Dental Assisting

Dean

Carmen Guerrero, Career & Technical Education

Dental Programs Coordinator

Armine Derdiarian, DDS

Dental assistants are a significant and valuable member of the dental health case team. They perform a wide variety of duties including working chairside as dentists examine and treat patients, taking and developing dental x-rays, removing sutures, and applying anti-cavity agents to teeth. Some dental assistance aslo perform laboratory duties like scheduling and confirming patients, filing patienst treatment records, billing, and ordering dental supplies. Dental assistants greatly increase a dentist's ability to efficiently deliver quality care and assist in making patients as comfortable as possible.

Upon completion of the two-semster program, the successful student will have been trained to perform chairside assisting, take impressions and make dental model, mix cements, make provisional crowns, perform front office dental assisting, and work with a variety of dental materials. Students will aslo be prepped on the requirements to take the California Registered Dental Assistants's Examination*.

*Graduates of the program are neither guaranteed licensure nor eligibility to take any licensure exam following program completion; however, several options are available with job experience.