Dental Assisting
Certificate
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Admissions Requirements
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• Must have a
high school diploma or GED.
• Test into MAT 099 and ENG 101
• A
HOBET composite score of 45 % is required.
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Required HOBET scores must be achieved within two attempts of taking the
test.
• 1 year High School Biology or QCC equivalence grade "C" or higher
• 1 year High School Chemistry or QCC equivalence, grade "C" or higher
• Attend a Health Information Session
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Next Step
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A second option
majoring in one of three Allied Dental Services offerings resulting in
an Associate in Science Degree.
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The Dental Assisting Certificate program
prepares graduates to perform a wide range of patient care duties in
the dental office. Dental assistants support dentists by obtaining
necessary health history information, maintaining patient comfort
during examinations, providing necessary instruments and materials to
the dentist during surgical procedures, taking radiographs, and casting
impressions. The dental assistant manages a variety of office-related
duties including scheduling and confirming appointments, updating
patient records, generating bills, following third-party payments, and
ordering supplies and materials. A significant increase in demand for
dental services over the next three to five years suggests strong
employment opportunities in this field.
The curriculum provides students with the theoretical content and
pre-clinical and laboratory experiences necessary to develop the
competence and ability to make judgments regarding intra-oral,
chair-side, and laboratory procedures. Courses in business office
procedures and basic computer usage are also included. In addition,
students will be required to complete a series of clinical rotations
arranged by QCC in a variety of general and specialty dental practices.
Upon graduation, students will be prepared to take the Dental Assisting
National Board examination in order to achieve the Certified Dental
Assistant designation.
Upon completion of this program, students will be prepared to obtain
employment as a dental assistant. In addition, students will be
prepared to continue their studies at the associate's degree level in
such disciplines as allied dental services or dental hygiene. A QPA of
2.0 or above and completion of all clinical hours, competencies, and
clinical learning activities/requirements are required for graduation
from the program.
A Health Careers Advising Center has been established to facilitate the
entry of students to health care programs. All students applying
to the Dental Assistant program can contact the Health Careers Advising
Center at 508.854.4308.
A Criminal Offender Records Information (CORI) and Sexual Offender
Records Information (SORI) check is required of all students accepted
into the program. Finger printing and drug testing may be requirerd.
Graduation Requirements
Once admitted into the program, students must achieve certain standards
in order to continue in the program. Students must achieve a grade of C
or higher in all DAS, BIO 140, DHY 125, DHY 131 and DHY 241 courses.
Students who have received a grade below a C in BIO 140, DHY 125, DHY
131 and DHY 241 are required to repeat the courses and obtain a grade
of C or higher by the end of the cluster/semester in which they are
required or required as a prerequisite.
DHY courses with a C or higher grade may be transferred to the Dental
Hygiene Program within two years after completion of the Dental
Assisting Program. Students may need to retake the two core DHY
courses if more than two years has elapsed.
Dental Assisting Bridge to Dental Hygiene
Initiative
Dental Assisting Graduates may be eligible to by-pass the Dental
Hygiene wait list if the following criteria are met:
1. Minimum grade point average of 3.3
2. Minimum grades of “B” in all QCC DHY courses
3. Minimum “A-“ in the DAS 151, DAS 153, and DAS 155 courses
4. Two recommendations from QCC DHY core course faculty of which one is
from a full-time faculty member
5. BIO 111 and BIO 112 must be completed prior to the start of Fall
classes wiht a passing grade of "C" or better.
6. Current dental hygiene admissions requirements including a minimum
"B" grade in Biology and Chemistry as well as the TEAS test
will be waived. These requirements may be used to determine
eligibility if more than two students qualify for admission.
Two seats in the dental hygiene freshmen
class will be
reserved for currently enrolled dental assistants scheduled to graduate
in this current academic year. Students must bridge directly
from the Dental Assisting program to the Dental Hygiene program.
"Bridge" selection applications may be obtained from the
dental assisting program coordinator. Decisions will be made
by April 15th each year.
Additional
Costs:
Dental assisting students should anticipate additional expenses for
uniforms / clinical wear, textbooks, professional liability insurance,
licensing examinations,and any required skills remediation.
A total of 38 credits is required for the certificate in dental
assisting.
Gainful Employment Disclosure
The CIP Code is 51.0601. See http://www.onetonline.org/crosswalk/CIP?s=51.0601&g=Go
for more information. 75%
of students graduate on-time. The
cost of this program is $9,299.
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Courses
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| Semester
1 (Fall)
Clinical
Science I
Dental Assisting I
Dental Sciences
Dental Radiology
Dental Materials
Introduction to the Human Body
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Semester
2 (Intersession)
Dental
Assisting Clinical Practicum
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| Semester
3 (Spring)
Clinical
Science II
Practice Management
Introduction to Oral Pathology
Dental Assisting II
English Composition & Literature I
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