Dental Assisting, Diploma

Overview

Offered at the Piedmont Summerville Site.

Entrance Dates:	Fall
Length of Program:	Five Terms
Credit Hours Required for Graduation:	55 - 59

Program Description: The Dental Assisting Program prepares students for employment in a variety of positions in today’s dental offices or clinics. The program provides learning opportunities that introduce, develop, and reinforce academic and occupational knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for job acquisition, retention, and advancement. Curriculum areas of emphasis include general dentistry which consist of restorative procedures, dental specialties such as oral surgery, endodontics, orthodontics, prosthodontics, periodontics, and pedodontics and the expanded duties required for each area of dentistry.

Graduates are competent in the technical areas of preventive dentistry, chairside assisting with an emphasis on four-handed dentistry techniques, infection control procedures, dental radiology, dental practice management, and dental laboratory procedures. High school graduation or GED is required for admission to this program. For more information regarding this process, please contact the Admissions Office at [phone].

Employment Opportunities: Certified dental assistants are in great demand in our service area. Graduates should be able to obtain suitable employment with excellent working conditions in private dental offices, hospital dental clinics, dental schools, public health departments, military and veteran's dental clinics, and prison dental clinics.

According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dental assistants held about 330,200 jobs in 2020.  Employment of dental assistants is projected to grow 11 percent from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all occupations. For more career information about dental assisting visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Website.

Credentialing (Optional):  Graduates receive a diploma in dental assisting and are certified in expanded functions for the State of Georgia and are eligible to sit for the Dental Assisting National Board exam.  

Curriculum Outline

General Core Courses, 9 credits

ENGL 1010	FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGLISH I	3
MATH 1012	FOUNDATIONS OF MATHEMATICS	3
PSYC 1010	BASIC PSYCHOLOGY	3

Occupational Courses, 50 credits

ALHS 1011	STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE HUMAN BODY	5
	OR
DENA 1010	BASIC HUMAN BIOLOGY	1
ALHS 1040	INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH CARE	3
DENA 1030	PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY	2
DENA 1050	MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION CONTROL	3
DENA 1070	ORAL PATHOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS	2
DENA 1080	DENTAL ANATOMY	5
DENA 1090	DENTAL ASSISTING NATIONAL BOARD EXAM PREPARATION	1
DENA 1340	DENTAL ASSISTING I: GENERAL CHAIRSIDE	6
DENA 1350	DENTAL ASSISTING II: DENTAL SPECIALTIES AND EXPANDED FUNCTIONS DENTAL ASSISTANT SKILLS	7
DENA 1390	DENTAL RADIOLOGY	4
DENA 1400	DENTAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT	2
DENA 1460	DENTAL PRACTICUM I	1
DENA 1470	DENTAL PRACTICUM II	1
DENA 1480	DENTAL PRACTICUM III	5
COMP 1000	INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER LITERACY	3

Notes:

• A minimum grade of “C” is required for all courses in the curriculum outline
• Students must complete all prerequisite courses with a minimum grade of “C” before enrolling in the DENA prefix courses.
• ALHS courses older than 5 years will not be considered for prerequisite credit. Students will need to retake these courses before enrolling in the DENA prefix courses.
• Dental Assisting students must submit medical examination and evaluation forms and letters of recommendation prior to enrollment in clinical courses. These forms will be distributed by academic advisors.
• A student who is not enrolled in the program for one or more terms will be required to validate knowledge of courses with the DENA prefix completed in the previous terms (as designated by course instructors). A student who is not enrolled in the program for more than one year will be required to retake courses with the DENA and ALHS prefixes. A student who does not earn a grade of “C” or higher in any two courses with the ALHS or DENA prefixes (including second attempts to any of these courses) will not be allowed to reenter the program.
• Prior to participation in campus/clinical labs, students are required to submit completed medical forms. All required immunizations, including Hepatitis B, must be accompanied by documentation. Students who refuse to take the Hepatitis B vaccination series must sign a declination form and be aware that clinical practicum sites may refuse them an opportunity to gain clinical experience.
• Conviction of a felony or gross misdemeanor may prohibit employment in field and may make a student ineligible to take licensing/certification exam(s) required for the profession. A background check and/or drug screen may be required by some agencies before a student attends a clinical practicum. For more information, contact the appropriate program advisor.
• Student activities associated with the curriculum, especially while students are completing his or her clinical rotations, will be educational in nature. Students will not be receiving monetary remuneration during this educational experience, nor will he or she be substituted for hired staff personnel within the clinical institution in the capacity of a dental assistant.
• Prior to participation in campus/clinical labs, students are required to show proof of current health insurance. Students who cannot show proof of health insurance need to be aware that clinical practicum sites may refuse to allow them the opportunity to gain clinical experience at their facility.

Guided Pathway

You may click on any course below to view the course description and prerequisite information.

Students who do not follow the Course Sequence listed below may not be able to complete the program in the number of semesters shown.

Piedmont Summerville Day Program – Fall Entrance

PROGRAM NAME: Dental Assisting

AWARD: Diploma

CAMPUS: Piedmont Summerville Day Program – Fall Entrance

Year 1 Fall Semester

ALHS 1011	STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE HUMAN BODY	5
	OR
DENA 1010	BASIC HUMAN BIOLOGY	1
ENGL 1010	FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGLISH I	3
MATH 1012	FOUNDATIONS OF MATHEMATICS	3

Year 1 Spring Semester

ALHS 1040	INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH CARE	3
COMP 1000	INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER LITERACY	3
PSYC 1010	BASIC PSYCHOLOGY	3

Year 1 Summer Semester

DENA 1050	MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION CONTROL	3
DENA 1080	DENTAL ANATOMY	5
DENA 1340	DENTAL ASSISTING I: GENERAL CHAIRSIDE	6

 

Year 2 Fall Semester

DENA 1030	PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY	2
DENA 1070	ORAL PATHOLOGY AND THERAPEUTICS	2
DENA 1350	DENTAL ASSISTING II: DENTAL SPECIALTIES AND EXPANDED FUNCTIONS DENTAL ASSISTANT SKILLS	7
DENA 1390	DENTAL RADIOLOGY	4
DENA 1460	DENTAL PRACTICUM I	1
DENA 1470	DENTAL PRACTICUM II	1

Year 2 Spring Semester

DENA 1090	DENTAL ASSISTING NATIONAL BOARD EXAM PREPARATION	1
DENA 1400	DENTAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT	2
DENA 1480	DENTAL PRACTICUM III	5

 

Accreditation

The Dental Assisting Program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) of the American Dental Association and has been granted the accreditation status of “Approval.” The Commission is a special accrediting body recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation and by the United States Department of Education. The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at telephone number [phone] or at 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611.