Chairside Dental Assistant Diploma Program

This course will provide the students with an overview of the normal development of the oral cavity and the teeth. Students will need this understanding to be able to communicate with their patients and coworkers. The following items will be discussed in this course: medical and dental terminology and language, oral structures and facial anatomy, general anatomy of the tooth, types of occlusions, and the three different numbering systems, etc.

This course will provide the students with an overview of patient privacy and an introduction to ethics. Students will adapt the knowledge and skills to be able to maintain patient records. Topics will include patient registration, medical and dental history forms, records retention, and records transfer. Students will also learn the charting symbols and abbreviations used in the clinical patient chart and practice entering in these symbols both manually and electronically.

The ‘workplace hazardous and materials information system’ provides specific health and safety information about workplace hazardous materials called control products. Employers must use this information and information that is specific to their job to educate and train workers to work safely with and near hazardous materials. Workers exposed to hazardous materials may be at risk for many health problems as these materials may cause fire and explosions. It is important for students who are entering the workforce to have basic knowledge of WHMIS to work safely with sensitive materials. Students will also participate in the first aid training.

This course provides knowledge of the practices for infection control prevention in dentistry. This course will also cover terminology as it relates to the study of disease transmission and infection control and safety protocols, methods of prevention and control of transmission of microorganisms, principles and techniques of disinfection and sterilization and processing of dental instruments, and safety and workplace management of hazardous wastes. Emphasis on how to adapt federal and provincial clinic infection control and safety guidelines and recommendations will also be discussed. The course will also provide didactic background as pre-requisite knowledge for dental radiography building on the principles of infection control and safety. Students will also complete the WHMIS module as part of this course.

This course provides the knowledge on assisting with various dental procedures and interaction between the dentist and the chairside assistant. Students must be familiar with a wide variety of instruments, dental materials, and their uses and be able to anticipate the dentist’s requirements for each step during the procedure. This course will provide the students with the basic knowledge on the elements of selected restorative procedures, which include equipment and their uses, as well as develop the skills required to be an efficient chairside dental assistant, with emphasis on the dental assistant’s role in restorative procedures. The course will also cover identifying challenges, assessing needs, and modifying treatment to accommodate different types of patients.

This course provides the clinical and practical applications to the chairside dental assisting practice. Students practice and apply the skills acquired from the didactic courses included in the chairside assistant program. Students are expected to demonstrate mastery of the core competencies associated with the theoretical courses of the chairside assistant program.

This course provides information on how to use the communication skills in order to make a successful presentation to a prospective employer. Self-assessment during this course allows students to identify their personal skills. Students will role-play a mock interview and will identify their weaknesses and how to strengthen their interviews.