Dental Assisting Certificate (5001)

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Program Purpose:
To prepare students for certification in dental assisting and to safely and effectively perform all functions that are legal for the dental assistant to perform in Florida. Quality patient care and the development of skilled dental assistants are the ultimate goals of the Dental Assisting program.

This program is accredited by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation.

Employment Types:
Dental assistant in private practice or community dentistry

Program Length:
1,230 clock hours

Admission Requirements:
A high school diploma or GED diploma and an appropriate score on the Postsecondary Education Readiness Test. Applicant must be eligible to enroll in at least ENC1101 College Composition and MAT1033 Intermediate Algebra and have college-level reading skills as demonstrated by adequate PERT scores or by previous college enrollment. Applicants must have successfully completed biology and chemistry in high school or college and have a high school or college cumulative unrounded GPA of 2.0 or better.

Program Application:
The Dental Assisting certificate program begins in the Fall semester and is a limited-access program. Applicants must submit a Dental Assisting program application for admission by the published application deadline; this is a separate application from the College application. Additional criteria for admission are outlined on the program’s Web page (www.tcc.fl.edu/dental).

See important information in the Additional Healthcare Degree Requirements section of this catalog.

Academic Division:
Healthcare Professions

Contact:
(850) 558-4500 or healthedu@tcc.fl.edu

Course Information

Fall Semester

DEA0020 Dental Assisting Preclinic Theory 0 credit hour(s) ; 30 clock hour(s)
DEA0020L Dental Assisting Preclinic Laboratory 0 credit hour(s) ; 245 clock hour(s)
DES1020 Dental Anatomy 2 credit hour(s)
DES1020L Dental Anatomy Lab 1 credit hour(s)
DES2100 Dental Materials Theory 2 credit hour(s)
DES2100L Dental Materials Lab 1 credit hour(s)

Total Clock Hours = 270 and Credit Hours = 6

Spring Semester

DEA0800 Clinical Practice and Procedures I Theory 0 credit hour(s) ; 30 clock hour(s)
DEA0800L Clinical Practice and Procedures I Lab 0 credit hour(s) ; 285 clock hour(s)
DEA0830 Expanded Functions I Theory 0 credit hour(s) ; 30 clock hour(s)
DEA0830L Expanded Functions I Lab 0 credit hour(s) ; 30 credit hour(s)
DES1200 Dental Radiology 2 credit hour(s)
DES1200L Dental Radiology Lab 1 credit hour(s)
DES1600 Dental Office Emergencies 2 credit hour(s)

Total Clock Hours = 372 and Credit Hours = 5

Summer Semester

DEA0831 Expanded Functions II Theory 0 credit hour(s) ; 30 clock hour(s)
DEA0831L Expanded Functions II Lab 0 credit hour(s) ; 30 clock hour(s)
DEA0850 Clinical Practice and Procedures II Theory 0 credit hour(s) ; 30 clock hour(s)
DEA0850L Clinical Practice and Procedures II Lab 0 credit hour(s) ; 210 clock hour(s)
DES0053 Nitrous Oxide Monitoring 0 credit hour(s) ; 15 clock hour(s)
DES2502 Clinic and Office Management 1 credit hour(s)

Total Clock Hours = 315 and Credit Hours = 1

Total Program Clock Hours = 960 and Credit Hours = 12

Note:

All courses must be completed with a grade of C or better.