This program is designed to provide students with knowledge and skills for all areas of the modern dental office, including the dental operatory and laboratory and the business office. Upon successful program completion, students are eligible to sit for the Dental Assisting National Board certification and to apply for registration with the Arkansas State Board of Dental Examiners. The program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association. Contact the Allied Health and Human Services Division for admission requirements. Enrollment in Dental Assisting courses is limited. Students are selected through a formal acceptance process. Students must be 18 years old, with a high school diploma or GED, and have completed all of the application components in order to start the Dental Assisting program. This program of study includes special program fees beyond current tuition and college fees.
Program and Graduation Requirements:
- Successful completion of classroom, laboratory and preclinical training with a minimum of a “C”.
- Successful completion of clinical training with a minimum of a “C”.
- Successful completion and certification in American Heart Association BLS.
- Dental Assisting students successfully completing the first semester, but failing to complete the second semester, will be given an opportunity to complete the program during the following academic year. Students unsuccessfully completing the fall semester must retake unsuccessful courses during the following fall academic year. After that time, students are required to complete the entire program to be eligible for graduation.
In addition to satisfying the Institutional Learning Outcomes, program graduates are expected to successfully address the following program learning outcomes:
- Students will prepare and perform coronal polish and fluoride application procedures on a manikin and two classmates
- Students will be able to demonstrate the operation of the basic components of the x-ray machine and control panel.
- Successful completion and certification in Inducing and Monitoring Nitrous Oxide Analgesia.
Program graduates will be able to effectively accomplish the following learning outcomes specified by Commission of Dental Accreditation (CODA):
- Preclinical Instruction - Essential Dental Assisting Skills - Curriculum content includes didactic and laboratory/preclinical objectives in the following dental assisting skills and functions.
- Take/review and record medical and dental histories
- Take and record vital signs
- Assist with and/or perform soft tissue extra/intraoral examinations
- Assist with and/or perform dental charting
- Manage infection and hazard control protocol consistent with published professional guidelines
- Prepare tray set-ups for a variety of procedures and specialty areas.
- Seat and dismiss patients
- Operate oral evacuation devices and air/water syringe
- Maintain clear field of vision including isolation techniques
- Perform a variety of instrument transfers
- Utilize appropriate chairside assistant ergonomics
- Provide patient preventive education and oral hygiene instruction
- Provide pre-and post-operative instructions prescribed by a dentist
- Maintain accurate patient treatment records
- Identify and respond to medical and dental emergencies
Chairside Dental Assisting Functions - Curriculum content includes didactic and laboratory/ preclinical objectives in the following dental assisting skills and functions.
- Assist with and/or apply topical anesthetic and desensitizing agents
- Assist with and/or place and remove dental dam
- Assist with and/or apply fluoride agents
- Assist with and/or apply bases, liners, and bonding agents
- Assist with and/or place, fabricate, and remove provisional restorations
- Assist with and/or place and remove matrix retainers, matrix bands, and wedges
- Assist with and/or remove excess cement or bonding agents
- Assist with a direct permanent restoration
- Fabricate trays, e.g., bleaching, mouth guard, custom
- Preliminary impressions
- Clean and polish removable dental appliances
- Place and /or remove retraction cord
- Place and remove periodontal dressing
- Perform orthodontic functions; limited to changing/placing archwires, ligatures
Advanced/Expanded Dental Assisting Functions - Graduates of a CODA-accredited program are authorized to perform additional functions defined by the Arkansas State Board of Dental Examiners, and the program curriculum includes content at the level, depth, and scope required by the state. Curriculum content includes didactic and laboratory/preclinical objectives for the additional dental assisting skills and functions. Students must demonstrate laboratory/preclinical competence in performing these skills in the program facility prior to clinical practice.
- Perform radiographic procedures
- Perform pit and fissure sealant application
- Coronal Polish
- Perform monitoring and/or administration of Nitrous Oxide - oxygen analgesia
Dental Practice Management - Students will demonstrate competence in the knowledge at the familiarity level in dental practice management:
- Computer and dental software
- Business ethics and jurisprudence
- Business oral and written communications
- Inventory systems and supply ordering
- Maintenance and retention of business records
- Management of patient information
- Recall systems
Dental Science - Standards and content are integrated throughout the didactic, preclinical, laboratory, and clinical components of the curriculum.
- Bloodborne pathogens
- Hazardous communications
The Associate of Applied Science in Allied Health prepares students for allied health careers. The Dental Assisting option is available for students who complete the Technical Certificate in Dental Assisting at UA - Pulaski Technical College.
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