Dental Assistant

The Dental Assistant training prepares students for entry-level positions in one of the fastest growing health care careers. The course familiarizes students with all areas of pre-clinical dental assisting and provides training in the professional skills required to function as an assistant.

What will I learn?

Instruction includes the following key areas and topics – Administrative Aspects includes the history of dentistry and dental assisting, introduction to the dental office and the dental team, legal aspects of guidance, laws, and ethics. Additional time is spent defining professionalism and how to function as a professional dental team member and healthcare provider. Clinical Aspects include introduction to oral anatomy, tooth structure, primary and permanent teeth, head and neck anatomy, periodontal disease, preventive dentistry, nutrition, oral pathology, and infection control with a focus on principles and techniques of disinfection, sterilization and occupational health and safety.

Students practice and learn about proper patient positioning, delivering comprehensive dental care, moisture control and anesthesia, responding to dental emergencies, taking and recording vital signs, mixing and placing dental materials for restorative and esthetic procedures, mixing and taking dental impressions, fabricating mouth guards and temporary restorations, and performing coronal polishing.

Students gather patient's personal and medical history information and assessment, as well as record informed consents and completed treatments in the dental record. Each student learns the foundations of radiography, dental radiographic equipment and safety, dental film processing, and digital radiography, foundation and procedures for placement of dental sealants.

Program Information

The Dental Assistant Training course familiarizes and prepares students for both clinical and clerical positions within a dental practice. Dental Assistant training includes 120 hours classroom lecture with an additional 67.5 hours laboratory application, 30 hours of hands- on dental radiology, 60 hours in the clinic working with a dentist and live patients, and finishing with a 40 hour externship at a local dental office. Total training hours of 277.5 plus the 40 hour experience within a dental environment is 317.5 hours. Upon completion of the training, each student will earn certifications in CPR (Healthcare Provider Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation), HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), Wyoming Radiation Safety, and Wyoming Board of Dental Examiners Pit and Fissure Sealants, which are all Industry Recognized Credentials (IRC's) for LCCC's service area. Upon completion, students may progress professionally through on-the-job training and meeting requirements of the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) for their Certified Dental Assistant (CDA), which is a nationally recognized credential.

To be eligible for the clinical rotation, students must successfully complete the 277.5-hour program, submit to a thorough background check, submit to a drug screening and meet other requirements. The additional externship hours will be scheduled one-on-one for the student. Upon successful completion of the classroom portion and clinical rotation/externship, students receive a LCCC A.C.T. Now Certificate of Completion in addition to the IRC certifications above.

Career Information

In addition to entry-level administrative jobs, this course is ideal for students interested in pursuing a future formal dental hygienist program.

Dental Assistants may work in private dental practices, community health settings, nursing homes and hospitals. 

Program Cost

Financial support may be available through WIOA, a federally funded, state mandated program administered by the Department of Workforce Services as well as the Wyoming Works, a state grant program. Please contact us for more information: rmcelroyFREELARAMIE or 307.772.7351.