Dental Assisting Program

Dental Assisting Mission Statement

The Dental Assisting Program at San Diego Mesa College provides dental assisting students the knowledge and skills to succeed as a dental health care professional. As a State and Nationally accredited program, we promote learning, leading to licensure and credentialing in dental assisting. By providing quality education to our diverse students, we contribute to the regional dental workforce, which provides access to care and dental health in San Diego County.

Program Goals

The Dental Assisting Program is committed to:

1. Keeping current with the state-of-the-art dental equipment and techniques;
2. Providing dental assisting students currency for employment;
3. Providing the dental assisting students with the best training for success in their future careers;
4. Promoting safe, ethical, and quality patient care;
5. Developing or enhancing the student's critical thinking, time-management, problem solving and communication skills.

Upon completion of the Dental Assisting Program, the student will:

1. Have the skills and knowledge to function as a competent dental assistant;
2. Obtain licensure and certifications applicable to dental assisting;
3. Acquire professional characteristics to function as a member of the dental team.

Directed Clinical Practice (DCP) Requirement

Students accepted into this program will be required to successfully complete DCP, clinically-based courses held in health care facilities. These facilities may require background checks, including fingerprinting and drug screening, as a condition of placement at the clinic.

Refusal to submit to a background check, or failure to meet clearance criteria established by the health care facility, may prevent placement in the DCP courses and thus, it may not be possible to successfully complete the program.

Health care facilities also require adherence to strict standards of conduct. Facilities may refuse educational access to any person who does not adhere to the facility's standards of safety, health and ethical behavior. This may be cause of removal from the program.

Dental Assisting (RDA,CDA)

Dental Assisting (RDA,CDA)

For graduation requirements see Requirements for the Associate Degree

Electives as needed to meet minimum of 60 units required for the degree.