Our Dental
Assistant Program

Dental Depot Academy of Dental Assisting is designed to prepare students for work in fast-paced dental environments, teaching them the dental theory, clinical techniques, and skills needed to perform essential dental tasks, as well as important intangibles such as:

• The role of the dental assistant as a team member
• Their legal responsibility
• Ethical behavior
• Professional conduct

Dental Depot Academy of Dental Assisting is licensed through the Oklahoma Board of Private Vocational Schools (OBPVS). This 12-week program includes 120 hours of classroom/lab instruction and 120 hours of clinical experience, all of which are conducted during five half-days a week so students can continue working while pursuing a dental assisting career.

Dental Depot Academy of Dental Assisting is offered three times per year at our two locations in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

• Summer 2023: May 2nd, 2023 – July 21st, 2023
• Fall 2023: August 28th, 2023 – November 17th, 2023
• Spring 2024: January 28th, 2024 – March 29, 2024
• Summer 2024: May 6, 2024 – July 26, 2024
• Fall 2024: September 2, 2024 – November 22, 2024

The program runs Monday through Friday, with alternating classroom and clinical rotation days.

• Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8am – Noon in the classroom
• Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 7:45am to Noon in clinical rotations in Dental Depot offices.*

The first two weeks of every program are dedicated to classroom instruction and preparing for clinicals. During this time, students will earn their CPR and X-ray certifications and learn the fundamentals of dental assisting.

Clinical rotations will begin in the third week of the course. Students will spend two half-days a week in the classroom and a minimum of 12 hours per week completing their clinical rotations, usually conducted at a Dental Depot location.

*Clinical hours will vary depending on the assigned location and the doctor’s schedule. This also allows more flexibility for students who are working while completing the program.

Upon successful completion of the program, students will graduate with a framed certificate of completion and be recognized at a Dental Depot Academy of Dental Assisting pinning ceremony.

To qualify for graduation from the Academy, the dental assisting student must have:

1. Earned a “C” or better in the didactic, lab and clinical courses.
2. Successful completion of each course in the Academy.
3. Paid all fees and fines owed to the Academy.
4. Returned any Academy equipment and materials checked out to the student.

With graduation and job placement rates well over 90%, Dental Depot Academy of Dental Assisting students are uniquely positioned to take advantage of career opportunities in dental assisting with Dental Depot’s clinical practices upon graduation.

If placement in a Dental Depot clinic isn’t the right fit for you, the staff at Dental Depot Academy of Dental Assisting will work with you to find a suitable position.

Dentistry is regulated by the individual dental boards of each state, and the requirements to work as a dental assistant vary from state to state. Most states require at least a high school diploma or GED equivalent. In Oklahoma, dental assistants must also obtain a permit, though they may be on-the-job trained without completing a program. If accepted into Dental Depot Academy of Dental Assisting, permit fees are included in the tuition and requests are submitted on the student’s behalf during orientation.

In the state of Oklahoma the four recognized dental assisting expanded duties are as follows:

• Radiation Safety
• Coronal Polishing
• Sealant Placement
• Assisting with Nitrous Oxide Analgesia

Radiation safety allows dental assistants to take routine patient X-rays that are assessed and evaluated by the practice’s resident dentist(s), and it is the only expanded duty dental assistants can obtain with their permit. However, dental assistants cannot be on-the-job-trained for radiation safety; they must take an online or live course through the Oklahoma Dental Foundation (ODF), pass an online certification test, and complete a minimum number of X-rays approved by a supervising dentist. The certification test requires knowledge of:

• Basic principles of X-ray generation
• Equipment orientation
• Imaging sensors
• Image development
• Radiation safety

Dental Depot Academy of Dental Assisting includes radiation safety in its curriculum. While in the program, the Academy will arrange with the ODF for students to take the preparatory online radiation safety course and subsequent exam. Once the course is completed, students will be required to take the certification test at the OSU-OKC testing facilities in Oklahoma City or Tulsa, typically during the fourth week of the program. The course and testing center fees are included in the program tuition.

Students will be notified by the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry if they passed the test, after which they will be required to complete 200 X-rays. As part of the Dental Depot Academy of Dental Assisting curriculum, students will have the opportunity to meet this requirement through the program and earn their radiation safety certification.

Though not included in the Dental Depot Academy of Dental Assisting curriculum, three additional expanded duties dental assistants may pursue the other three additional expanded duty certificates after program completion through the Oklahoma Dental Foundation.

To obtain certification in coronal polishing, sealant placement, and/or assisting with nitrous oxide analgesia, dental assistants must have been practicing chairside for at least one year, with the last six months occuring in the same location. The certifications earned at these weekend courses must be kept current and renewed every year.

CPR certification as provided by the American Heart Association/Health Care Provider or the American Red Cross/Professional Rescuer is a prerequisite for a dental assistant with any expanded duty permit. Dental Depot Academy of Dental Assisting students will receive CPR certification as part of the program curriculum, with fees included in the cost of tuition.