Online and Distance Learning

If you are interested in having a career in dental assisting then you need to get a dental assistant degree or diploma. This page provides information about these programs and helps you to find a school and training that suits you.

As a dental assistant you provide comfort and care to people with many care needs. Good assistants are people with the required technical knowledge who are good with their hands, good communicators, and work well as part of a dental health team.  An assistant to a dentist will be reliable, have good manual dexterity, work well in a fast paced environment.  This type of career is growing fast and if you are interested in this field, then you will need to get your degree or diploma to compete with others in this industry.

If you are interested in the health and medical assisting field, you might also like to check the pages on Medical Assistant, Dental Hygiene, Medical Transcription, and Home Aide.

Where can you study dental assistant degree programs?

Here are some selected universities and colleges where you can get your diploma or degree for dental assistant or similar qualification:

• Blue Cliff College
  • Dental Assisting Diploma

• Penn Foster Career School
  • Dental Assistant

• Heald College - Career college with campuses in California
  • Dental Assistant

• Everest College - Career college with many campuses
  
  • Dental Assisting

• ATI Career Training Center - campuses in Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and New Mexico
  
  • Dental Assistant

• Browse more schools and programs at the foot of the page.

• Search for dental assistant degree programs.

Dental assisting as a career

This kind of career choice is rapidly growing in the medical field and there are some really excellent employment opportunities. The people who choose to work in this field will work 30 up to 40 hours per week. They are known to be important and valuable assistants to the dentist.  They will be expected to help the dentist with administrative duties and handle examining and also treatments for patients.

One thing about this kind of assistant is that it is a two fold job. Meaning that at one time the assistant will handle many administrative duties, like the scheduling of appointments, the paying of bills, maintaining and organizing a patience records.

The assistant will also be involved with instructing patients with oral hygiene and how to care for their teeth and gums. They will sterilize and provide care for all of the equipment, prepare x-rays, apply some anesthetics and also prepare impressions.

What is involved in sudying dental assisting degree and diploma programs?

If this sounds like something that you find interesting and you want to become part of this medical field, then you will need to obtain a degree or diploma. You will need to complete your high school diploma and then from there you will follow through with a diploma or degree that is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) for the US.

A dental assisting program will usually involve taking class room lectures and also some rigorous hands on training within this type of field.   This program can take eleven months to complete. The key areas that will be taught from these programs ijnclude: daily office procedures and billing details, business and communications skills, terminology, oral histology, anatomy and physiology, handling equipment, patient care, first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, radiography, dental health and nutrition, infection control, orthodontics, health care laws and regulations (OSHA and HIPPA). 

Careers prospects

This type of degree is becoming one of the most sought after degrees in the medical field. This career will lead to a bright and rewarding future in the dental industry. This profession is expected to continue growing as more dentist are in need of some good and responsible people to work as assistants. 

The average salary rate being quite high makes this field very enticing to get involved with. This can be the career choice for many provided that they do have the sufficient education that will be required for this kind of work.

For more schools and programs