Dental assistants perform a wide variety of tasks, typically at a dental office. Day-to-day duties might range from providing patient care and taking x-rays to record keeping and scheduling appointments. A dental assistant will work daily with both patients and dentists, as well as hygienists and other dental workers.
Dental assistants play an important role in the dental office, as they help patients be comfortable and calm before, during, and after an exam or procedure; prepare patients for a treatment; obtain and update medical records; take vital signs, such as blood pressure; and provide patients with post-operative instructions (also called after care).
IMBC’s Dental Assistant Diploma training program will teach you to perform these duties as well as how to hand instruments and materials to dentists for a variety of procedures in a general dental practice, as well as in a specialty practice, such as oral surgery, pediatrics, orthodontics, periodontics, endodontics, and prosthodontics.
You’ll learn how to prepare and maintain treatment rooms, dental laboratories, and instruments, following OSHA, CDC, EPA, and OSAP guidelines for sterilization and disinfection; proper mixing and manipulation techniques for a variety of chair side and dental laboratory materials; and how to expose and process dental radiographs.
You will become proficient in laboratory skills, including taking and pouring alginate impressions, articulating and mounting study casts, fabricating custom trays, mouth guards, whitening trays, provisional crowns and bridges, and minor denture repairs.
Students at IMBC will be prepared to sit for the Pennsylvania Dental Radiology Exam. We incorporate a Practical Dental Assisting Review Course into our program, so you will be familiar with the Pennsylvania State Board of Dentistry’s requirements and be able to anticipate a dentist’s needs.
Toward the completion of your program, all students will participate in an internship that lets you practice your new skills in a real dental setting with professional supervision. Before beginning an internship, you will be required to provide proof that all of your immunizations are current.
Finally, upon the successful completion of your program, you will be prepared to seek two nationally recognized certifications to demonstrate your mastery of the course material: the Nationally Registered Dental Assistant (NRDA) credential and the Radiation Health and Safety (RHS) exam, administered by the National Association for Health Professionals (NAHP) and Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) respectively. The cost of these professional certification exams is included in your program. Certification exams are not required for employment; however, students who pass voluntary third-party certification exams validate their competencies, skills, and abilities in the specialized field of study. IMBC believes students passing certification exams have a more competitive employment advantage for being hired over students with no certification.
