Arizona Dental Assisting Program
Dental assistants give dentists the proper support they need to provide great dental care to all their patients. Look no further than Arizona College’s dental assisting program! Study the dental assistant profession intimately, with hands-on instruction and modern dental equipment.
Keep reading to learn what Arizona College’s dental assisting program can do for you.
What does a dental assistant do?
Dental assistants are the people you see before the dentist comes in. Their primary role is to aid the dentist in providing quality oral healthcare to all patients. Typical duties involve working alongside the dentist during examinations and procedures, keeping the patient’s mouth clean and dry with the use of suction devices, mixing material for restorative procedures, making dental impressions for restoration, creating and polishing crowns, and taking dental x-rays.
Dental assistants can also perform clinical duties like charting patient dental histories, sterilizing equipment, providing patients with postoperative instructions, and preparing tray set-ups for dental examinations. A number of clinical and administrative duties may also be required depending on the specific dental practice.
What’s Arizona College’s program like?
Our dental assisting program takes four quarters, or around 38 weeks to complete (including the externship). Upon completion of in-class portion of the program each student embarks on an eight-week clinical externship to hone his or her skills in a real-world dental setting.
Here are some of the reasons students love taking our dental assisting program:
- Convenient morning and evening classes
- Peer Mentor Program
- Sessions starting every five weeks
- Financial aid available to qualifying students
- Open lab and tutoring sessions available by appointment
- Career Services placement assistance upon successful program completion
With lecture and lab classes offered by our qualified faculty, we teach students the necessary skills to thrive both on the administrative and patient care sides of dental assisting. Check out our full list of dental assisting courses.
What do I do after the dental assisting program?
After you complete your eight-week clinical externship, we suggest getting certified in the dental assisting field. However, our Career Services team will also work with you to find the job to start your career.
Where can I work as a dental assistant?
Most dental assistants work in small or medium-sized dental practices with one, or a small team, of dentists. However, there’s plenty of opportunity in more specialized practices as well.
Check out some of the environments you could be working in below:
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- General Dental Offices
- Orthodontic Offices
- Cosmetic Dentistry Offices
- Pediatric Dental Offices
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical Offices
We want to invite anyone interested in a dental assisting career to visit our campus and learn more about our program. Complete the Request Information form to the right and an Arizona College representative will get back to you shortly!
Information in this blog post is accurate as of October 2, 2015.
Start Your Future in Nursing Today
If you’re considering a career as a registered nurse (RN), Arizona College of Nursing is here to help you pursue your dream. Our BSN program enables you to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in just 3 years or less with qualifying transfer credits. We’ve helped hundreds of students to earn a BSN degree and enter the nursing profession – and we’re ready to support you on your path to becoming an RN.
Why Choose Arizona College of Nursing?
- Earn a BSN degree in 3 years or less with eligible transfer credits
- Campus locations throughout the US
- Night classes for general education courses
- Hybrid Online/In-Person format for general education classes
- Nursing education is all we do
- CCNE-Accredited Program*
- NCLEX-RN success coaches and exam preparation class
- Financial aid available to those who qualify
Discover Your Path to a Career in Nursing
Information in this post is accurate as of October 2, 2015.
*The Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program at Arizona College of Nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (https://www.aacnnursing.org/). All Arizona College of Nursing and Arizona College campuses are institutionally accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (https://www.abhes.org/), a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting agency.