DENTAL ASSISTANT TRAINING PROGRAM
COURSE DESCRIPTION

What to Expect

The Utah Dental Career program (UDC) is a unique dental assisting program offering a rigorous, ten week course to properly prepare future dental assistants to enter Utah’s competitive dental industry. Graduates who complete this course will leave with a strong working knowledge of the latest and greatest advances in dental care technology, along with the three main certifications employers look for in potential candidates. This includes a dental assisting certification, a Utah state radiology certification, and a CPR certification.

Materials

At UDC, our goal is to ensure that every one of our students is given the tools needed to succeed, both during their education and in their careers as dental assistants. That’s why we’ve made our program all-inclusive in terms of course materials and supplies and equipment. The following is included in the course tuition:
  • All required dental supplies and equipment
  • Textbooks and workbooks
  • Online supplement with tutorials, video clips, practice quizzes/tests, and more
  • Instrument reference guidebook
  • Scrubs

Learning Process

At UDC we believe that most efficient way of gaining familiarity and confidence in dental assisting is through hands-on training. That’s why 100% of our class time is spent engaged in active clinical training, where students learn by doing. Because of this training approach we’ve found that our students are better prepared to enter the “real-world” of dentistry, and are immediately an effective asset to any dental practice upon graduation.
Each of our students is required to complete an internship prior to graduation. This is a great opportunity for students to gain familiarity with the flow and function of working in a dental practice and to further put their new skills to practice. Hands-on class time combined with internship hours creates an engaging and thorough learning experience. Students who leave our program are confident and excited to enter the dental field.

Certifications

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By the end of the course, students will have received training on the standard procedures completed in a dental office. In addition to those standard procedures, students will be trained and/or certified in the following areas:
While most Utah dental assisting schools train students in traditional film x-rays, the majority of dental practices have long since moved on to digital technology. At UDC we train our students in digital x-rays to ensure our graduates remain in-step with the latest in dental care technology.
All students will be able take a Certified Utah State Radiology Examination. This is a mandatory certification to be able to perform radiology in the state of Utah.
CPR is an OSHA requirement for all health care providers in the state if Utah.
Soft-tissue dental laser technology is a relatively new process that greatly improves many common dental care procedures. UDC is the only dental assisting program to include CO2 laser training. Students will be trained on how to setup, maintain and assist the doctor or hygienist during a laser procedure.
The 3D Cone Beam provides a specialized radiograph of a region of jaw bone for restorative procedures including implants, sinus augmentation, etc.
The CEPH is a specialized radiograph of the skull and neck region. This is a common tool used in orthodontic and dental specialty offices.
Our program offers expanded function dental assistant training. What does this mean? The average dental assistant can perform basic procedures such as filling restorations, prophylaxis and crown preparations. An Expanded Function Assistant can perform additional procedures related more to specialty fields. Fabrication of provisional crown coverage, assisting in the placement of implants and assisting of oral surgery procedures beyond basic extractions such as complete bone extractions and sinus augmentations, to name a few.