Program Description
The Dental Assisting program prepares students for employment in a variety of positions in today’s dental offices. Graduates are competent in the technical areas of chairside assisting, infection control, dental radiology, dental practice management, and dental laboratory procedures. Graduates receive a Dental Assisting diploma, are certified in expanded functions for the State of Georgia, and are eligible to sit for Dental Assisting National Board (DANB).

Prior to beginning the clinical phase of training, all Dental Assisting students must submit dental and medical records RPR blood test, a tuberculin skin test, and other medical information.

In compliance with OSHA standards, Valdosta Tech requires that each student receive the HB vaccination series or sign a waiver declining the vaccination. This series must be completed prior to clinical experience or externship experience.

Program Requirements
Applicants must meet general admissions requirements, and must also:

1. Present official documentation of an acceptable accredited high school diploma, GED, or acceptable college credit.
2. Present acceptable COMPASS/ASSET scores taken within the last five years, or SAT, ACT or CPE scores taken within the last seven years.

Technical Standards for Dental Programs

All candidates for the dental programs must meet intellectual, physical, and social core performance standards necessary to provide safe patient care in an independent manner. The areas below include examples of necessary activities and skills but are not all-inclusive.

1) Critical Thinking:
Critical thinking ability sufficient for clinical judgment. Examples include identification of cause/effect relationships in clinical situations, development of care plans, transferring knowledge from one situation to another, evaluating outcomes, problem solving, prioritizing, using short and long-term memory.

2) Interpersonal:
Interpersonal abilities sufficient to interact with individuals, families, and groups from a variety of social, emotional, cultural and intellectual backgrounds. Examples include establishing rapport with patients, families, and colleagues, negotiation of interpersonal conflict, and respect of cultural diversity.

3) Communication:
Communication abilities sufficient for verbal and written interaction with others. Examples include explanation of treatment procedures, initiation of health teaching and documentation of treatment.

4) Mobility:
Physical abilities sufficient for movement from room to room and in small spaces. Examples include moving around in a dental clinic setting, sitting or standing and maintaining balance for long periods; twisting, bending, stooping; moving quickly in response to possible emergencies; pushing, pulling, lifting or supporting a dependent patient; squeezing with hands and fingers; and repetitive movements and administration of cardiopulmonary procedures.

5) Motor Skills:
Gross and fine motor abilities sufficient for providing safe, effective dental care. Examples include calibration and use of equipment, positioning of patients, grasping and manipulation of small objects/instruments, using a computer keyboard.

6) Hearing:
Auditory ability sufficient for monitoring and assessing health needs. Examples include hearing emergency signals, fire alarms, auscultatory sounds and cries for help.

7) Visual:
Visual ability sufficient for observation and assessment necessary in dental care. Examples include visualization of monitors, watches with second hands, medication labels and anesthetic vials and anesthetic syringe; visualization of objects from twenty inches to twenty feet away; use of depth perception and peripheral vision; distinguishing colors; and reading written documents.

8) Tactile:
Tactile ability sufficient for physical assessment. Examples include detection of calculus utilizing hand instruments, performance of palpation for purposes of intra and extra oral exam.

9) Emotional:
Emotional stability sufficient to tolerate rapidly changing conditions and environmental stress. Examples include providing patients with emotional support, adapting to changing conditions in the work environment and stress, dealing with unexpected or unpredictable events, maintaining focus on a task, performing multiple tasks concurrently and being able to handle non-cooperative and non-compliant patients.

10) Social Core Performance :
Prior felony convictions may affect a student’s ability to participate in the clinical portion of the program and in board certification. All students with a criminal conviction must make an appointment with the program coordinator to discuss their eligibility to participate in the program prior to applying for admission to the program.

Curriculum
Credits required for graduation: 95

	Core Courses		Credit Hours
	PSY 153 Student Success		2
	PSY 101 Basic Psychology		5
	ENG 101 English		5
	MAT 101 General Mathematics		5

	Occupational Courses		Credit Hours
	SCT 100 Introduction to Microcomputers		3
	AHS 101 Anatomy and Physiology		5
	AHS 104 Introduction to Health Care		3
	DEN 102 Head and Neck Anatomy		2
	DEN 103 Preventative Dentistry		4
	DEN 105 Microbiology & Infection Control		3
	DEN 106 Oral Anatomy		5
	DEN 107 Oral Pathology and Therapeutics		4
	DEN 109 Dental Assisting National Board Examination Preparation		3
	DEN 134 Dental Assisting I		7
	DEN 135 Dental Assisting II		7
	DEN 136 Dental Assisting III		4
	DEN 137 Dental Assisting- Expanded Functions		4
	DEN 138 Scopes of Professional Practice		2
	DEN 139 Dental Radiology		5
	DEN 140 Dental Practice Management		5
	DEN 146 Dental Practicum I		2
	DEN 147 Dental Practicum II		2
	DEN 148 Dental Practicum III		8

» Program Final Exit Point-Dental assistant, eligible to sit for the Dental Assisting National Board

* The student's actual curriculum may vary somewhat from the outline above.