How to Get Certified As a Dental Assistant
The Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) establishes national guidelines for the profession and administers the dental assisting exam and certified orthodontic assistant exam. To become a certified dental assistant (CDA), individuals must meet training requirements and pass three components of an exam.
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Things You'll Need
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Dental assistant training
- CPR certification
- Certifying examinations
Instructions
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Check your state requirements for dental assistants. To perform basic dental assistant duties, such as receiving patients, preparing patients and dental instruments, and handling charts, many states do not issue formal education requirements. States do establish education and/or certification requirements for dental assistants looking to perform advanced duties, such as performing radiology procedures. Requirements include passing a state board exam in radiation technology or having DANB certification. State requirements are available through DANB.
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Review the three components of the CDA exam. The Radiation and Health Safety (RHS) component tests your knowledge of X-ray equipment and safety requirements for radiation imaging. The Infection Control component (ICE) tests your understanding of proper sanitizing methods and safe equipment handling to limit the outbreak of infection. These two components do not have education or document requirements. The General Chairside Assisting (GC) component tests knowledge to perform required dental assistant functions. It requires documentation of completion of dental assistant training from a school accredited by the Commission on Dental Assisting. Applicants with 3,500 hours of recent dental assisting experience can forgo the education requirement and take the CDA exam.
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Get dental assisting training to meet the eligibility requirements for the for the GC portion of the CDA exam if you have limited or no prior work experience. Locate an accredited program offered through a vocational school or community college on the DANB.org website. Accredited programs are sorted by state.
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Become CPR certified. Aspiring CDAs must be certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to be eligible to sit for the CDA certification exam. CPR training classes are available through DANB-approved providers, such as the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross. (See Resources 3 and 4)
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Apply for and schedule your test dates for CDA exam components. If you meet the eligibility criteria for the GC portion of the CDA examination through education or sufficient work experience, you are ready to apply for all three components. While you do not need to take all three at once, you must complete them within a five-year period. Fill out an application for the GC exam portion, supplying work and education documentation. Applications for all parts of the exam are available in the candidate guide on the DANB website. Print out the applications and submit them to the national board. Upon acceptance, you will directed to a local test center to take the computer-based exams. Your certification materials will be sent to you by mail once you have passed.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit two dentist image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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pleasebewell
Aug 14, 2010
Great article. One may also find accredited programs at the American Dental Association site. Please only consider programs accredited by the ADA :) Before actually applying to a program, one may want to look at some dental textbooks such as at the local community college that offers DA and also job shadow/observe a DA while at work. With training, please forgo those private overpriced for-profit tech schools and instead consider the more affordable county vo-tech school or community college as long as the program is accredited within the industry.
