Dental Assisting

This course presents the foundational principles of the dental assisting profession, the science of dentistry, and an introduction to dental communications. The course includes the roles and functions of the dental team, and laws affecting ethics and the practice of dentistry. Students will gain a working vocabulary that includes terminology related to oral, dental, and head and neck anatomy, and histology. Students will be introduced to dental office communication and business operating systems.

This course presents the foundation of chair side dental assisting in the delivery of dental care to include dental instrument identification and use, and moisture and pain control methods. Patient information and assessment skills detailed are patient information and assessment, an understanding of oral diagnosis and treatment planning process, the needs of the special needs and the medically compromised patient, principles of pharmacology, assisting in a medical emergency, patient assessment and oral pathology.

This course presents the fundamentals of materials used in restorative dentistry including laboratory techniques and procedures. The properties of dental materials are covered such as restorative and esthetic materials, liners, bases, and bonding materials, cements, and impression materials. Labs will cover applications and uses of dental materials.