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Other Dental related courses are offered on an ongoing basis via Distance Delivery.

Dental Assisting

The Dental Assisting Program is a comprehensive Level II* program, accredited by the Commission of Accreditation for the Canadian Dental Association. The dental assistant is an important member of the dental team, utilizing his/her skills to provide knowledgeable and efficient dental care to patients, in a variety of dental procedures (i.e. restorative, oral surgery, orthodontic, endodontic, preventative and laboratory).

As a learner in the Dental Assisting program, students have the opportunity to obtain technical knowledge and develop manual skills through a blend of classroom theory, clinical practice and self-directed study. The program is designed to allow for both group interaction and personalized assistance. Students will also participate in eight weeks of on-the-job training in a dental office.

Upon successful completion of this fourteen-month program, students are required to obtain a license to practice prior to performing any intra-oral skills. Graduates are eligible to write the National Dental Assisting Board exam but this is not a requirement for the attainment of their Holland College Level II Diploma. It may be criteria for licensure in some provinces and individuals are responsible to contact the provincial licensing body of the province in which they will be employed, to determine specific provincial licensure requirements.

*Level II Dental Assisting program - encompasses chair-side dental assisting skills with licensable intra-oral clinical procedures (i.e. application of dental dams, liners and varnishes, matrix retainers, fluoride, exposing radiographs, taking impressions, placing sealants, polishing amalgam restorations and suture removal).

Areas of Competency

All of the areas of competency will include the relevant theory, where applicable a practical component will also be completed.

Microbiology
This course outlines the major theories and applications of microbiology which provide the knowledge necessary to create and maintain a safe environment by controlling the transmission of infectious disease. Students learn how to clean, disinfect, and sterilize while maintaining safe barriers to prevent the transfer of disease.

Dental Sciences I
This course covers oral anatomy and the physiology of the head and neck, providing the students with the knowledge and terminology necessary to understand and communicate areas related to dentistry, while performing dental assisting duties.

Dental Sciences II
This course will enable the student to recognize specific aspects of tooth structure and conditions in the oral cavity. The student will then learn the skills required to accurately document and communicate those structures and conditions.

Dental Radiography
This course covers the basic principles of dental radiography, radiation safety, and the operation and maintenance of dental radiographic equipment. The student will learn to expose radiographs (take x-rays) as well as assess, process and mount radiographs.

Basic Dental Assisting I
This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills required to assist with dental restorative procedures.

Oral Pathology
This course will enable the student to recognize pathological conditions in the mouth, possible causes for those conditions and how those conditions affect the patients’ general health and dental treatment.

Introduction to the Profession
This course provides students with an overview of the dental assisting profession, the laws that govern the profession and the communication techniques needed to be successful in dental assisting.

Basic Dental Assisting II
This course is designed to further develop those skills learned during BDA I. The student will develop more advanced knowledge and skills to assist with restorative procedures.

Prosthodontics I
The student will take dental impressions, and create dental models from those impressions.

Pharmacology
This course will allow the student to gain a basic understanding of prescription and non-prescription medications and drugs related to dental treatment and the provision of safe care. The student will also learn how to prepare for, avoid and deal with dental office emergencies.

Pediatric/Geriatric Dentistry
This course prepares students to address the special dental needs of the elderly and the very young. Behaviour management techniques, disease patterns and treatment considerations for these two distinct population demographics will be discussed.

Oral Surgery
This course provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to assist during oral surgery. Included in this course is terminology (specific to oral surgery), instrumentation and a knowledge of a variety of surgical procedures including implantology.

Endodontics
This course prepares students to assist a general dentist or Endodontic specialist with the branch of dentistry pertaining to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of conditions that affect the dental pulp and apical periodontal tissues.

Orthodontics
This course covers the specialized field of dentistry that deals with the detection and treatment of irregularities of the teeth, jaws and face and is designed to prepare students for basic orthodontic assisting.

Office Management
This course provides students with information and practical experiences which will enable the student to perform basic dental reception duties. It includes concepts of patient and office communications.

Prosthodontics II
This course studies the branch of dentistry pertaining to the restoration and maintenance of oral function by replacement of missing teeth and/or structures by artificial devices with the use of Fixed or Removable Prosthetics.

Nutrition
This course provides students with the basic understanding of the interrelationships of nutrition to oral health and disease in order to help dental patients achieve optimum oral and general health.

Periodontology
This course provides an overview of periodontal disease, and its effects on general health and the health of the oral cavity. Emphasis will be placed on factors contributing to the disease and the prevention of periodontal disease processes through understanding its origins in the mouth and the factors contributing to the disease.

Intra Oral
This course provides the student with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide intra oral patient care. Students will participate in a pre-clinic component (manikin and student oriented) as well as a clinical component (patient oriented) to assure competency.

Dental Health Education
This course will enable the students to gain the skills necessary to assess the oral health educational needs of the patient. The student will learn to identify problems that can occur in the oral cavity in relation to oral health and how to maintain and improve oral health. Community based oral health projects are included.

On-the-Job Training (OJT)
To practice all skills learned during their training, and under direct supervision of a dentist, students will have two work placements in a private practice setting. The first for 2 weeks and a second placement for 6 weeks. Dentist and site location to be approved by the Dental Assisting program.

Graduate Opportunities

• Private dental offices
• Provincial dental offices
• Hospitals
• Dental assisting schools
• Dental schools

Employment opportunities for graduates exist not only in Atlantic Canada but also throughout other parts of Canada.

Program Operation

Learners will progress through a series of twenty-one courses including two practicum experiences in this three semester program. The courses are designed to build upon each other and integrate knowledge, progressing from very basic chair-side skills through to the complete coverage of all areas of the dental assisting field, including intra-oral skills. Individuals with prior training or work experience may be given credit for related skills.

Admission Requirements

• Grade 12 academic
• Academic grade 12 English (minimum 65%) and academic grade 11 or 12 biology (minimum 65%)
• Typing skills, working knowledge of a keyboard
• Knowledge of computers using Windows 5.0 or higher
• 18 years of age or older by December 31 of the year for which you are applying (in compliance with the National Standard for Dental Radiography)
• Following acceptance and prior to June 30th, the applicant must provide:
• evidence of recent screening for Tuberculosis from Public Health or Physician; and,
• Current CPR - Basic rescuer Level C and a Standard First Aid certificate from a recognized First Aid/CPR Trainer.. The Occupational Health and Safety Division of P.E.I. will provide a list of current recognized First Aid/CPR Trainers.
• Resume including work and volunteer experience with applicable dates, membership in groups, associations or athletics, awards and distinctions, and any other information about yourself relevant to the program to which you are applying.
• It is recommended that students enrolling in this program have up to date immunizations and screening as outlined on this form.

It is highly recommended that applicants to the Dental Assisting program observe in a general practice dental office for at least one day prior to attending this course.

If you have any questions concerning the Dental Assisting program, contact: dental@hollandc.pe.ca