If you are reliable, have good manual dexterity and the compassion to work with patients, you may be the right person for a career as a dental assistant.
Dental assistants are important members of the dental team. They ensure the efficiency and quality of dental care services and make the patient as comfortable as possible. The role of dental assistants has evolved over the years, with assistants now involved with many aspects of a dental practice. The position offers a lot of variety, dental assistants:
- work chairside as dentists examine and treat patients
- make patients as comfortable as possible in the dental chair, prepare them for treatment, and obtain dental records
- hand instruments and materials to dentists, and keep patients' mouths dry and clear by using suction or other devices
- sterilize and disinfect instruments and equipment, prepare tray setups for dental procedures, and instruct patients on postoperative and general oral health care
- sometimes prepare materials for making impressions and restorations, expose radiographs, and process dental x-ray film as directed by a dentist
- may remove sutures, apply anesthetics to gums or cavity-preventive agents to teeth, remove excess cement used in the filling process, and place rubber dams on the teeth to isolate them for individual treatment
Dental assistants with laboratory duties:
- make casts of the teeth and mouth from impressions taken by dentists
- clean and polish removable appliances
- make temporary crowns
Dental assistants with office duties:
- schedule and confirm appointments
- receive patients
- keep treatment records
- send bills
- receive payments
- order dental supplies and materials
The Certificate of Achievement in Dental Assisting prepares you to take the Certified Dental Assistant examination and/or obtain employment as a dental assistant. The curriculum offers a combination of courses in arts and sciences and dental assisting. Metro’s Dental Assisting program is accredited by the Commission in Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association (ADA).
The 80 credit hour program consists of 66.5 hours of Major Requirements and 13.5 general education. The program can be completed in a four quarters of full-time attendance.
Metro’s affordable tuition rates, small class sizes and highly qualified instructors to maximize the value of your educational experience. A recent study showed that no matter the program length, education at Metropolitan Community College is a great investment.
Metropolitan Community College admits up to 26 full-time and 6 part-time students into the Dental Assisting program the fall quarter of each year. Applicants who meet all the admission and application requirements by the given timelines will be offered an opportunity to enter the Dental Assisting program; however, entrance into the program will be contingent on space available. There is usually sufficient space to admit all qualified applicants each year.
Applications will be accepted and considered anytime and until the start of Fall Quarter classes. Review of applications and admission of students will begin on June 1 of the application year and continue as long as space is available in the program.
* Applicants will be admitted beginning June 1. Applications will be considered until the 1st day of the Fall Quarter.
- Originally established in 1960 as the Omaha Technical School of Dental Assisting, it was the first dental assisting program in the State of Nebraska.
- The program has been fully accredited by the American Dental Association every year since it began.
- The placement rate for Metro graduates is extremely high.
- Students in the program complete their clinical internships at Creighton Dental School and several local dental offices and clinics.
- Presently Metro has partnership agreements with over 50 different dental offices.
Joan Trimpey, Dental Assisting Instructor
402-738-4675
Cindy Cronick, Dental Assisting Instructor
402-738-4676
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