Dental Assistant

Hours: 330 / Access Length: 12 Months / Delivery: Online, Self-Paced
Retail Price: $1,675.00

Course Overview:

As a member of the dental care team, Dental Assistants are responsible for helping prepare patients for dental procedures, and often assist with the procedures themselves.  Depending on the type of dental office, the dental assistant may even be involved in laboratory or surgical procedures.  However, regardless of the specialty, the dental assistant is responsible for providing direct patient care while working alongside the dentist.  This course will provide you with the information and skills necessary to serve in this capacity.  You will learn how to prepare patients for treatment, including taking X-rays and preparing the necessary equipment for each procedure.  You will also learn about the various dental specialties and the specific responsibilities of the dental assistant in each area of specialization. Upon completion of this course, you will be prepared to sit for the Dental Assistant Certification Exam through the Dental Assisting National Board and begin your employment as a certified Dental Assistant.

About This Course:

We are committed to offering world class interactive online courses that provide training and learning support for the student in a number of ways during their experience. This course structure has been developed to provide activities to guide students throughout the entire process of learning. Learning activities include hands-on assignments that allow students to use what they are learning to allow better transferable skills within their work environments.

When a student learns, they are not alone.   Each student will be supported by our student services department – which ranges from course mentors, registrar, and technical support assistance.   Every month students have a progress report run on them every month by our student services department to ensure they are making satisfactory progress.   If a student falls behind, we reach out to them personally by phone call every month to see if there is anything we can do to continue to assist them with moving forward in their course.

This course prepares the student to take the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) Dental Assistant certification exam.

Course Outline:

Lesson 1: Introduction to Dental Assisting

In this lesson, you will learn about the role of a Dental Assistant.  You will receive an overview of the job duties of a dental assistant, as well as the ethical and legal requirements of the profession. You will also learn about the history of dentistry and how it has evolved into what it is today.  You will also learn the importance of effective communication and multicultural interaction in dental care.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a thorough understanding of the role of the dental assistant and the ethical and legal requirements of the profession.

Lesson 2: Prevention and Nutrition

In this lesson, you will learn about oral health and prevention techniques.  You will also learn about the role of proper nutrition in dental health.  Dental assistants in the dental office have an important role in preventive dentistry. Dentistry is about preventing oral disease, such as dental decay, and preventing and caring for periodontal disease. Nutrition affects the entire body as well as the oral cavity. Knowledge of nutrition provides the individual with the information to make sound decisions. 

Lesson 3: Basic Dental Sciences

In this lesson, you will learn the basics of dental science.   The specific topics that will be covered include: General Anatomy and Physiology, Head and Neck Anatomy, Embryology and Histology, and Tooth Morphology.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a solid understanding of the dental sciences so that you are better prepared to provide quality care in a dental office.

Lesson 4: Preclinical Dental Skills

In this lesson, you will learn about preclinical dental skills.  You will be provide with information on the following topics: Microbiology; Infection Control; Management of Hazardous Materials; Preparation for Patient Care; Dental Charting; Pharmacology; and Emergency Management.  An understanding of these components is crucial for dental assistants to ensure proper patient care.

Lesson 5: Clinical Dental Procedures

In this lesson, you will learn about clinical dental procedures.  The first two sections of this lesson will provide an introduction to the dental office and basic chairside assisting, including information on basic chairside instruments and tray systems.  The remaining sections of this lesson will focus on instrument transfer and operating field maintenance, as well as anesthesia and sedation.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a solid understanding of the primary components of clinical dental procedures and will be better prepared to provide chairside care to dental patients.

Lesson 6: Dental Radiography

In this lesson, you will learn about dental radiography.  The first section will provide an introduction to dental radiography and equipment.  From there, you will learn about the production and evaluation of dental radiographs.  In the final section you will receive an overview of extraoral and digital radiography.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a thorough understanding of dental radiography and will be able to apply this understanding to the dental practice.

Lesson 7: Dental Specialties

In this lesson, you will learn about all of the different dental specialties.  This is the largest lesson of the course, as it spans nine textbook chapters.  However, the size of the lesson is necessary to ensure that all specialties are included.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will understand the following dental specialties: Endodontics; Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; Oral Pathology; Orthodontics; Pediatric Dentistry and Enamel Sealants; Periodontics and Coronal Polish; Fixed Prosthodontics and Gingival Retraction; Cosmetic Dentistry and Teeth Whitening; Removable Prosthodontics.

Lesson 8: Restorative and Laboratory Materials and Techniques

In this lesson, you will learn about restorative and laboratory materials and techniques.  The lesson will be broken into three topics, with each topic focusing on a different aspect of restorative and laboratory materials and techniques.  The first topic in this lesson will cover dental cements, bases, liners and bonding agents.  From there, you will learn about restorative materials, the dental dam, matrix, and wedges.  In the final section in this lesson you will learn about laboratory materials and techniques.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a solid understanding of restorative dentistry and the laboratory materials and techniques involved.  As a result, you will be better prepared to work with patients in a restorative capacity.

Lesson 9: Dental Practice Management

In this lesson, you will learn about dental office management.  Unlike previous lessons in this course, this lesson will not focus on clinical components of dental assisting.  Instead, this lesson will provide information on dental office management and employment strategies.  This information will help prepare you to work in a dental office and secure employment as a dental assistant.

All necessary materials are included.

Certification(s):

This course prepares the student to take the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) Dental Assistant certification exam.

System Requirements:

Internet Connectivity Requirements:

• Cable, Fiber, DSL, or LEO Satellite (i.e. Starlink) internet with speeds of at least 10mb/sec download and 5mb/sec upload are recommended for the best experience.

NOTE: While cellular hotspots may allow access to our courses, users may experience connectivity issues by trying to access our learning management system.  This is due to the potential high download and upload latency of cellular connections.   Therefore, it is not recommended that students use a cellular hotspot as their primary way of accessing their courses.

Hardware Requirements:

• CPU: 1 GHz or higher
• RAM: 4 GB or higher
• Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher.  1920x1080 resolution is recommended for the best experience.
• Speakers / Headphones
• Microphone for Webinar or Live Online sessions.

Operating System Requirements:

• Windows 7 or higher.
• Mac OSX 10 or higher.
• Latest Chrome OS
• Latest Linux Distributions
  

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

Web Browser Requirements:

• Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
• Latest Mozilla FireFox
• Latest Microsoft Edge
• Latest Apple Safari

Basic Software Requirements (These are recommendations of software to use):

• Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
• PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
• Courses may require other software that is described in the above course outline.