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Ministry-approved title: Dental Assisting (Levels I and II)
Dental assisting offers a meaningful career path for individuals interested in contributing to oral health care and supporting dental teams in a clinical environment.
This program equips students with the knowledge, practical skills and professional behaviours required to work as dental assistants, delivering care and patient education across a variety of clinical settings. Students gain experience with current and emerging dental technologies and apply their learning through hands-on training in a dedicated dental assisting clinic, as well as through clinic practice and field placement experiences.
These experiential learning opportunities support the development of confidence and competence, preparing graduates to enter a growing field with strong employment opportunities.
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This one-year Ontario College certificate program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada. Students build a strong foundation in academic studies, clinical experience and current radiography techniques that support practice in oral health care settings.
The program concludes with a four-week community field placement that provides further opportunity to apply learning in a real-world environment. Placements may take place anywhere within Ontario following the completion of all second-semester courses, supporting readiness to work effectively as part of a dental assisting team.
Durham College (DC) offers pre-admission assessment testing to mature domestic applicants to meet admission requirements in English and/or Math. Domestic applicants who are 19 years of age or older as of the start date of their program, and who do not have the required program credit(s), i.e. Grade 12 English and/or Grade 12 Math are eligible to take an admissions assessment test.
Learn more about how to book Pre-Admission Assessment Testing here.
DC also offers Academic Upgrading. Courses are FREE and designed to help you meet the admissions requirements for this program. Available to individuals 18+, these courses are offered on campus at DC. Boost your qualifications with:
Learn more about Academic Upgrading and connect with our team to get started.
The courses listed below are for incoming students. If you are a current student, please refer to your program of study for the year you began your program. Your program of study can be found on MyDC.
Courses, course descriptions and delivery formats are subject to change.
In person
Students will come to campus to complete in-person learning requirements. Detailed schedules, with course-specific delivery information, will be available after registration. Courses, course descriptions and delivery formats are subject to change.
School is an investment in your future, and financial support is available to help you succeed.
DC's Financial Aid and Awards is here to help you access funding and opportunities that make pursuing your education easier and more achievable:
Visit Financial Aid and Awards to explore all the options to help finance your education.
Clinic practice allows students to apply and strengthen practical skills, supporting readiness for practice in dental assisting as part of an oral health-care team prior to transition into field placement.
During field placement, students gain experience in a general dentistry setting within the community, extending learning beyond the clinical environment. This hands-on experience supports the continued development of knowledge, skills and professional behaviours in a real-world practice setting.
The 96-hour field placement takes place at the end of Semester 2, is completed over four weeks, and may occur anywhere within Ontario following completion of all second-semester courses.
There are costs associated with Electronic Requirements Verification (ERV), immunizations, lab tests, and certifications. Be sure to keep all receipts for income tax purposes. These costs include:
It is required that students have completed the ERV with Verified to be eligible for the clinic practice component of this program. Students must (at their expense) provide:
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Please visit our pathways page to learn more about how you can transfer your credits towards a degree.
Looking for more pathway opportunities or to transfer to Durham College? Click here for more information.
To help students have the best remote learning experience possible, Durham College’s IT Services department has identified technology recommendations for each program based on course needs and software requirements. Students may want to consider these suggestions if they are purchasing a computer or laptop for the upcoming academic year.
Processor: i3 RAM: 4GB Storage: 256GB SSD Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional or Education x64 SP1 Internet Browser: Internet Explorer 11 or Google Chrome (newest version) or Firefox (newest version) Network Adapter: 802.11ac 2.4/5 GHz wireless adapter Camera: Webcam/built-in camera Internet connection
Questions regarding technology recommendations can be directed to the IT Service Desk or the school office.
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