This program offers a sequence of courses that provides coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in the Health Science career cluster; provides technical skill proficiency, and includes competency-based applied learning that contributes to the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical skills, and occupation-specific skills, and knowledge of all aspects of Health Science career cluster.

The program is designed to prepare students for employment as dental assistants and to take the Dental Assisting National Board Examination.  The program should meet the requirements of the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association and standards recommended by the Florida Board of Dentistry.

The content includes, but is not limited to, dental office and patient management, basic dental laboratory procedures, dental and general anatomy, dental terminology, nutrition, dental instrument and equipment utilization, microbiology, dental pharmacology and anesthesia, chairside assisting and expanded functions, dental office emergencies/CPR, dental radiography, maintenance and asepsis of dental operatory and instrumentation, dental specialty procedures, employability skills, leadership and human relations skills, ethics and jurisprudence, dental materials and preventive dentistry.

LICENSURE/CERTIFICATION/OTHER:

Basic Life Support & Basic First Aid

National Entry Level Dental Assisting Certification

Dental Assisting Expanded Functions