Contact Admissions at 360.752.8345 or at admissions@btc.edu for assistance with academic planning.

Certificate Requirements

Dental Assisting Certificate completion requires a cumulative GPA of minimum grade of C/2.0 for all required courses.

Programs

• Dental Assisting Certificate

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