Health Information Technlogy
Dental assisting is both a challenging and a rewarding profession. Dental assistants are people who like helping others, enjoy working closely with patients and other members of the dental team, and like working with their hands. In fact, assistants frequently are relied on as the dentist’s “other set of hands.”
There is no lack of variety in the types of tasks that dental assistants perform. They prepare equipment, materials, and instruments for patient care; perform sterilization and disinfection procedures; provide patients with instructions for dental procedures; create temporary crowns; provide coronal polishing and placement of sealants; take impressions of teeth; create study casts (molds); take and review patient medical histories; expose and develop radiographs; and perform a variety of other duties. They may also be responsible for administrative tasks, such as billing, patient verification, scheduling of various types of treatment appointments, and material inventory.
Assistants may work in a general-practice office where a dentist provides multiple types of treatment, including restorative/operative work (fillings), prosthetics (crowns, bridges, and dentures), and perhaps some surgery. They may want to specialize for work in periodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, pedodontics, or orthodontics.
In the state of New Mexico, dental assistants can become certified to perform the following expanded duty tasks: radiology (taking xrays), coronal polishing (polishing of teeth and removal of stains), fluoride treatments (the act of placing fluoride on a patient’s teeth), and sealant placement (used to prevent decay). These certifications are obtained through the State Dental Board and are a portion of the Dental Assisting National Board Certification Exam.
The Dental Assistant program at DACC is nationally accredited by the American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Program Accreditation. It is also recognized by the New Mexico State Board of Dentistry as a continuing-education provider.
Required Skills and Abilities
Students will need to demonstrate good oral expression (speech clarity) and written comprehension in English, critical thinking skills, near vision, and physical stamina (e.g., the ability to stand for long periods of time), as well as the ability to manipulate dental/ medical equipment, move/lift patients and equipment up to 50 pounds without assistance, and perform patient care procedures with manual dexterity.
Program Admission Special Requirements
The Dental Assistant program is a limited-entry, special-application program. When a candidate is considered for acceptance into the program, the following factors are taken into account:
- High school and/or college transcripts and GPA
- Proof of residence
- Copy of current healthcare provider CPR card and immunizations
- Completion of ENGL 111G and computer literacy course— required prior to applying (completion of other general education and related requirements also considered)
- Completion of program application (submitted before deadline)
Course fees
In addition to tuition, a fee of $400 is charged for each of the following courses: DHYG 122, DHYG 132, DHYG 212, and DHYG 222.
