Dental Assisting

This is a lecture and laboratory course designed to prepare the student to assist the dentist in dental specialty and expanded functions areas. Students will demonstrate competency in chairside laboratory skills, patient education, instrument identification and usage and tray set-ups. Manipulation and fabrication of materials will also be completed. This course is designed to prepare the dental assistant student to assist the dental practitioner in endodontics, orthodontics, oral surgery, periodontics, implants, fixed and removable prosthodontics and pedodontics. Students will also demonstrate understanding of performing sealants and coronal polishing.

This course will provide the Dental Assisting student with effective methods of written and oral communication within the dental profession.

This course will provide the Dental Assisting student with an understanding of the etiology and prevention of dental disease and the role of the dental assistant in patient education and maintenance of optimum oral health through application of proper oral hygiene and general health and nutrition.

The goal of this course is to provide the Dental Assisting student with information required to manage the business office and understand ethics, malpractice, and other legal aspects of a dental practice.

This course is designed to allow the Dental Assisting student to gain greater understanding of human behavior as it relates to the function and process of the mind and to recognize the importance of psychology in healthcare in general and dentistry in particular.

This course is designed to cover the fundamentals of pharmacology and medical emergencies to prepare the Dental Assisting student to assess the patient medical history, develop a working knowledge of prescription writing, respond appropriately to medical emergencies in the clinical setting and effectively monitor vital signs.

This course will provide the Dental Assisting student with a basic understanding of oral embryology and the histology of the human dentition with a focus on the form structure and function of the individual teeth.

This course will provide the Dental Assisting student with the techniques and theory of handling common chairside materials.

This course will provide the Dental Assisting student with an understanding of the study of the structure and function of the human body as it relates to the dental sciences.

This course will introduce the student to importance of obtaining and recording vital signs including, pulse, temperature, respirations, and blood pressure. The student will become familiar with emergency prevention and assistance. Patient response, CPR, and obstructed airway techniques are addressed as well as provided in the form of a certificate of completion in Basic Life Support (BLS) for the Health Care Provider from the American Heart Association upon successful completion of the course. (CPR certification is provided and is incorporated into this class).

This course will introduce the student to the History of dentistry, infection control procedures: such as sterilization of instruments, and disinfection of treatment areas, basic tooth anatomy and charting and to introduce the different roles of the dental assistant.

The course prepares the Dental Assisting student for identifying, handling, preparing, and understanding the composition of dental materials. Students will learn to recognize the various types and differences of restorative and laboratory dental materials. This course also provides lecturer instruction on the properties and uses of the most common dental restorative materials and procedures used in restorative dentistry. Students will recognize, utilize, and describe preparation and application of dental materials as related to general and specialized areas of dentistry.

This course is designed to introduce the student to the proper identification, usage, handling, and transfer of dental instruments in various procedures.

This course is designed to acquaint the student with the theory of practical chairside and will explain the use of operating zones, instrument transfer, oral evacuation and amalgam and composite restoration procedures while utilizing four handed dentistry.

This course is designed to acquaint the student with the theory of practical chairside assisting ad will explain how to perform procedures using anesthesia, rubber dam and the tofflemire/matrix band.

This course will provide the Dental Assisting student with the fundamental anatomical understanding of the head, neck, and oral cavity.

This course is the first of two courses designed to provide the student with the fundamental theory of oral radiology to include radiation biology, radiation protection and current radiographic exposure techniques, emphasizing an introduction to intraoral and extraoral techniques. Student will learn to interpret normal anatomy, caries, and bone loss associated with periodontal and systemic diseases, periapical pathology, and dental materials. This pre-clinical course will teach the student foundational theory in preparation for clinical application. Student will practice techniques on laboratory manikins. This course must be completed with a numeric grade of 75% or better to pass.

This course provides the Dental Assisting student with a basic knowledge of oral pathology and its associated terminology in order to be able to recognize abnormal conditions when providing patient care.

This is one of a two part course providing 60 hours of clinical experience in a dental practice (120 hours in total are required for Clinical Internship) 3 Hours of Clinic Seminar are incorporated to discuss pertinent clinical issues. This course will enable the Dental Assisting student to utilize, reinforce and perfect the duties of a chairside dental assistant in an actual clinical setting.

After a student successfully completes M-102 Pre-Radiology, this course is designed to present the Dental Assisting student with the practical application of Radiology in order to prepare the student for clinical competence in this area. Students will practice techniques on laboratory manikins. This course must be completed with a numeric grade of 75% or better to pass.

To help the Dental Assisting student recognize the importance of good working relationships for career success and illustrate how attitude affects human relations.

This course will provide the Dental Assisting student with training in proper manipulation and fabrication of dental materials that utilize a dental laboratory.

This is the second of a two-part course providing 60 hours of clinical experience in a dental practice. (120 hours in total are required for Clinical Internship) 3 Hours of Clinic Seminar are incorporated to discuss pertinent clinical issues. This course will enable the Dental Assisting student to utilize, reinforce and perfect the duties of a chairside dental assistant in an actual clinical setting.