Dental Assisting Program
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| Program Overview |
The Dental Assisting curriculum prepares individuals to assist the dentist in the delivery of dental treatment and to function as integral members of the dental team while performing chairside and related office and laboratory procedures.
Course work includes instruction in general studies, biomedical sciences, dental sciences, clinical sciences, and clinical practice. A combination of lecture, laboratory, and clinical experiences provide students with knowledge in infection/hazard control, radiography, dental materials, preventive dentistry, and clinical procedures.
Graduates may be eligible to take the Dental Assisting National Board Examination to become Certified Dental Assistants. As a Dental Assistant II, defined by the Dental Laws of North Carolina, graduates work in dental offices and other related areas. |
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| Program Length |
The Dental Assisting program is a full year in length divided into two semesters and a ten-week summer session.
One class of thirty-six students is accepted annually, beginning with the fall semester. |
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| Entrance Requirements |
While detailed entrance requirements are listed in the school catalog, in summary each applicant must:
Complete and submit an application for admission
Submit official high school and college transcripts
Complete placement inventories
You have two opportunities to take each placement test. If you do not score minimum on the first attempt, please see the admissions representative to schedule yourself into a testing workshop prior to your second attempt. This will greatly increase your chances for success. |
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| Program Costs |
| Total cost of the program is approximately $2,100 - $2,500 for North Carolina residents. This estimated amount, which is divided over three semesters, includes in-state tuition, books, uniforms, and mandatory professional liability and accident insurance but does not cover the costs of travel to and from clinical sites. Other expenses for Dental Assisting students are the costs for recommended immunizations against Hepatitis-B and the application fee for the Dental Assisting National Board certification examination. |
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| Transfer Credit |
| Credit is given for equivalent related course work (i.e., Applied Communications, Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology and Psychology) successfully completed at this or other accredited educational institutions. There are, however, certain limitations that apply to transfer credit; these factors are considered as individual courses and evaluated for possible transfer credit. While transfer credit or related courses taken before admission into the program "lightens" the course load and allows students more time to focus on core courses, transfer credit does not shorten the length of the time it takes to complete the program. |
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| Program Accreditation |
| Our Dental Assisting program is fully accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association, a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council on Post-Secondary Accreditation and by the United States Department of Education. This status assures quality in every aspect of the program from curriculum content, to facilities and equipment, to test construction, to faculty and student ratios. |
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| Role of the Dental Assistant |
| Dental Assisting is a challenging and rewarding health-science field in which individuals work with a licensed dentist to meet the total dental care needs of patients. This valuable dental auxiliary performs a wide range of tasks including chairside assisting, office management, laboratory procedures, patient education, dental radiography, and selected intraoral functions. In North Carolina, graduates of an ADA accredited program are eligible to perform certain intraoral expanded functions that cannot be delegated to office-trained personnel. |
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| Overview of Program |
| The program at Guilford Technical Community College is a competency-based curriculum that provides the learning experiences necessary for qualified individuals to gain the knowledge and skills needed to obtain employment as vital members of the dental health team. The first semester of the program is spent in classroom learning experiences and laboratory practice where each student must demonstrate specified levels of competence in all tasks. Once laboratory competence has been met, students obtain clinical competence during the second and third semesters via rotating assignments with general and specialty dentists and through assignments in the on-campus clinic. |
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| Dental Affiliates |
| Guilford Technical Community College maintains affiliation agreements with numerous dental facilities in our service area. These general dentists and dental specialists provide a broad scope and depth of actual dental assisting experience for our students. In addition, we operate an on-campus dental clinic in the spring semester to further develop our students' mastery of technical skills. |
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| Transfer to Dental Hygiene |
| Curricula in Dental Assisting and Dental Hygiene programs have only a few courses in common, making transfer of courses limited. Evaluation of these courses for transfer is made on an individual basis by the school accepting the credits. A background in Dental Assisting greatly increases the ability to succeed in a Dental Hygiene program. |
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| Professional Certification |
| Certification in Dental Assisting is granted by the Dental Assisting National Board, Inc. (DANB) to graduates of accredited programs who meet specific requirements including successful completion of a task-oriented examination in General Chairside Assisting, Dental Radiography, and Infection Control. Certificants maintain certification through a program of continuing education. |
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| Legal Aspects |
| The Dental Laws of North Carolina include Rules and Regulations pertaining to Dental Assistants which differentiate between two classifications of Dental Assistants based on education, training, and experience. A Dental Assistant who has successfully completed an approved program such as ours qualifies as a Dental Assistant II and is allowed by law to perform certain intraoral and expanded functions not delegable to the Dental Assistant I. The abilities of formally trained assistants to perform these expanded duties increases their value to the dentist employer. |
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| Employment Opportunities |
| Employment opportunities in our service area are primarily in private general practice where all types of dental procedures are performed or in one of the specialty practices such as oral surgery or orthodontics where the focus is limited. Other excellent career options for formally trained Dental Assistants are positions in dental auxiliary education, in federal dental facilities such VA Centers and military bases, or in public health dentistry. The job market is excellent for Dental Assistants locally and nationally as a result of the increased demand for formally trained assistants who enable the dentist to provide the quality and quantity of dental care required by today's patients. |
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| Average Salary |
| The average starting salary of recent Dental Assisting graduates averaged $15.00 per hour for 32 to 36 hours per week . . . no weekends or shift work. Many employers provide benefits such as uniform allowance, continuing education, dental care and profit sharing in addition to base salaries. |
